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Clarkson University Athletics

2025 Clarkson University Men's Soccer Preview

ShufeltZach2024actvsPotsdam
Raghu Sai Nath Reddy Gillala

Men's Soccer | 8/28/2025 11:51:00 AM

Much of the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team's strength, its defense, is back for the 2025 season, and the Golden Knights will look to ride that consistent asset as the squad pursues a return to the Liberty League Tournament this fall.

Head coach Carter Lincoln, beginning his second stint in that regard in 2025, looks to guide the team back to the success that he enjoyed in his first go-round. Back in 2019, the Golden Knights came within a few minutes of securing an NCAA Tournament bid while in the conference championship game.

Much like that 2019 team, the 2024 iteration of the Knights was difficult to score upon. Clarkson allowed only 13 goals last fall, a rate of just 0.76 per game, with the former figure being tied for the 14th fewest in NCAA Division III and the latter figure ranking 30th nationally. Little is expected to change on that front for the upcoming campaign. Clarkson once again has an enviable duo between the posts in seniors Carter Kladstrup and Josh Morelli. Morelli received the majority of the minutes in his sophomore season where he once again excelled, but it was Kladstrup that gained most of the playing time as a junior. It was hard to argue with the results as Kladstrup put together one of the top statistical seasons in program history, ranking seventh nationally with a 0.52 goals against average and third in NCAA Division III with an .890 save percentage. He was even better in eight Liberty League contests, where he had a .902 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average. Trying to wrestle some minutes away from the two seniors are talented freshmen Ben Sandoval and Sam Robertson.

While the defense may be backed by its standout goalkeeping, Clarkson also has a strong group of defenders. Senior Kyle Otis was chosen as a Liberty League Second-Team All-Star for his steady play in the back, while Morgan Burke led the team in field minutes in his freshman campaign, playing 1326 minutes on the pitch. Clarkson will need to replace the valuable minutes of departed graduates Logan Drake and Remi Ufheil, as well as Kai Endo who spent half the season while finishing up his study abroad, but the Knights will have a healthy Tayte Wong, a former Liberty League All-Star, back this year as well as valuable junior Parker Gamble. Additionally, a strong first-year class is ready to take the next step and play key minutes this fall. Felix Freed, Cole Mueller, Evan Schultz, and Lars Stephensson are all expected to see an increase in minutes with larger roles on defense and in the midfield.  First-year collegians Zach Ruthfield and Jackson Tedesco will also seek to crack the lineup.

Clarkson will be without graduate student Eric McKean, who exhausted his eligibility last fall with his return, and those goals from the past two seasons will be difficult to replace. However, the Knights do return their top two scorers from a season ago in seniors Zach Shufelt and Daniel Medina. Both received all-star notice from the conference, with Medina earning Liberty League First-Team honors. Shufelt was particularly efficient, recording 11 points on five goals and an assist despite taking only 13 total shots. Senior Ryan Brazell and sophomore Paul Rolland round out the returning forwards, while Jack Grace and Quinn Mayne appear ready to shoulder some of the offensive expectations in their first collegiate season.

The midfield also has plenty of firepower, led by Medina. It is a mix of experience and youthful talent at that spot. Senior Tristan Gilbert and junior Jay Jezioro are the most experienced of the group, while sophomores Josh Baraka and Brody Frankowski showed frequent flashes of potential in 2024. Additionally, a deep freshman class will be counted upon this fall, as Joel Alvarez, Juan Pestarino, Noah Partenza, Alper Celik, and Samko Duracka are all expected to see time on the pitch.  


 
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Brazell

#22 Ryan Brazell

F
5' 8"
Junior
Logan Drake

#15 Logan Drake

D
5' 11"
Senior
Kai Endo

#34 Kai Endo

D/M
5' 10"
Senior
Parker Gamble

#3 Parker Gamble

D
5' 8"
Sophomore
Tristan Gilbert

#23 Tristan Gilbert

M
5' 8"
Junior
Jay Jezioro

#11 Jay Jezioro

M
6' 1"
Sophomore
Carter Kladstrup

#13 Carter Kladstrup

GK
6' 2"
Junior
Eric McKean

#10 Eric McKean

M
6' 0"
Graduate Student
Josh Morelli

#1 Josh Morelli

GK
5' 11"
Junior
Kyle Otis

#19 Kyle Otis

D
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Brazell

#22 Ryan Brazell

5' 8"
Junior
F
Logan Drake

#15 Logan Drake

5' 11"
Senior
D
Kai Endo

#34 Kai Endo

5' 10"
Senior
D/M
Parker Gamble

#3 Parker Gamble

5' 8"
Sophomore
D
Tristan Gilbert

#23 Tristan Gilbert

5' 8"
Junior
M
Jay Jezioro

#11 Jay Jezioro

6' 1"
Sophomore
M
Carter Kladstrup

#13 Carter Kladstrup

6' 2"
Junior
GK
Eric McKean

#10 Eric McKean

6' 0"
Graduate Student
M
Josh Morelli

#1 Josh Morelli

5' 11"
Junior
GK
Kyle Otis

#19 Kyle Otis

6' 1"
Junior
D