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It’s safe to say that when people think of Seton Hall Athletics, their minds immediately goes to basketball. Truthfully, I was on the same ship when I was younger. That of course has changed and honestly for the better.
In particular, I love the fall season a lot and what I experienced two years ago was incredible. I was announcing matches for a ranked men’s soccer program, I covered numerous volleyball matches and I photographed a few women’s soccer matches as well.
Obviously, the school doesn’t have football which is a bummer of course. But, I gained a huge appreciation for these programs and they deserve the recognition.
Last year, my schedule was a little chaotic when it came to covering these programs. Between covering high school football, Red Bull New York and working full-time in retail, I just had very limited time to cover all these programs.
For the events I was able to cover, they were all through my camera lens. Notably, I photographed the home opener vs Monmouth in women’s soccer, a Seton Hall Classic match (volleyball) and a 5-0 win over FIU in men’s soccer. Seton Hall funnily enough won all three.
Now with the 2026 fall season coming up, all of these teams deserve some coverage. Looking around social media and on the internet, the coverage for these programs is minimal at best. Outside of student-run organizations like WSOU and The Setonian, very few outlets cover these teams.
It's a shame considering the appetite for volleyball is there and soccer just had a summer to remember here in this country. Football is king and trying to go against it on Saturdays is not worth it. Nonetheless, it’s time to bring attention to these squads.
Men’s soccer is deservingly first considering what they did in 2025. Earning an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and even making it to the second round, it was an awesome season for them in 2025.
Throughout my time playing, working in and covering sports, head coach Andreas Lindberg is one of the best coaches I’ve seen. His humor, his understanding of the game and his leadership abilities are just a few traits that I greatly respect and adore. His presence has no doubt led to great results on and off the pitch and it has made the program one of the best on campus.
As it is accustomed now in college athletics, changes have occurred with the roster and the team will not have the following two players anymore. Former goalkeeper Matias Molina and 2025 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Agustin Resch are currently in the professional ranks and are still playing in the US as well. Molina currently plays for USL League One side Westchester SC and Resch is with Houston Dynamo FC in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Luckily for SHU, midfielder Til Kauschke and their leading goal scorer in 2025 Mikkel Lejbowicz are back in South Orange this season. This is huge for the program as the BIG EAST and their non-conference slate are never easy. Notably, the team will open the season on the road against fellow 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Duke on August 20.
Given their history, it’s fair to say that Lindberg and his squad will be good again in 2026. I have a ton of confidence in them and the team should be a must-watch for anyone on campus. If they got my nerdy twin brother to watch them, then every student on campus should go out and support them.
While we are on the topic of soccer, the women’s soccer team hopes to bounce back in 2026. HC Josh Osit’s time in South Orange has been rather interesting so far.
Osit to his credit has developed many talented players who have found opportunities at the professional level across the world. For example, Natalie Tavana and Chiara Pucci were excellent with the program and at one point were invited to preseason training with Gotham FC in 2025.
Unfortunately, the results just haven’t been there the past two seasons. In 2025, the team was 3-10-5 (0-9-1 BIG EAST) and they finished on a seven-match losing streak.
The results could have been better last season had midfielder Gianna Angelillo not suffered a season-ending injury last October. The Louisville transfer led the team with six goals and had a brace in the Monmouth match I photographed.
It’s really hard to predict if Osit can get his squad out of the basement of the BIG EAST. The program was off to a good five-match start last season and they had the potential to be good.
Realistically, if the team can start the season strong again and stay healthy, they could have one of their best seasons in awhile.
Finally, it’s volleyball’s turn. To put it lightly, it was a tough season for HC Shannon Thompson's side in 2025. Finishing 6-21 (0-16 BIG EAST) last season, regression was expected with a lot of younger and inexperienced faces on the roster. Even with a talented player like Asli Subasili, one player can’t do everything and 2025 was really a development season in South Orange for volleyball.
Having experienced a season of college volleyball now, sophomore outside hitter Sadie Reich should be a player to watch in 2026. Despite her season ending sooner than expected due to injury, Reich finished 2025 as the team’s leader in kills with 286. The school eventually recognized her as the Freshman Female Athlete of the Year by the end of the academic year.
Setter Gwen Adler also deserves some praise as the junior has developed nicely since her freshman season in 2024. Leading the team in assists last season with 367, 2026 will be an important season for her as she helps navigate the team to a better record.
Besides a better record, the goal for the Pirates would be to at least make the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2016. The NCAA Tournament would be nice, but Creighton has dominated the BIG EAST and other teams are just better at the moment.
It’s a tough situation for all involved and hopefully the team returns to the heights they reached in the mid-2010s soon.