By: Alec Beaudin, Assistant Sports Information Director
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's soccer program will be looking to build off last season and return to the Presidents' Athletic Conference postseason for the third consecutive year.
Reviewing the 2025 Season: W&J started the 2025 campaign on a four-match unbeaten run. The squad picked up wins against La Roche (1-0), Penn State Altoona (4-2), and Carlow (3-0). W&J also fought to a draw against Marietta (1-1). An additional victory came against Pitt-Greensburg (2-0) to take some momentum into PAC play.
The Red & Black added five more wins and a tie to their record in conference matches. Crucial points came against Hiram (0-0), Waynesburg (1-0), Allegheny (1-0), Thiel (2-0), and Bethany (1-0). In the closing match of the regular season, the team secured a 1-0 win over Westminster to keep their season alive.
W&J entered the 2025 PAC championships as the No. 6 seed. The Presidents gave the No. 3 seed Allegheny a battle but ultimately fell in the quarter finals 2-1 in double overtime.
Head Coach
Ian McDonald with the highs and lows of the 2025 season: "Highs, obviously sealing a spot back in the PAC Playoffs was a major priority. Attaining another winning season, now totaling 20 since 1991. Having a hard-fought win at Allegheny not only securing our spot in 2026 Playoffs but also honoring me with my 300th career win. Lows, the loss of Logan Mackey, with an injury that kept him out of the 2025 Season, certainly was one, considering his contributions in the 2024 season. Losing in the playoffs in double overtime, with 6 minutes remaining on the clock, was a tough loss to endure."
| 2026 PAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025 record (conference) |
| 1. Grove City College (11) |
132 |
15-3-2 (10-0-1 PAC) |
| 2. Franciscan University (2) |
120 |
11-10-1 (7-2-2 PAC) |
| 3. Allegheny College |
101 |
9-8-5 (6-3-2 PAC) |
| 4. Geneva College |
100 |
7-10-2 (5-4-2 PAC) |
| 5. Saint Vincent College |
92 |
11-4-5 (5-2-4 PAC) |
| 6. Waynesburg University |
77 |
7-6-5 (2-4-5 PAC) |
| 7. Washington & Jefferson College |
73 |
9-8-2 (5-5-1 PAC) |
| 8. Chatham University |
51 |
4-9-6 (2-4-5 PAC) |
| 9. Hiram College |
43 |
7-8-3 (3-5-3 PAC) |
| 10. Bethany College |
34 |
5-9-3 (4-6-1 PAC) |
| 11. Westminster College |
24 |
1-13-4 (1-7-3 PAC) |
| 12. Thiel College |
23 |
4-13-1 (1-9-1 PAC) |
| Saint Francis University* |
--- |
8-9-2 (7-2 NEC) |
Previewing the 2026 Schedule: W&J opens their 2026 slate with two road games against Pitt-Greensburg (Sept. 2), and Carlow (Sept. 4). The team's opens their home contests with two matches against Wooster (Sept. 9), and Randolph-Macon (Sept. 12). One final nonconference match is scheduled against Baldwin Wallace (Oct. 14) to break up the PAC schedule.
The Presidents' open PAC contests on the road against Hiram (Sept. 16) before returning home against Allegheny (Sept. 19), and Saint Francis (Sept. 23). The Red & Black close out September with two road contests against Saint Vincent (Sept. 26), and Waynesburg (Sept. 30). W&J trades home and road contests for the remainder of the season. Home matches for October include Geneva (Oct. 3), Thiel (Oct. 10), Grove City (Oct. 20), and Chatham (Oct. 28). Road matches for October include Bethany (Oct. 7), Franciscan (Oct. 17), and Westminster (Oct. 23).
The Presidents Athletic Conference post season is scheduled to begin on October 31.
Newcomers: The Presidents welcome 10 new players as part of the class of 2030.
| No. |
Name (Hometown/High School) |
Yr. |
Pos. |
| |
Chase Dolan (Potomac, Md./Thomas Wootton) |
Fr. |
GK |
| 25 |
Adam El-Ansari (Arnhem, The Netherlands/Lorentz Lyceum) |
Fr. |
M |
| 34 |
Everett Jones (Garner, N.C./Garner Magnet) |
Fr. |
D |
| 38 |
Anthony Maradiaga (Mifflin, Pa./Juniata) |
Fr. |
D/M |
| 22 |
Ryan Noel (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) |
Fr. |
F/M |
| 31 |
Benjamin Ochoa (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) |
Fr. |
M |
| 35 |
Gavin Patterson (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) |
Fr. |
F/M |
| 37 |
Julian Shaw (Upper Marlboro, Md./St. Andrews) |
Fr. |
F |
| 36 |
Nicolas Squeglia (Cheswick, Pa./Fox Chapel) |
Fr. |
F |
| 29 |
Isahias Torres (Homestead, Fla./Florida Christian) |
Fr. |
D |
"It is hoped that they can offer us some much-needed depth and solutions to those areas we have targeted as struggling in last season. Along with a need to shore up depth in areas we succeeded in too!"
Returners: The Presidents graduated four players from the 2025 roster and will be returning a strong lineup in 2026.
Forwards – Senior
Tavan Schoenberger (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) will be helping to lead the Presidents' offensive buildup from the wings following the graduation of
Michael Ngugi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson). Schoenberger played all 19 games last season, starting 18. The senior had one assist. Junior
Zach Casey (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) started 14 games during 2025, appearing in a total of 16. Casey scored one goal and had one assist. Sophomore
Jonathan Barahona (Leesburg, Va./Tuscarora) scored two goals, including the game winner that sent the Presidents to the postseason, during his rookie campaign. Barahona made 16 appearances last year.
"We were extremely pleased with their contributions in 2026 and hope to see the level of maturity further develop and impact the program moving into their sophomore year season."
Sophomore
Camden Ash (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) and junior
Xavier Phillips (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) will both have a contributing role in the Presidents' attack as well.
Midfielders – W&J graduates two important components of the midfield in
Jimmy Gogol (Westminster, Md./Westminster) and
Ethan Bowser (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward), but the Red & Black return an experienced group in 2026.
"Certainly, from an offensive standpoint, Jimmy, Ethan and Mike's game participation minutes, will be a significant miss, especially given that Ethan and Jimmy were in the top two of our offensive statistics this past season. In Nate's case that significance in games and minutes played, defensively, takes away a very experienced wing back from our ranks," said McDonald. "In terms of filling these voids, our focus was on the addition to the attacking side of the ball, with a sprinkling of a couple of added players on the defending side of the ball. We are very excited about the potential of this freshmen class and what they have to offer. Not to count out that the classes above will be expected to contribute at a higher level, with another season under their belts.
Senior
Owen Rowlands (Hazle Township, Pa./Wyoming Seminary Prep) will be an important piece of the Presidents' attack out of the midfield. Rowlands leads returners with three goals during his junior season. The senior started all 19 games in 2025.
Sophomore
Jacek Piekut (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) played in 18 contests, starting 12 during his rookie campaign. Piekut netted one goal and had one assists last year. He also led returners in shots taken, with 26. Senior
Logen Mackey (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) returns to the lineup after missing all of 2025 rehabbing an injury. In 2024, Mackey started seven games for W&J and scored three goals. Sophomore
Logan Crowe (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) made 12 appearances off the bench during his rookie campaign providing extra support in the President attack. Senior
Hudson Moyer (Westerville, Ohio/Tree of Life Christian School) and sophomore
Brett Moyer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) both made 15 appearances for the Red & Black. B. Moyer had one assist during his freshman season. Senior
Aiden Marks (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) will provide some leadership off the bench for the Presidents this season. Marks made seven appearances last season.
Sophomore
Kaleb Mays (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver) returns to the lineup after missing last season rehabbing from an injury. Junior
Krassimir Vassilev (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest), along with sophomores
Brayden Miller (Clairton, Pa./Thomas Jefferson),
Will Smith (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy), and
Will Parisi (Butler, Pa./Knoch) will all look to have an increased role this season.
Defenders: Following the graduation of outside back
Nathan Lomago (Mars, Pa./Eden Christian Academy), W&J will return many versatile pieces to make up the 2026 defensive line. Junior
Derek Errett (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) will be anchoring a President back line that ranked third in the PAC in opponent goals average, only giving up 1.16 goals per game. Errett started 17 games on defense and had 11 shots offensively. Senior
Cole Young (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) returns to the back line after starting 18 games last season and netting one game winning goal.
Sophomore
Luke Curran (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Saint Jospeh) made appearances in all 19 contests, starting 10. Curran finished his first season with two assists. Additionally, junior
Aiden Bell (Fayetteville, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson) made 14 starts on the defensive half. Classmate
Chris Davis (Toms Brook, Va./Strasburg) appeared in all 19 contests for the Red & Black back line. Davis scored one goal last season. Junior
Brian Lowry (Wenonah, N.J./Gloucester) made one start and appeared in 11 total contests on the back line last season.
Classmates
Alonte Harris (Washington, D.C./Washington Lee) and
Cooper Bell (Fayetteville, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson) will be having an increased role on the back line this season. Harris made eight appearances in 2025 and Bell made three. Senior
Mason Metzler (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) will be looking to continue his return to full health and pick up increased appearances on the back line.
"Mason was able to return to participating in the spring portion of our season and looked to be his solid original self. Kaleb and Logan, however, could not participate due to restrictions on their recovery status, however Kaleb's unwavering attendance to many practices during the fall and spring seasons observing the sessions, should benefit him greatly. In terms of Logan, he is fully ready to jump right back into the fray and offer us the Logan we saw in 2024."
Seniors
Nic Jaskola (East Palestine, Ohio/Crestview), sophomores
Braedon Mckeever (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry),
Ethan James (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake), and
Dante Pusateri (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township) all have an increased role on the back line in 2026.
Goalkeepers – The Presidents ranked third in the PAC for save percentage last season, at .809. Senior
Graeme Ewart (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) and sophomore
Logan Joseph (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) split halves for the majority of last season for the Presidents. Ewart finished the year with a 1.48 goals against average and a .773 save percentage in 18 games played. Additionally, Joseph closed out his rookie season with a .65 goals against average and a .875 save percentage in 15 games played.
"We are blessed to have this very talented duo returning, who I have no doubt, will make for an interesting battle come preseason. Once again, we also saw some nice growth and development in the spring with our younger goalkeepers."
Sophomores
Ashton Sipes (Los Angeles, Calif./Wetumpka) and
Finn Grinnell (Mount Joy, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) provide additional depth to the goalkeeping position for the Red & Black.
Coaching Staff: Head Coach
Ian McDonald enters his 35
th season with the Presidents. During the 2025 campaign, McDonald reached the 300 career wins mark and is only one of 15 active head coaches in Division III to reach the win milestone.
Noel Diaz returns for his third year with the Presidents and first year following his promotion from intern to full-time assistant.
"The transition of Noel to a full-time assistant coach position is very rewarding for him and a blessing for our student-athletes and the program in terms of the consistency in his depth of knowledge and familiarity with the program and the college, as a whole!"
Closing Remarks from Coach McDonald: "Last season in our eyes, it was not a matter of our team's defensive capabilities, as indicated with the eight tied games. Neither was it the lack of offensive opportunities created in games. It came down to a much-needed improvement in our goal scoring player potential. We need to find goals from a lot more sources this season to fully reach our potential."
