UTM Men’s Soccer Looking for Historic Double
Interview with Assistant Coach Kevin Iyamabo on his expectations for the upcoming season.
On March 23rd, 2025, the UTM Men’s Indoor Soccer team captured their second successive Tri-Campus championship, following up on their trophy-winning outdoor season just one semester earlier. Now, as a new season looms ahead, the Eagles must find new ways to keep their success alive as they chase the first men’s soccer three-peat in campus history.
Catching up with Coach
On August 26, I sat down with Assistant Coach Kevin Iyamabo to discuss the team’s recent successes and their expectations for the upcoming outdoor and indoor seasons. Last year was Iyamabo’s first opportunity with the team in a coaching role. He had previously been a key defender on the men’s soccer team, but was never able to lift the championship during his playing career. Despite helping the team win both the outdoor and indoor championships last year, Iyamabo has doubts that the upcoming season may not be as successful.
“I think it’ll be pretty difficult to replicate what we achieved last year,” said Iyamabo “A lot of the key players we had last year graduated. We’re going to have to re-tool our team by integrating the younger, second-year players that are coming up.”
A constant challenge for university sports is replacing the quality and consistency of graduating students. One of Iyamabo’s main goals for the upcoming year was to identify the young talent at our school and help give them the platform to become the future leaders of the team. “We want to see promise from the young guys. Hopefully, we can get them playing significant minutes.”
Iyamabo was honest in his expectations for the season ahead. “It’s probably going to be a year that’s more about developing the players, trying to get them ready throughout the regular season for the playoffs, making sure we can develop them for future years as well.” The coaching staff seem to be targeting sustained, long-term success over short-term gains. This approach bodes well for new students who might be looking to try out for the soccer team in the future.
Making History
I asked Iyamabo what the team’s main goal was for the season to come. “The goal is always to win everything! We got our first outdoor Men’s Tri-Campus trophy last season, and once you’ve gotten a taste, you want it again and again.”
Although the Men’s team may not be expecting to win both championships, it will always be their ultimate goal. The team must get off to a fast start to the outdoor season if they want to keep their current unbeaten streak alive.
Message to the Fans
The final talking point from my conversation with coach Iyamabo was his message to the students and soccer fans at UTM. “It would be so amazing to see students come out and support their team. Let’s try to build a community feel at our matches.”
The men’s outdoor soccer season begins with a difficult home match against UTSG Blue on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 2:00 pm on the South Field. Come support your fellow UTM students and help create a passionate fanbase as the men look to continue their impressive unbeaten run from last year. You can find the full season schedule on the UTM website and regular updates on the team’s results @utm_sports.
