The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

3-24-2021-mens-soccer-training-huddle-ana-glassman
Penn Men's Soccer team is currently training for fall where eight new faces from the class of 2025 will join them. Credit: Ana Glassman

Out with the old, and in with the new.

Penn men’s soccer is adding eight new players to be a part of the Class of 2025. The eight soon-to-be-Quakers are Tommy Altirs, Brandon Curran, Ben Do, Charlie Gaffney, Stas Korzeniowski, Aaron Messer, Nico Pereira, and Cullen Scott. The team's recruiting class is ranked 18th in the country by TopDrawerSoccer. 

There are five midfielders, two forwards, and one defender in the incoming class. 

Henry Cullen Scott, a midfielder from Dallas, has been playing soccer since he was three years old.

“I hope to bring energy, enthusiasm, and a competitive mindset," Cullen Scott said. 

There is also a sense of camaraderie that the new members of the team already feel and have experienced. The team is very focused on both academics and athletics, and the recruits have expressed their gratitude for this attribute of the team.

"I’m really excited to compete for an Ivy League title with a strong group of soccer players but an even better group of guys," Aaron Messer, a midfielder from Cary, N.C., said. "The camaraderie of the team is a main reason this program has evolved to the next level, and I’m excited to play a role in continuing to push the program to new heights.”

"Thrive at Penn" are three words the majority of Penn students are familiar with. When interviewed, Aaron Messer already expressed that he was ready to embody that mantra. The ambitious Class of 2025 is ready to take those three words to heart, both on and off the field. 

“I chose Penn partly because my dad is from Pennsylvania," Messer said. "I also considered the academics I was committing to and felt very confident Penn would provide me with not only a great athletic experience but a superb academic environment as well. Lastly, on my visit, I really enjoyed getting to know the guys on the team, and I could truly picture myself being happy and thriving at Penn.”

When faced with the classic, “Why Penn?” question, the recruits had varied answers.

"For me, Penn felt like the perfect combination of academics and athletics, and it also happens to be in a great city," Charlie Gaffney, a forward from Seattle said. "I am ecstatic about the opportunity to be able to play and study at such an amazing university, and also to live in a different part of the country."

Many of the new recruits are very excited to be in the city of Philadelphia in the very near future. The recruits look forward to exploring the city as a team and also individually.

"Penn is the best fit for me academically and athletically," Tommy Altirs, a midfielder from Saddle River, N.J., said. "At Penn, I will be able to grow as a player and a person on and off the field. Penn's campus is also a great enclosed environment with access to the city nearby."

The Quakers have gained eight new athletes who have many goals waiting to come to fruition over the next four years.