This is a new year, and a new kind of team. That’s fine for Cathedral High School boys soccer – and as head coach Joel Russell sees it, there’s no reason the Irish can’t be a successful team in 2025. The elements for success are absolutely there. “I like our chances,” Russell said. The Irish, among Indiana’s strongest high school boys soccer programs in Russell’s six seasons as head coach, started 2025 2-3-3 – which Russell called a solid start for a reloading program. “Our starting 11 through early September hadn’t been on the field yet because of injuries,” Russell said. “We need to get healthy and we need to improve.” The Irish, after a 14-4-2 season with a loss in the sectional final in 2025, returned a smaller-than-normal 18-player roster to face what Russell said remains one of the state’s toughest schedules. “Everyone is out there advocating they have the hardest schedule,” Russell said. “I'm just going to say we have a really difficult schedule. Of the 14 teams we play, maybe all but two or three will be ranked at some point throughout the year. “It’s a grind and it doesn’t let up.” The Irish, after multiple early-season injuries and absences, enter September as a strong defensive team with aspirations of a strong second half of the season after losing Indiana “Mr. Soccer” Calvin Kurzawa to graduation from the 2024 team. “We anticipated having some challenges to score goals this year,” Russell said. “We've been very difficult to score on. It’s kind of what I expected, that we’re very good defensively. We need to maintain our confidence on the attack. We're going to score one or two goals a game. Are we going to blow up and score three or four? Odds are we’re not, but we just need to be confident we can score one more than the opponent. “That's all that's required in soccer. You don't have to win by two. You only have to win by one and as long as we maintain our confidence, we can do that.” Russell said a strong defense “keeps you in the game.” “Scoring goals is tough,” he said. “We're organized on defense, and we have a good system of play. We're difficult to score on. As such, we're in every game. If we can keep that up and then get some breaks coming our way, we could be there in the end. “It's getting to know where you're supposed to be and when. If you can get organized with that you’re hard to beat. We're going to have to make sure we were very dialed in on defense, but the guys are bought in. They're working hard.” The Irish in 2025 are led by a strong senior class that includes: *Goalkeeper Blake Sales, who returned to the team after playing MLS Next in 2024 and who Russell called “one of the state’s best goalkeepers.” *Four-year midfielders Jordan Wedges and Quinn Bateman. *Defenders Jackson Massillamany, Alden Chan, August Hassler, Ryan Helmen and Jacob Hahn. *Forward Brogan McGinley. Also contributing as seniors: midfielder Colin Jackson, midfielder Rohan Fahey, forward Miles Murphy. “We have a good mix, probably a percentage of seniors on the roster than I've ever had,” Russell said. The Irish also have a strong junior class that includes midfielder Michael Bonaccorsi, forward Karol Molina-Gomez and midfielder Liam Kanis – and a strong sophomore class of midfielder Liam Horan, midfielder Henry Vande Bosche and goalkeeper Michael Behringer. Freshman defender Jackson Cripe also has played significant minutes in 2025. “I would say almost every game we've played every kid on the roster,” Russell said. “The team is bought into the concept that at one point in time of the season your name is going to get called. Whether or not you’re getting lots of minutes in one game, all of a sudden the next game shows up and it's next man up and your time is called and you have to perform. “The guys have done well and that part has been exciting to see.” As the Irish move into the second half of the 2025 season, Russell said health is a key for a relatively small roster. Defense just as clearly is another, as is continuing to fight and peak toward the postseason. “Our schedule is really demanding,” Russell said. “It's testing us. You get tested when you play teams that are good teams and all these teams we played are tournament-caliber teams. “We're taking a little nugget out of every game. We have 14 nuggets to apply towards that end-of-the season team to make a playoff run.”