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For the third straight season and 21st time in
program history, the MIT men’s soccer team
made an appearance in the NEWMAC postseason
tournament. The Engineers began the season
undefeated in eight straight contests and posted
league wins over rivals Wheaton College and
Springfield College in thrilling fashion at home.
GARRETT GORDON
KEN BOVELL
RAMI BIKDASH
soccer
For the first time in his career, Aaron Makikalli was named to
the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. He is a double major in
aeronautical and astronautical engineering and music. As a key
member of the MIT defense, Makikalli helped the Engineers to a
7-5-6 record, a 1.32 goals against average, which ranked fourth
in the league, and a pair of shutouts in 2019. (FULL STORY)
Fourteen members of the
men’s soccer team earned
a spot on the NEWMAC
Academic All-Conference
team. This is the seventh
straight season MIT has
had ten or more studentathletes
honored with the
award. (FULL STORY)
Jeremy Cowham and Loukas Caryannopoulos earned
NEWMAC Second Team All-Conference accolades in the
fall. Cowham graduated tied for first in the record books
for best goals against average at 0.94, tied for second in
career shutouts (17) and seventh all-time in save percentage
(.814), while Caryannopoulos’ goal gave MIT a 2-1 win over
Wheaton back on September 21 with less than 30 seconds
to play. (FULL STORY)
“My favorite memory of being on the team
was a late night home game. The game went
into overtime, and it was looking like we might
end in a draw, but our left defender Alan Dang,
decided to just whack a ball from around midfield
towards the net, and it miraculously went in. The
entire team and bench sprinted to the bushes
around Steinbrenner Stadium, as is tradition,
and celebrated the incredible win we just had.”
- Darian Bhathena ‘20
“Learning and being active are two of the more
important things in life. Being a student-athlete
here is a natural way to do both at a high level.
If you have that inner fire then being a studentathlete
is not a burden it is a gift. MIT soccer is
a true team. On and off the field, we are there for
each other.” - John Flynn ‘23
“I chose MIT because I knew through my trials
here, I would grow immensely as a person. The
opportunity to surround myself with driven and
talented young people was too valuable to pass
up. The challenges of leaving my home and
constantly pushing my limits has taught me a
lot about myself and what I can do with my life. I
believe that my purpose in life is to learn and to
help people, and MIT has put me in a position to
do just that.” - Rami Bikdash ‘23
“Being a student athlete at MIT is difficult
but it has connected me to a community of
uniquely gifted and ambitious individuals.” -
Rami Bikdash ‘23
In five seasons with the Engineers, MIT men’s soccer head coach Ken Bovell and his teams have
made four appearances in the NEWMAC postseason tournament and one appearance in the NCAA
Division III Men’s Soccer National Championship Tournament. Since taking over head coaching
duties in 2015, the program has registered a record of 45-28-16 and he has coached 14 All-
Conference honorees, four All-Region selections, one All-American and six CoSIDA Academic
All-Americans. (FULL BIO)
Darian Bhathena was
named to the NEWMAC
All-Sportsmanship Team in
2019. He appeared in 45
games in four seasons and
graduated with a degree in
electrical engineering and
computer science in the
spring. (FULL STORY)