PREVIEW: Men's Soccer Hosts No. 12 Franklin Pierce to Start 2025
Purple Knights vs. Ravens set for Thursday night at 6 p.m.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The first official contest of the fall 2025 semester belongs to the University of Bridgeport's men's soccer team as the Purple Knights are set to host 12th-ranked Franklin Pierce on Thursday (Sept. 4) at 6 p.m. UB's opener is the first of a 17-game slate that includes seven contests at Knights Field.
ABOUT THE OPENER
The 2025 campaign will mark the 14th straight season in which Franklin Pierce and Bridgeport have met in men's soccer. The Purple Knights dropped a 1-0 road matchup to the Ravens in last year's season opener.
MORE INFO ON THE RAVENS
Coming off two-straight NCAA national titles, which featured a 63-game unbeaten streak, Franklin Pierce was finally dethroned in the third round of the NCAA Tournament last December. The Ravens, who finished with a 12-3-5 record, received an at-large bid into the Big Dance after falling in the NE10 semis.
This year, FPU is ranked No. 12 in the preseason national rankings. They return four NE10 All-Conference performers in Guillermo Avendano, Joaquin Lauria, Jesse Oostendorp and Andy Chisholm. The Ravens were picked second behind SNHU in the NE10's preseason coaches poll.
WHAT'S AFTER FPU?
The opener against Franklin Pierce is the first of four non-conference games for UB to start the 2025 campaign. The Purple Knights will make visits to SCSU (9/7), Mercy (9/13) and SNHU (9/17) over the first two weeks of the season.
Bridgeport's other three non-league games will be at Bentley on Oct. 1, at Queens on Oct. 8 and at home against Adelphi on Oct. 29.
The Purple Knights' CACC opener—the first of 10 conference games—will take place at home against Georgian Court on Sept. 20. UB's other home league contests will be versus Jefferson (10/4), Post (10/21), Holy Family (10/25) and Dominican (11/5).
TOUGH SCHEDULE
The Purple Knights' 2025 slate features four opponents that are slotted in the United Soccer Coaches preseason national rankings. Franklin Pierce (No. 12), SNHU (No. 19), Felician (No. 8) and Post (No. 15) are all currently in the top 25 of the coaches poll.
Bridgeport's schedule also includes five more teams (Adelphi, Georgian Court, Jefferson, Queens, Mercy) that won nine or more games in 2024.
UB'S 2024 CAMPAIGN
The Purple Knights are coming off a 7-8-3 record last season which included a 6-4-1 mark in the CACC. Bridgeport finished sixth in the conference standings before falling to third-seeded Felician in the CACC Quarterfinals.
WHO'S BACK?
Bridgeport's 2025 roster will be a seasoned one with a total of 18 returners and 22 upperclassmen. UB's two CACC All-Conference honorees, Enzo Beatrix (First Team) and Joao Miranda (Second Team), are each back for the Purple Knights.
Beatrix, who was also named to a pair of All-Region teams, led Bridgeport with 16 points (6G, 4A) while Miranda finished with four goals and six assists (team high).
Bruno Cakurs, Soren Larue, Ugo Drieu and Ewen Le Cozic, who were all in the starting lineup in last year's CACC playoff game, also return for the Purple Knights.
WHO'S NEW?
A total of 14 newcomers have joined the UB men's soccer program this preseason. The latest crop of Purple Knights hail from 10 different countries, consisting of six freshmen, four graduate students, two seniors, one sophomore and one junior.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? (QUOTES)
Peter Doneit - Head Coach, 10th Year
"This year's incoming class is a great mix of experience and youth with both international and domestic flavor. With a strong returning spine of the team, I feel we have the quality and depth of personnel to compete for a conference championship. Starting off the year with some of the top perennial teams in the region, we feel that the first two weeks will be a great test going into our CACC schedule."
Tyler Stowik – Assistant Coach, 2nd Year
"I'm incredibly excited to take on an advanced role with the team and contribute to a program with such great potential. We have a fantastic group of players and will look to build on last season in a strong conference. We're focused on helping our players grow, both on and off the field, and pushing us toward a culture of excellence, discipline and unity."
Lucas Mah – Senior Captain
"After a disappointing season last year, we're ready to bounce back. The team looks really good and is ready to compete for a championship once again. We were able to add a lot of good players that will improve the team quality and chemistry, both on and off the field. Since we were also able to keep the main core from last season, I'm very excited and optimistic about the upcoming season and can't wait to see what we can achieve."
FOLLOW ALONG
For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), X (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).