After one of their most successful seasons to date, the Brandeis men’s soccer team will return to the field under a new head coach. Gabe Margolis, long-time assistant coach, was recently named head coach of the team, taking over for Mike Coven, who lead the team for 44 seasons, earning 526 wins and one NCAA title during his time with the Judges. Coven left the Judges on a high note after the men’s soccer team took home 13 wins last season, securing them a spot in the playoffs, where they finished the NCAA Division III tournament in the final four. Margolis has been with the judges since 2005 after working as an assistant coach at Boston University and Northeastern. He lead the Judges for 11 seasons as assistant coach and served as associate head coach for the last three seasons.
Margolis will start his head coaching career with the Judges against No. 13 SUNY Cortland in their first game of the season. The Judges come into the season with top rankings, number four among New England Division III schools and number 10 in the division as a whole, according to the United Soccer Coaches’ (UCC) newly published rankings.
The New England Soccer Journal (NESJ) placed the Judges at number two among DIII schools, and Brandeis goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 on their player list. Woodhouse ’18 recorded 88 saves this last season, starting 23 out of 23 games. Other standout returning players include defender Stephen DePietto ’19 and Josh Ocel ’18, a midfielder utilizing his fourth season of eligibility after an injury forced him to redshirt his first year. Midfielder Christian Hernandez ’18, Woodhouse and Josh Berg ’18 will lead the team as captains.
Andrew Allen ’19 was able to shine a light on the current team and upcoming season. “Our first goal is always to win the UAA, and after is to make the NCAA tournament. If those can happen the next goal is obvious: to win a National Championship,” Allen told The Brandeis Hoot.
With the added strength of four first-year and two transfer students, the team hopes to match last year’s success. They will work to keep the team cohesive, integrating the new players and coaching staff, and encouraging “the new kids to buy into our philosophy that everyone has a role. Once everyone knows that their role on the team is important, from being a starter, to first off the bench, to someone who doesn’t see the field, then we have success,” Allen added.
“Tactically we still do the same things that we always did to give us success,” Allen told The Hoot about the transition of Margolis to the Head Coach position. He shares the loss of Coven is “certainly a loss of a big personality,” but he is confident the team will succeed under Margolis. “The culture has stayed the same for a while,” he says, giving everyone the confidence in Margolis and the rising upperclassmen to continue the traditions of Brandeis men’s soccer.
The Judges will begin their regular season with the Hobart Invitational in Geneva, NY, with a game against Cortland State on Saturday, September 2 and a game that Sunday against Hobart College.
