By Ron Smith
August 27, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) After winning the 2024 PacWest Tournament last year and earning a berth in the NCAA Division II National Championship, Westmont Men's Soccer is about to kick off the 2025 season with a roster that includes 15 returners and 17 newcomers.
 
While those numbers might concern most head coaches, Westmont's Morgan Cathey knows that the Warriors have a 'secret sauce' that can help overcome the challenges that result from a turnover in the roster.
 
"Alumnus Rob Ring created a painting he called, 'Koinonia', that is this beautiful picture of brotherhood in our program over the decades," expressed Cathey. The Greek word κοινωνία refers to a community, society or fellowship.
 
"Brotherhood is our theme for the year," stated Cathey. "Westmont provides the opportunity for guys to grow in relationship and in community. Just today, one of the guys was frustrated and getting vocal about it. Another player was able to say to him, 'You're not helping.' It took just ten seconds for the first player to say, 'I'm sorry; you're right.'
 
"In the safety of a family, guys can express themselves and call each other out. Instead of walking away with some grudge, or feeling like they don't belong enough to say something, the relationship gets a little bit closer and guys learn what it's like to control their emotions a little bit better. They are sharpening each other. Character is being developed, our team gets closer and guys care more about each other.
 
"There is a pureness to that, which I think Westmont produces. There is no place like it. We are trying to pursue the most godly view of brotherhood: sharing each other's burdens, daily acts of intentional service, and a strong commitment to fight for each other that comes from a deep love for each other."
 
The enduring culture of koinonia in the men's soccer program sets the strategy for bringing together a new team.
 
"Our goal," said Cathey, "is to find cohesion and collectiveness in every aspect of the program as quickly as possible. I don't think there is a formula for that. At the same time, there is such a confidence from our staff that the leadership group we have this year has taken so many lessons from players who have gone before. They have left such a mark on them that the leaders feel the good weight of what it means to carry the tradition of the program."
 
Team captain Cash Anderholt spearheads the leadership team that includes Mario Floriano, Serkan Durna, Jackson Obleda and Leo Olivo Ortiz.
 
"We feel like we are in a good place because they have such an openness to lead and to engage," said Cathey. "They are going to help create this cohesion and collectiveness. They are passionate, legacy minded, confrontational in the right way, and the kind of competitors we want in our program.

THE ROSTER
 
Reflecting on the 2025 roster, Cathey said, "It is such a credit to the coaching staff. They have worked hard to bring in the right people. I think every single one of our recruits has improved the base of what we can do from a technical and tactical perspective.
 
"From a physical perspective, because we prioritize freshmen, those guys will still grow physically through their time here. So, we may not be as athletic as we've been. However, that is the last priority for us when it comes to recruiting.
 
"As we work our way through the non-conference season, our goal will be to have really good performances in every one of those games. We don't have enough time in just a week and one-half of scrimmages for us to be fully sharp, healthy and cohesive in every phase of the game. We hope that in the non-conference games we will be the closest we can possibly get to where we want to be, so that when we open conference we're flying. That is our goal.
 
"Our group knows that we are in process. The only way we're going to reach our potential, though, is if we apply ourselves every moment. Our guys are working really hard. We might get there in a day, in a week, or in three weeks, but we know that we're going to work very, very, very hard on the field to be at the best place we can be by our first PacWest game."
 
In regard to the depth chart, Cathey said, "The goal for us is to have two great players in every position. I think we're close. One place we have a lot of depth is at the center forward position."
 
Durna, a senior, returns to lead the Warriors after contributing five goals and two assists during his first year in a Warrior uniform. Durna earned Second Team All-PacWest honors last season.
 
"Serkan has proven to be an exceptional talent for us," noted Cathey. "We are trying to bring out even more opportunities for him to do really well this year."
 
Competing for playing time at center forward will be sophomores Yordan Marinov and Micah Wilhelm, as well as freshman Weston Ash. Marinov tallied three goals and two assists last year while Wilhelm notched a goal and two assists. Ash comes to the Warriors from Mission Vista High School.
 
"We will be looking for Yordan, Micah and Ash to bring something different than what Serkan offers."
 
Cathey anticipates three returners will be filling the wing positions – Olivo Ortiz, who is a junior, sophomore Luis Cortes and senior John Ruetschle. Olivo Ortiz tallied four goals and two assists while Cortes and Ruetschle had one goal and one assist apiece.
 
"We have some great experience with Leo," noted Cathey. "Last year, Luis had a great freshman year playing out of position as a left back. This year he will be playing in his more preferred position as a winger. He'll be very dangerous. John had an unbelievable summer and has come back in the best possible way.
 
"We also have two freshmen in Micah Maljian and Gonzalo Hoyuela that are also extremely talented and can play."
 
Maljian hails from Monrovia High School, while Hoyuela comes to the Warriors from San Fernando High School.
 
"We graduated four midfield players last year and have brought in five this year," said Cathey.
 
Among the returners in the midfield are senior Erik Guerrero, and juniors Cole Lomeli and Obleda. Guerrero, who was a First Team All-PacWest selection, recorded eight goals last year and contributed five assists, Lomeli had two goals and two assists.
 
"Erik has had an unbelievable career here at Westmont and I am so excited to see him put a capstone on it in his senior season. Cole and Jackson are super talented players and help provide identity for our program.
 
"Every single newcomer we've brought into the midfield is a top player and all come with different qualities. Cooper Matthews (of Wichita, Kan.) Jordan Crujff-Beane (from Spain) and Joey Angelo (of Vancouver, Wash.) have all done really well. Geb Wilcox (of Goleta) and Matthew Shimizu (from San Jose) are great players as well and will push to play for us."
 
The graduation of Landon Amaral and an injury to Barret "Bear" Goodman, resulted in the center back position being a "major focus in the recruiting process," according to Cathey. "We have brought in three really high level players, two of them with college experience."
 
Senior Marco Valdez comes to the Warriors from San Francisco State, which disbanded its men's soccer program after last season. Logan Race is a sophomore transfer from Azusa Pacific. Freshman Tiago Aranibar is a product of Santa Margarita Catholic High School.
 
"Tiago has a run of quality to play as a central defender or a left back," assessed Cathey.
 
"Two returners, Christian Jimenez and Corbin Kuhn, will also be competing with our incoming players," offered Cathey. "They have the luxury of understanding and knowing our system. Working to get the newcomers up to speed has probably been our biggest focus over the last few days.
 
"Captain Cash Anderholt has cemented himself as a stalwart in the back line."
 
Anderholt made 20 starts for the Warriors last year, tallying a goal and three assists. He was honored as a selection to All-Pac West Third Team.
 
"Alex Reyes can provide a bunch of stability for us as either a center back or a full back," added Cathey. Kristain Johnson was here at Westmont in the spring and was amazing for us. Those two guys are very high level players and top level young men and are providing great leadership and direction for their position group.
 
"We have added two freshmen that have had great starts to the season – Chase Seager and Luke Furtado. Luke is a freshman that has always played in the midfield, but we see his qualities and think that he'll be able to provide a lot of competition and depth as a right back."
 
Seager played at Aliso Niguel High School and Furtado played at Bellarmine College Prep.
 
At goalkeeper, Floriano returns to the Warriors after serving as a backup keeper to Brady Highfill last season.
 
"We have a lot of belief and a lot of confidence in who Mario is and what he can do from the position," said Cathey. "We've also brought in Aidan Strickler who is a Division I transfer from Lipscomb (Tenn.). He'll provide competition with returning sophomore Tanner Shum and Ulises Velez Lazaro."
 
The latter comes to the Warriors from Santa Barbara Community College and San Marcos High School.
 
THE SCHEDULE
 
The Warriors will travel across town for the annual rivalry game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, August 30. Last year, Westmont left Harder Stadium with a 2-2 tie. This year's game with the Gauchos, which will be played as an exhibition, is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time.
 
The regular season kicks off with Westmont hosting the 16th Heritage Club Classic on September 4-6. The Warriors will take on Saint Martin's (Wash.) on Thursday and Simon Fraser (B.C.) on Saturday.
 
The non-conference schedule continues with a home game on Monday, September 8 against La Verne before heading to the east side of Los Angeles County for a rematch with Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, the 13th.  The Warriors and Broncos last faced each other in the first round of the NCAA DII Tournament with the Broncos prevailing 2-1.
 
On Saturday, September 20, Westmont will host Cal State San Marcos, which is coached by Westmont alumnus Ron Pulvers. Last year's match-up with the Cougars during the Heritage Club Classic ended in a 2-2 tie.
 
Then on Wednesday, September 24, the Warriors will travel to Hayward for a game against the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay. In last year's game at Thorrington Field, the Warriors prevailed 1-0.
 
Westmont concludes the non-conference season by taking on the Sea Lions of Point Loma on Saturday, September 27 in San Diego. The two teams will meet again in November for a conference match-up at Westmont.
 
Conference play begins on Thursday, October 2 when the Warriors host the Golden Eagles of Concordia. Westmont will play ten of the other 12 conference teams, but will not play Hawai'i Hilo or Jessup in the regular season.
 
"I expect that Hilo and Point Loma will be very good," said Cathey. "Menlo is also going to be a top team. Point Loma returns a lot of very good players but they also lost some key positions, as did we. Menlo and Hilo return the most consistent players from last year's rosters.
 
"Fresno Pacific has some of the most talented players in their position. I think they can create goals out of nothing, so you have to be very good defensively to limit them for 90 minutes. Last year, Point Loma had the best attack in the league and they couldn't score in 180 minutes against Fresno Pacific."
 
In addition to Concordia and Point Loma, Westmont will host PacWest conference games against Biola (Oct. 18), Vanguard (Oct. 29), and Dominican (Nov. 8). The Biola game will be during Westmont's homecoming.
 
Road games will include Menlo (Oct. 9), Fresno Pacific, (Oct. 11) and Azusa Pacific (Oct. 15). Westmont will also travel to Oahu to take on Hawai'i Pacific and Chaminade on October 23 and 25, respectively.
 
The PacWest Tournament will be hosted by Westmont at Thorrington Field. The semifinals will be played on Thursday, November 13 with the championship game conducted on Saturday, November 15.
 
NCAA DII Championship play begins on Thursday, November 20.