While the school year has just begun, the fall sports season has been in full swing for several weeks.   

The Goshen men’s soccer team started the season with a tough slate of games. Three of their five opponents were ranked in the nations top 20.

They opened the season Aug. 21 at the John Ingold complex with a 3-1 loss to 15th-ranked Madonna University. Three days later, they made a comeback with a 3-2 win against Holy Cross College.

Following this, Goshen experienced two more losses: a 3-1 loss to 18th ranked Central Methodist University and a 2-1 loss to 16th ranked University of Rio Grande.

On Tuesday, the men’s team brought the season record up to 2-4 after beating The University of St. Francis (Ill.) 4-2.

They begin conference play Sept. 26 in Mishawaka in a doubleheader against Bethel College.

Goshen women’s soccer began the season by winning three of the first four games in head coach Justin Crew’s first season. After losing 1-0 at home to Concordia University, the Maple Leafs took to the road for the next three games.

The first saw them at Indiana Institute of Technology, where they won 3-2. This was followed by back to back shutouts, the first being a 1-0 overtime win against Cleary University and the second a 5-0 win against Bluffton University.

The women also begin Crossroads League play Sept. 26 against Bethel College following the men’s game.

The Goshen women’s volleyball team started at 6-5 in the early part of the season.

The first action of the season was in Wisconsin at the Cardinal Stritch University tournament. The Maple Leafs came out of the tournament with a 2-2 record beating both Governors State University and Cardinal Stritch University in five sets. However, they fell to both Clarke University and Mount Mercy University in three sets.

The Maple Leafs then defeated Roosevelt University in three sets before going to the Michigan-Dearborn Early Bird Tournament and splitting the matches 2-2.

First, they beat the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Columbia International University in three sets a piece. They then lost to 20th ranked Madonna University in five sets and Lawrence Technology University in three sets.

Beginning conference play on Aug. 29 against Huntington University, they won in the fifth set but then fell to Anderson University, a non-conference game, in three sets.

Volleyball returns to Crossroads League play on Friday as they try to move up in the standings against Bethel College in Mishawaka.

The men’s tennis team began conference play by beating Mount Vernon Nazarene University 9-0. They followed that win up with a 6-3 victory over Judson University, placing them third in the Crossroad League.

Goshen women’s tennis has had one of the strongest starts in recent seasons going 2-2 in the year so far.

They won the first two games 5-4 and 8-1 at home against Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Olivet College respectively. Following their victories, they traveled for the next two games to Grace College and Purdue University Northwest, falling 9-0 in both matches.  

The women are currently placed fifth in the Crossroads Leagues standings.

While the season is already underway for soccer, volleyball and tennis, cross-country will begin theirs on Friday, Sept. 7 at the Indiana Wesleyan University Twilight Invitational.