It was Friday, September 12, and the first game of the season for the 2025 Stags Men's Club Soccer Team. The Stags took on the Southern Connecticut State Owls and started the season with a bang.

An early offensive surge was led by junior Brenden Lambe, who finished a play set up by captain Thomas Healey. Soon after, sophomore Thomas Walsh doubled the lead with a perfectly placed shot into the top corner of SCSU's goal. Freshman Gabriel Feldman then made his mark, scoring his first of two goals on the night with a breakaway grounder past the SCSU keeper. To close out the half, freshman Christopher Zimmerli threaded through two Owl defenders to add a fourth goal, giving the Stags a commanding 4–0 lead at the break.

After halftime, the Stags wasted no time picking up where they left off. Feldman struck again, this time with a beautiful header off a feed from senior Thomas Healey, before senior Gianluca Ruggiero capped off the scoring with the team's sixth and final goal. The Stags cruised to a decisive 6–1 victory.

Afterwards I had the opportunity to speak with Freshman Gabriel Feldman who played a huge role in the Stag's opener. Reflecting on the performance, Feldman said, "I thought we played really well for our first game of the season. It was great to see everyone get involved, and we did a solid job defending while also creating plenty of chances."

Looking ahead, the Stags will face Army on Sunday in their next match-up. Feldman noted that the team still has room to sharpen its play: "For the game against Army, we have to focus on conditioning and just being able to run all game. I think that we have to do a better job of finishing our chances."

With contributions across all classes and a dominant first outing, the Stags set a strong tone for the rest of their season