College of Charleston Men's Soccer Celebrates 50th Anniversary
To celebrate its 50th season of competitive soccer, the men’s soccer team will host Jacksonville at the annual Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at Patriots Point on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at 7 p.m.
To celebrate its 50th season of competitive soccer, the College of Charleston men’s soccer team will host Jacksonville at the annual Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic at the Patriots Point Athletics Club on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at 7 p.m.
“The 50th anniversary of College of Charleston Men’s Soccer is an astonishing monument,” says men’s soccer head coach Keith Wiggans. “There are alumni from every era coming to celebrate and it will be an incredible weekend. All alumni will be recognized at the match against Jacksonville Friday night, followed by numerous activities on Saturday.”
The Olitsky Memorial game kicks off with an alumni tailgate and will bring not just soccer alumni together, but recipients of the Aaron S. Olitsky English Scholarship from over the past 20 years and even the parents of the late Aaron Olitsky ’97.
RELATED: Read about Aaron Olitsky in this 2011 College of Charleston Magazine feature
A standout player for the Cougars in the mid-1990s who died tragically in a car accident in 2001, Olitsky was an integral player as the soccer team experienced some of its most successful years, even scoring the game-winning goals that helped propel the team to NCAA Tournament berths in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Following the memorial game in Olitsky’s honor, the program will host an alumni match at Patriots Point at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, and a banquet at TD Arena at 5 p.m, followed by a Captain’s Reception at TBonz on Market Street.
“The players, coaches, Athletics Department and campus have all helped this program reach 50 years,” says Wiggans. “There has been success on the field with conference championships, trips to the NCAA tournament and individual honors from conference recognition all the way to All-Americans. All the success of this program is due to the lifelong relationships that have formed. Everyone that has been a part of this program has seen that. This celebration of 50 years will be special because of all those relationships.”
Tickets for the men’s soccer 50th anniversary alumni reunion can be purchased here.
