The Road to Redemption Begins: WU Men’s Soccer 2025 Season Preview
The 2025 season begins with unfinished business for Westcliff’s men’s soccer team. The Warriors return to action with back-to-back Cal Pac conference titles and the memory of a postseason that slipped through their fingertips. Despite finishing as regular-season champions and assembling a résumé worthy of national attention, the team was left out of the tournament selection — a decision that stunned players, coaches, and supporters alike.
It was a wake-up call. The message was clear: nothing is guaranteed, no matter how much a team wins. This year, the mission is sharper than ever. Win the conference for the third straight season, and leave no doubt about their place on the national stage.
Head Coach Randy Dodge, now in his third season at Westcliff and 23rd in the NAIA, believes the team has the pieces to go all the way. The roster is deep. The motivation runs high. And the expectation is nothing short of history.
“We are going to compete at the highest level,” emphasized Dodge. “I have a great staff, and we’re going to win games. To win a national championship would be the peak.”
Fuel from the Past
Last year’s campaign should have ended on a bigger stage. The Warriors clinched the Cal Pac conference title yet again and finished with a campaign worthy of national attention. But when the tournament selections were announced, Westcliff’s name was left out.
“We should have been in the national tournament. Everybody across the country knows we should have been, but because we were on the West Coast, we weren’t,” said Dodge.
That decision weighed heavily on Dodge. He admits he let his guard down in the final weeks, trusting that their record alone would be enough. For a senior class that helped build the program’s foundation, the exclusion had a lasting impact.
“I had to make personal phone calls, personal meetings, to let them know, hey, I wear this. This isn’t on you,” Dodge said.
This year’s group has no plans to repeat that ending. They carry the sting of last season into every training session. “This group is going to atone for that,” Dodge said.
A Team That Believes
Inside the locker room, belief is not just talk – it’s visibly present. It’s present in the way the players train, the way they talk to each other, and the way the veterans are leading by example. The chemistry is still developing, but the foundation is there.
Senior center back Finn Pock is a vocal leader and a physical presence on the pitch. He’s already looking beyond the scoreboard and focusing on what it will take to keep the team unified.
“We’re all on the same path in the way that we talk about what we want to achieve,” Pock said. “But we’re still trying to figure out just how to work off each other and with each other.”
Coach Dodge echoes these thoughts, with culture at the heart of his approach. The team’s identity is grounded in Westcliff’s Five Cs — Character, Culture, Community, Committed, and Championship — values that shape not just how the Warriors play, but how they grow together on and off the field.
“Our culture is very family oriented,” said Dodge. “We’re looking to build off of each other. Obviously we have the brothers’ situation where we fight as well, but at the end of the day, these guys are all about each other and all about winning.”
Chasing Greatness
Midfielder Jordan Di Lonardo is one of the most decorated players in Westcliff history, and this season he is edging closer to a major milestone. With this new season, he stands just eight goals away from breaking the school’s all-time scoring record. The pressure? He says he does not feel it.
“I don’t feel much pressure honestly,” he said. “If I’m going to be able to score eight goals, I’m going to be happy about it. If I don’t, I still think I did good enough this whole year.”
Di Lonardo plays with freedom and confidence, but his goals are never just about numbers. As a central attacking midfielder, he sees his role as the bridge between defense and the attacking line. The tempo often flows through him, and he is happy to contribute not just with goals but with assists as well.
He is also the team’s go-to on set pieces. Penalty kicks. Corners. Free kicks. If the moment calls for calm, Di Lonardo is the one stepping up.
“I like playing the number 10,” he says. “In America, soccer is very direct, so I want to be the player that has the freedom to move freely and help all aspects of the game.”
The Work Begins
The Warriors are arriving with intent this season. Every player in the locker room has the formula to success studied to a tee: play fast, defend hard, and move with intent. Coach Dodge has crafted a system built on allowing players to be dynamic while keeping a strong composure on the pitch.
“We want to be compact and not give away easy goals,” said Pock. “We want to win the ball. We want to go fast over the wing of our strikers and get quality counter attacks.”
Every returning player knows what it takes to win a title — and the frustration of being left out of the moments that mattered most. Now, that experience drives the way they lead, pushing new teammates to match the standard from day one.
“I want to win. I want to be successful. I want to hang a red banner before my time is over,” Dodge said.
The Warriors open their 2025 campaign tonight, August 21, against Hope International. For the full season schedule and match updates, visit here.