Soccer fans, put your hands together for the end of August and the start of another long-awaited season on the pitch. Wabash’s favorite 11-man, goal-scoring squad is set to kick off their season on September 2 against Principia University in St. Louis, Missouri.
This season promises another slate of wildly exciting matches for the Little Giants. Picked fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) preseason coaches poll, the soccer team is in a solid spot to earn their berth to the NCAC tournament at the end of the season. That’s not to say it will be easy. DePauw shared the fourth-place pick, meaning the winner of the annual rivalry could take home tickets to the NCAC tournament along with bragging rights this season.
The Little Giants are fresh off an offseason of doubled efforts, after missing the playoffs in 2023. Head Soccer Coach Chris Keller and his team were disappointed with how Wabash performed in close matches last season, using that to fuel growth in the offseason.
“[We want] to continue what we started building the day after our last game of last year,” said Keller. “These guys were really motivated. We made some personnel changes on the team, added some great leaders, named some really good team captains and had a great offseason. These guys were the most fit coming into preseason that I’ve seen since I’ve been at Wabash.”
Wabash took the field together for a scrimmage against the Marian University reserves on Saturday, August 24. The team showed off incredible depth across the board with a special focus on the promising class of 2028. The Scarlet & White tallied five goals in the three 30-minute periods, while Ramos kept the net empty.
The newfound depth will be a huge asset to the team, as a long season inevitably turns out an injury or two that shakes up any roster.
“It [depth] is a combination of some guys that weren’t in the mix last year working their tail off to put themselves in a better position to be considered to be on the field,” said Keller. “And then there are some freshmen and sophomores from last year that played a ton who are now a year older, a year more mature, year more experienced– plus an influx of freshmen that were ready to compete from day one. You’ll see some familiar faces and some new faces in the lineup.”
On the offensive end, the young strikers of last season will return with another year of experience under their belts. The entire front half of the team is back and ready for more attacks, more shots, more goals.
Jose Escalante ’26 was the 2023 goals leader with nine across the season. He will join with Bryce Kinnaman ’27 and Jesse Martinez ’26 who each recorded five goals and three assists in 2023 to form the core of the offense. Wabash will need their best scorers to come through in big moments if they want to come out on top.
“I am never satisfied with what I did last year,” said Escalante. “I want more and I think the other guys do too. You can see it in every practice. We have a stronger depth and everyone is fighting for their spot, which makes everyone around better.”
The Little Giants defense will look different this season with room for new players to make an impact. At the end of the 2023 season, Wabash soccer graduated the veteran trio of Hugo Garcia ’24, Collin Johnson ’24 and Jackson Grabill ’24, who served as the backbone of the defense throughout the season. The team brings back Myles Bernat ’26, who started every game last year, Emilio Paez ’25 who started in 15 games last season, and Evan Miller ’26 who joined the starting 11 in the later half of the season.
In the net, Wabash’s gritty keeper Fernando Ramos ’25 will return for his senior campaign. Last year Ramos was sensational, starting in all 17 games and recording 46 saves.
“Despite losing some important players in the backline, we have a strong core all throughout,” said Ramos. “Our backline has lots of depth and talent. I wouldn’t say that I’ll necessarily have to be the backbone [of the defense], but I will work to keep the net at zero and our talented backline organized.”
After facing Principia, Keller and his crew will have four and a half weeks to get ready for conference play, which will begin in Greencastle, IN when Wabash and DePauw meet on October 9. Wabash hasn’t lost to DePauw in three straight seasons. The lights will be brighter when these two teams face off.