Bates Men’s Soccer July Newsletter
Dear Bates Men’s Soccer Alumni, Families, and Friends,
I hope you and your families are doing well, and enjoying the summer! Life has been busy in Lewiston for the Men’s Soccer staff with recruiting, hosting campus visits, camps, and gearing up for the fall 2025 season. We are now under four weeks away from the team reporting back to campus for preseason! Please read more below to learn more about our recent graduates, new Bobcats, alumni engagement initiatives, upcoming season, and much more.
Listing:
Fall 2025 Schedule
Our fall 2025 schedule is live on our website where you can see game dates and times. We open the season at home on September 3 vs. a challenging St. Joe’s team, and quickly get into our NESCAC schedule when we travel to Trinity on September 6. I hope to see many of you on the sidelines at Russell Field and at our away games in the fall. There is a palpable energy surrounding the program at the moment, and we have gained significant momentum both on and off the field over the last year. Your presence and support at our games will only add to this excitement!
Bates Men’s Soccer Fan Store – OPEN NOW!
Buy your Bates Men’s Soccer gear before the Fall 2025 season kicks off at our Fan Store! 10% of all sales from the store goes to the Bates Men’s Soccer program. The store closes on July 28.
SAVE THE DATES/RSVP | Upcoming Alumni Events
Saturday, September 20: Men’s and Women’s Soccer Alumni Weekend
- Join us on September 20 for a Men’s and Women’s Soccer Alumni Game. Dust off your boots, reconnect with old teammates, and support your Bobcats vs. Wesleyan at 2pm! We will have a pregame tailgate and postgame reception for Men’s Soccer alumni too.
- RSVP and see additional details. A formal email/invitation will follow in mid-late August.
Saturday, October 11: Men’s Soccer @Tufts (12:30pm)
- For our Boston-based alumni, mark your calendars to support the team vs. Tufts on Saturday, October 11. This is certain to be a pivotal game to decide our place in the NESCAC standings. More details will be provided regarding a pre- or post-game tailgate or reception.
FBA Challenge Recap
Thanks to the massive support of our alumni, parents, and friends of the program, we totaled 100 donors and raised $41,060 for the Men’s Soccer program. This placed us 5th on the leaderboard in dollars raised among all Bates Athletics teams! A special thank you goes out to the classes of ’95 through ’98 and the Men’s Soccer Alumni Leadership Team for their matching gifts.
With the money raised, we have already enhanced the program in the following areas ahead of our 2025 fall campaign:
- PlayerData (GPS tracking devices and vests) were purchased for the program. This will assist the coaching staff in monitoring daily, weekly, and season-long loads, tracking players’ physical development, providing further individual feedback for players, and much more!
- Stipend to retain our 2nd Assistant Coach– Ibrahim Achekh
- Wyscout (an advanced data and analytics tool) was purchased for the program. This will assist the coaching staff in player and team development, opponent scouting, and recruitment.
- New training and travel gear for the team
- Nutrition and hydration enhancements in the locker room
- Recovery/Regen equipment purchased for the locker room
We strongly believe that we are building the most professional, competitive, and supportive environment in the NESCAC. We could not continue moving the program forward without your consistent engagement and support. THANK YOU!
Bobcats Graduated
We had five seniors graduate from Bates this spring and start the next chapter of their lives: Tife Agunloye, Simon Clarke, Rex Ah Chu, Henry Kuenstler, and Gerard Costa Farre. These five played an instrumental role for the Men’s Soccer program, on and off the field, and we wish them well as they transition to life as a college graduate! Read more below for information on their next steps:
Tife Agunloye: Living and working in Brooklyn, NY as a Sales Representative. Tife is settling into NYC this summer/fall, finding a place to live with fellow Bates Soccer grads (Henry and Simon), and looking forward to exploring the city and spending time with friends.
Simon Clarke: Traveling before he starts work in early August. Simon will be working as a sales representative in NYC and is looking forward to his continued friendship with his former Bates teammates and embarking on a new chapter as a Bates graduate.
Rex Ah Chu: Rex has been at home in Dallas, TX since graduation, and has been busy studying for the LSAT (which he plans to take soon!). Rex is also looking for legal work this fall in Portland, ME, Dallas, TX, or somewhere along the East Coast, and recently started a NIL/college sports newsletter with Tife.
Henry Kuenstler: Henry is back in London this summer and started a new position working remotely at an underdog venture team as a Client Partnerships Intern. In his new role, Henry will be working closely with Max McKersie (’23)!
Gerard Costa Farre: Gerard graduated from Bates after the fall 2024 semester, and has been enjoying traveling, attending some Champions League matches in the spring, and spending time in Spain. Gerard is looking for work in Boston/NYC this fall.
Welcome to our Newest Bobcats!
The coaching staff has been hard at work and traveling around the country over the last year+ recruiting our 2025 and 2026 classes. We are adding 10 first-years to our team in the fall of 2025, and are thrilled with the quality of player and person that is joining the Bates Men’s Soccer program. Read more below for additional information on our newest Bobcats! (Click each photo to read more about our newest Bobcats!)
Alumni Mentorship Program + How to Support the Program
Mentioned in previous communications and the Spring Newsletter, the Bates Men’s Soccer Alumni Mentorship Program officially launched in February. In the program’s inaugural year, we had 70 Men’s Soccer alumni and 30 student-athletes involved. This engagement was fantastic, and we have heard numerous positive stories from mentors (alumni) and mentees (student-athletes) about the connections they have already made.
If you would like to become an alumni mentor in 2025-26, please fill out the survey below. To stay in touch with the program and connect with former teammates/Bates Soccer alumni, please join our LinkedIn page and check out the Alumni Database that Aleks Marceau ’19 put together.
To donate to the Bates Men’s Soccer program, please click this link: Donate to Bates Men’s Soccer.
Closing Thoughts
The team has continued to impress me over the last year with their commitment to the program, commitment to each other, and work rate on the field, in the classroom (3.75 team GPA in 2024-25), in the weight room, and at early morning speed and agility sessions. The most immediate goals in front of us are the following: 1) Return to campus on August 18 fit, healthy, strong and ready to compete each day with energy and enthusiasm; 2) integrate our 8 seniors back into the team from their abroad experiences last spring; 3) welcome our 10 incoming First-Years into the team with open arms, and show them what it means to be part of the Bates Men’s Soccer team; 4) have a good first training session on August 20.
I am confident that the identity that we are building on and off the field will result in further growth as a team in the fall 2025 season, and will soon lead to us accomplishing larger goals as a program, i.e., NESCAC playoff berths, NESCAC Championships, NCAA Tournament bids, and playing soccer in late November-December. The continued development of a strong mentality, competitive mindset, selfless/team-first attitude, and team camaraderie, in concurrence with the ability to focus on the short-term goals directly in front of us, will be the process that leads us to these on-field results.
Thank you, as always, for your engagement and support for the Bates Men’s Soccer program. I hope you never underestimate how important this support is for our continued success as a program. I look forward to seeing many of you at our Alumni Game on September 20th.
Have a great rest of your summer, and Go ‘Cats!
Ben Brewster
Head Men’s Soccer Coach
Bates College