By Tayler Sharp
The Cedarville Yellow Jackets kicked off the soccer season Thursday night with a 0-0 tie against the Indianapolis Greyhounds.
The season opener was a highly anticipated game for many reasons. The Yellow Jackets are ranked No. 2 in the G-MAC Conference preseason polls and 21st in the Division II national rankings. Not to mention it being the first game since their undefeated 2025 regular season.
Though this is not the same team as the undefeated team from last year, the game shows promise in the Yellow Jackets. Despite the tie and despite trying to find new rhythm with new starters, Cedarville proved it will continue to be a defensive, hard-to-beat team.
“I think we defended well,” head coach Brett Faro said. “I think anytime you get a shutout against a good team like Indianapolis, that gives you confidence that you can defend well.
“We’ve got a lot of new guys in general, and so I think there’s a certain element of we’re still trying to find our identity and trying to figure things out.”
New team, new identity. Though this Cedarville team isn’t the same one as last year, the outcome against the Greyhounds didn’t depict the talent that this 2026 team possesses.
Midfielder Bryan Cortina is an example of some of the new talent on this year’s team. Transferring from the University of Dayton, Cortina had the only shot on goal.
Though Cedarville spent the night searching for rhythm with new players, the team is ready to continue building and growing as it heads into the rest of the season. This will play out as the Yellow Jackets head to Chicago on Saturday to face Roosevelt.
“To be able to kind of scrape and claw, and even though maybe it’s a little bit ugly in the first game,” Faro said, “we found a way to get some kind of result. I think that is encouraging for us and something that we can build on.”
Tayler Sharp is a journalism major and Photo Editor for Cedars. Tayler loves playing golf, reading a good book or doing anything outdoors.
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