LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's soccer team has been preparing for its 2025 season as practices have been well underway for nearly two weeks. The WildCats officially kick off on August 29 as they host Marymount University.

"It's been a really encouraging preseason with our practices and scrimmages," said head coach Sheldon Blue. "Coming in with a pretty young group, everybody came in this year fit which is a huge bonus. Having battled through two scrimmages, something we didn't do much last year is we were able to score four goals during it which is promising. I think the group is just coming together fast and enjoys being together which makes looking forward to the season exciting."

There are 16 returners coming back to the team this year with 12 First Years joining the squad. At forward, Matthew Campbell comes back for his senior season. He started 12 of 17 games a year ago and logged 705 minutes. Junior Anelka Ngoy is also back as he started just over half of the games that he participated in last year scoring a pair of goals.

In the midfield, junior Corey Williams is the most experienced returner as he totaled 792 minutes and started 14 of 17 games. He scored one goal and had five shots on frame. Junior Sixto Hernandez, and sophomore Devan Stickle and Eyouel Samuel are also back.

In the backfield, sophomore Wendell Ramos logged over 1,000 minutes last year as a First Year as he started 11 of 13 games. Junior Trace Dockman will look to increase his time on the field after playing in 13 games a year ago and making six starts.

The goalkeeper position will see a new WildCat between the pipes. Sophomore Tyler Blome is the lone returner from last season with First Years Dominic Cortes and Jonas Bryson competing for playing time.

Blue likes what he sees from his new group of players. "What I've seen from the new guys that impresses me is their willingness to learn and how quick they are adapting to college soccer and the different speed of play, physicality, and tactics," he said.

Randolph will hope to have a strong start to its season with four of its first five contests at the friendly confines of WildCat Stadium. The 'Cats are back at home on Saturday as they host Southern Virginia. After a road contest at Greensboro on September 3, non-conference opponents William Peace and Mary Baldwin follow on September 6 and September 10.