11/5/2026 9:05:00 AM | Soccer
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- With The Citadel soccer program celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Citadel Athletics is looking back at some of the teams, players and moments that have helped shape the program since the inaugural season in 2001.
Few teams left a bigger mark than the 2010 Bulldogs.
In the program's 10th season, The Citadel put together one of the most successful campaigns in program history, finishing 12-8-1 overall and 7-4 in Southern Conference play under head coach Bob Winch.
The 12 victories established a program record that still stands, while the seven conference wins and third-place SoCon finish also remain program bests.
The accomplishments were even more notable considering where the Bulldogs began. After finishing 10th in the SoCon the previous season, The Citadel was selected to finish 10th out of 12 teams in the 2010 preseason poll.
Instead, the Bulldogs climbed to third in the league and emerged as one of the conference's top contenders.
A Historic Turnaround
The Citadel opened the 2010 season with a loss to Jacksonville before responding two days later with a 3-1 victory over Maine. The Bulldogs then battled Air Force to a 1-1 draw in double overtime as the young group began to establish itself early in the season.
A 4-0 victory over Alabama State was followed by consecutive 4-1 wins over South Carolina State and Charleston Southern. The victory over Charleston Southern began a five-match winning streak that carried directly into conference play.
The Citadel opened the team's Southern Conference schedule with a 2-1 road victory over Western Carolina before defeating Appalachian State by the same score in double overtime. The Bulldogs then returned home and shut out Chattanooga, 2-0, to improve to 3-0 in conference action.
For Mariana Garcia-Torres, who arrived at The Citadel from Bogotá, Colombia, the success of that team was rooted in the relationships formed within the group.
"It was the unity of the team," Garcia-Torres said. "That feeling that together we can do it all. I always go back and think how cool that team was in terms of how close we were with each other."
Once the victories began to accumulate, Garcia-Torres said the Bulldogs started to recognize what they were capable of accomplishing.
"Once we started winning and scoring and doing something different, I think we started to believe that something special was happening," Garcia-Torres said. "We had dreams, and I think that fueled that confidence and the belief that we could go further and further."
The Bulldogs faced adversity soon after, dropping consecutive matches against Samford and No. 21 UNC Greensboro. Rather than allowing the losses to derail the season, The Citadel responded with another impressive run.
The Bulldogs went on the road and defeated Elon, 2-1, before earning another 2-1 victory at Georgia Southern. The Citadel returned to Charleston and defeated Davidson, 3-1, before closing the four-match winning streak with a 2-1 victory over Wofford.
By the end of the regular season, The Citadel had earned the No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference Championship with seven league victories.
Garcia-Torres Leads a Talented Group
A talented freshman class played a major role in the historic season, led by Garcia-Torres.
Garcia-Torres started all 21 matches and scored a team-high 10 goals with one assist for 21 points. She recorded 53 shots, placed 32 on goal and scored five game-winning goals.
Her immediate impact came while she was adjusting to an entirely new environment after moving to the United States from Colombia. Garcia-Torres credited her teammates and coaches with helping make that transition possible.
"My teammates and my coaches, they helped me so much," Garcia-Torres said. "They were my safe space. They were always so open to support me and explain things, whether it was the language, The Citadel or everything."
Garcia-Torres became the first player in Citadel soccer history to earn Southern Conference Player of the Year honors and was also named the league's Freshman of the Year. She became just the second player in SoCon history to capture both awards in the same season.
At the time, however, Garcia-Torres did not initially understand the significance of what she had accomplished.
"I didn't realize how big of a deal that was at first," Garcia-Torres said. "I was very proud of myself and all the hard work paid off, but without my teammates, I couldn't have done that."
Garcia-Torres was also selected First Team All-SoCon, earned NSCAA All-Southeast Region Second Team honors and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman Second Team.
The Bulldogs' success extended well beyond Garcia-Torres.
Freshman Nicole Levermann scored six goals and added three assists for 15 points on her way to Second Team All-SoCon recognition. Levermann joined Garcia-Torres and fellow freshman Vanessa Aponte on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
Aponte entered her freshman season after representing Colombia at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany. She went on to finish the season with five goals and five assists for 15 points.
Amy Loughran scored five goals despite appearing in only 10 matches, Ruth Leiva added four goals and Jillian Meyer recorded three goals and two assists.
The Citadel finished the season with 37 goals and 95 total points while generating 268 shots. The Bulldogs also received strong play in goal from Laura Serafino and Whitney Nave throughout the campaign.
Success extended beyond the pitch as Shanna Couch earned CoSIDA / ESPN Academic All-District Third Team recognition as well.
Winch was also recognized for the Bulldogs' turnaround, earning Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.
A Postseason Breakthrough
The regular season, however, was only part of what made 2010 memorable.
The Bulldogs opened the Southern Conference Championship at home against sixth-seeded Furman on Oct. 31. Only one week earlier, Furman had defeated The Citadel, 3-0, at WLI Field.
The postseason rematch produced a much different result.
After a scoreless first half, Meyer put the Bulldogs in front early in the second period. Furman eventually found the equalizer, sending the match into overtime tied at 1-1.
Neither side broke through during the opening overtime period, sending the Bulldogs into a second overtime with their season on the line.
Late in the period, Winch received his second yellow card and was sent off. The Bulldogs maintained possession, and after a Furman handball gave The Citadel a free kick, Aponte stepped over the ball with 1:49 remaining.
Her shot found the back of the net.
The golden goal gave The Citadel a 2-1 victory and sent the Bulldogs into the SoCon semifinals.
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More than 15 years later, Garcia-Torres still remembers exactly how the moment felt.
"It was magic," Garcia-Torres said. "It was this feeling of, 'We can't believe this is happening.' I remember we celebrated so much, and it was just pure joy and happiness."
The Citadel celebrates after Vanessa Aponte's golden goal lifted the Bulldogs past Furman in double overtime.
The win set up a semifinal meeting with No. 2 seed Samford in Cullowhee, N.C.
Samford had handed The Citadel its most lopsided conference loss of the regular season with a 7-0 victory in Charleston. In the rematch, the Bulldogs showed just how far they had come.
Garcia-Torres and Aponte each scored as The Citadel pushed Samford throughout a seven-goal semifinal. The Citadel held a 3-1 advantage during the first half before Samford rallied to take the lead.
The Citadel continued to battle until the final whistle, but the season ultimately ended with a 4-3 loss, bringing the record-setting campaign to a close one victory shy of the conference championship match.
Aponte and senior midfielder Nicole Martinoli were later selected to the SoCon All-Tournament Team. Aponte finished the tournament with two goals, one assist and a team-high 10 shots, including seven on goal.
"What a special season," Winch said following the semifinal. "These are years you cherish. It has been a privilege to have been associated with this team."
Setting the Standard
The loss did little to diminish what the Bulldogs accomplished.
The 2010 team finished with a program-record 12 victories, seven conference wins and the highest Southern Conference finish in The Citadel history.
For Garcia-Torres, the fact that those records still stand speaks to the strength of the group.
"The fact that the record is still there just shows that we had a very special team with unique talent," Garcia-Torres said. "It talks to the strength and the mentality of the team at the time."
Many members of the group would continue to leave their mark on the program in the seasons that followed, none more than Garcia-Torres, who eventually became The Citadel's career leader in goals, points and game-winning goals and the first soccer player inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame.
But when Garcia-Torres looks back on 2010, the records and individual accolades are not the first things she remembers.
"The grit, the unity, the passion for soccer and the enjoyment," Garcia-Torres said. "We really believed in each other and celebrated each other's achievements."
Building on the History
Sixteen years later, the 2026 Bulldogs have put together a strong season of their own.
The Citadel finished the regular season 8-6-4 overall and 3-5-2 in Southern Conference play, earning the No. 8 seed in the Southern Conference Championship.
The Bulldogs will face No. 9 Western Carolina on Friday in Birmingham, Ala., a rematch of The Citadel's 4-1 victory over the Catamounts on Oct. 11.
Jasiah Pack and Samantha Grantham have led the attack throughout the season, finishing the regular season first and second in the SoCon in both goals and points. Pack enters the postseason with 11 goals, five assists and 27 points, while Grantham has recorded 10 goals, five assists and 25 points.
As the current Bulldogs prepare for their own postseason run, Garcia-Torres offered a message that reflects many of the qualities that defined the record-setting group 16 years ago.
"Believe in what they have done so far, the training they've done and the work," Garcia-Torres said. "Work as a team and enjoy the moment. It's one game at a time."
The names and moments have changed, but the opportunity remains the same -- continue pushing the program forward and add another chapter to 25 years of The Citadel soccer history.
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Few teams left a bigger mark than the 2010 Bulldogs.
In the program's 10th season, The Citadel put together one of the most successful campaigns in program history, finishing 12-8-1 overall and 7-4 in Southern Conference play under head coach Bob Winch.
The 12 victories established a program record that still stands, while the seven conference wins and third-place SoCon finish also remain program bests.
The accomplishments were even more notable considering where the Bulldogs began. After finishing 10th in the SoCon the previous season, The Citadel was selected to finish 10th out of 12 teams in the 2010 preseason poll.
Instead, the Bulldogs climbed to third in the league and emerged as one of the conference's top contenders.
A Historic Turnaround
The Citadel opened the 2010 season with a loss to Jacksonville before responding two days later with a 3-1 victory over Maine. The Bulldogs then battled Air Force to a 1-1 draw in double overtime as the young group began to establish itself early in the season.
A 4-0 victory over Alabama State was followed by consecutive 4-1 wins over South Carolina State and Charleston Southern. The victory over Charleston Southern began a five-match winning streak that carried directly into conference play.
The Citadel opened the team's Southern Conference schedule with a 2-1 road victory over Western Carolina before defeating Appalachian State by the same score in double overtime. The Bulldogs then returned home and shut out Chattanooga, 2-0, to improve to 3-0 in conference action.
For Mariana Garcia-Torres, who arrived at The Citadel from Bogotá, Colombia, the success of that team was rooted in the relationships formed within the group.
"It was the unity of the team," Garcia-Torres said. "That feeling that together we can do it all. I always go back and think how cool that team was in terms of how close we were with each other."
Once the victories began to accumulate, Garcia-Torres said the Bulldogs started to recognize what they were capable of accomplishing.
"Once we started winning and scoring and doing something different, I think we started to believe that something special was happening," Garcia-Torres said. "We had dreams, and I think that fueled that confidence and the belief that we could go further and further."
The Bulldogs faced adversity soon after, dropping consecutive matches against Samford and No. 21 UNC Greensboro. Rather than allowing the losses to derail the season, The Citadel responded with another impressive run.
The Bulldogs went on the road and defeated Elon, 2-1, before earning another 2-1 victory at Georgia Southern. The Citadel returned to Charleston and defeated Davidson, 3-1, before closing the four-match winning streak with a 2-1 victory over Wofford.
By the end of the regular season, The Citadel had earned the No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference Championship with seven league victories.
Garcia-Torres Leads a Talented Group
A talented freshman class played a major role in the historic season, led by Garcia-Torres.
Garcia-Torres started all 21 matches and scored a team-high 10 goals with one assist for 21 points. She recorded 53 shots, placed 32 on goal and scored five game-winning goals.
Her immediate impact came while she was adjusting to an entirely new environment after moving to the United States from Colombia. Garcia-Torres credited her teammates and coaches with helping make that transition possible.
"My teammates and my coaches, they helped me so much," Garcia-Torres said. "They were my safe space. They were always so open to support me and explain things, whether it was the language, The Citadel or everything."
Garcia-Torres became the first player in Citadel soccer history to earn Southern Conference Player of the Year honors and was also named the league's Freshman of the Year. She became just the second player in SoCon history to capture both awards in the same season.
At the time, however, Garcia-Torres did not initially understand the significance of what she had accomplished.
"I didn't realize how big of a deal that was at first," Garcia-Torres said. "I was very proud of myself and all the hard work paid off, but without my teammates, I couldn't have done that."
Garcia-Torres was also selected First Team All-SoCon, earned NSCAA All-Southeast Region Second Team honors and was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman Second Team.
The Bulldogs' success extended well beyond Garcia-Torres.
Freshman Nicole Levermann scored six goals and added three assists for 15 points on her way to Second Team All-SoCon recognition. Levermann joined Garcia-Torres and fellow freshman Vanessa Aponte on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
Aponte entered her freshman season after representing Colombia at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany. She went on to finish the season with five goals and five assists for 15 points.
Amy Loughran scored five goals despite appearing in only 10 matches, Ruth Leiva added four goals and Jillian Meyer recorded three goals and two assists.
The Citadel finished the season with 37 goals and 95 total points while generating 268 shots. The Bulldogs also received strong play in goal from Laura Serafino and Whitney Nave throughout the campaign.
Success extended beyond the pitch as Shanna Couch earned CoSIDA / ESPN Academic All-District Third Team recognition as well.
Winch was also recognized for the Bulldogs' turnaround, earning Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.
A Postseason Breakthrough
The regular season, however, was only part of what made 2010 memorable.
The Bulldogs opened the Southern Conference Championship at home against sixth-seeded Furman on Oct. 31. Only one week earlier, Furman had defeated The Citadel, 3-0, at WLI Field.
The postseason rematch produced a much different result.
After a scoreless first half, Meyer put the Bulldogs in front early in the second period. Furman eventually found the equalizer, sending the match into overtime tied at 1-1.
Neither side broke through during the opening overtime period, sending the Bulldogs into a second overtime with their season on the line.
Late in the period, Winch received his second yellow card and was sent off. The Bulldogs maintained possession, and after a Furman handball gave The Citadel a free kick, Aponte stepped over the ball with 1:49 remaining.
Her shot found the back of the net.
The golden goal gave The Citadel a 2-1 victory and sent the Bulldogs into the SoCon semifinals.
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More than 15 years later, Garcia-Torres still remembers exactly how the moment felt.
"It was magic," Garcia-Torres said. "It was this feeling of, 'We can't believe this is happening.' I remember we celebrated so much, and it was just pure joy and happiness."
The Citadel celebrates after Vanessa Aponte's golden goal lifted the Bulldogs past Furman in double overtime.
The win set up a semifinal meeting with No. 2 seed Samford in Cullowhee, N.C.
Samford had handed The Citadel its most lopsided conference loss of the regular season with a 7-0 victory in Charleston. In the rematch, the Bulldogs showed just how far they had come.
Garcia-Torres and Aponte each scored as The Citadel pushed Samford throughout a seven-goal semifinal. The Citadel held a 3-1 advantage during the first half before Samford rallied to take the lead.
The Citadel continued to battle until the final whistle, but the season ultimately ended with a 4-3 loss, bringing the record-setting campaign to a close one victory shy of the conference championship match.
Aponte and senior midfielder Nicole Martinoli were later selected to the SoCon All-Tournament Team. Aponte finished the tournament with two goals, one assist and a team-high 10 shots, including seven on goal.
"What a special season," Winch said following the semifinal. "These are years you cherish. It has been a privilege to have been associated with this team."
Setting the Standard
The loss did little to diminish what the Bulldogs accomplished.
The 2010 team finished with a program-record 12 victories, seven conference wins and the highest Southern Conference finish in The Citadel history.
For Garcia-Torres, the fact that those records still stand speaks to the strength of the group.
"The fact that the record is still there just shows that we had a very special team with unique talent," Garcia-Torres said. "It talks to the strength and the mentality of the team at the time."
Many members of the group would continue to leave their mark on the program in the seasons that followed, none more than Garcia-Torres, who eventually became The Citadel's career leader in goals, points and game-winning goals and the first soccer player inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame.
But when Garcia-Torres looks back on 2010, the records and individual accolades are not the first things she remembers.
"The grit, the unity, the passion for soccer and the enjoyment," Garcia-Torres said. "We really believed in each other and celebrated each other's achievements."
Building on the History
Sixteen years later, the 2026 Bulldogs have put together a strong season of their own.
The Citadel finished the regular season 8-6-4 overall and 3-5-2 in Southern Conference play, earning the No. 8 seed in the Southern Conference Championship.
The Bulldogs will face No. 9 Western Carolina on Friday in Birmingham, Ala., a rematch of The Citadel's 4-1 victory over the Catamounts on Oct. 11.
Jasiah Pack and Samantha Grantham have led the attack throughout the season, finishing the regular season first and second in the SoCon in both goals and points. Pack enters the postseason with 11 goals, five assists and 27 points, while Grantham has recorded 10 goals, five assists and 25 points.
As the current Bulldogs prepare for their own postseason run, Garcia-Torres offered a message that reflects many of the qualities that defined the record-setting group 16 years ago.
"Believe in what they have done so far, the training they've done and the work," Garcia-Torres said. "Work as a team and enjoy the moment. It's one game at a time."
The names and moments have changed, but the opportunity remains the same -- continue pushing the program forward and add another chapter to 25 years of The Citadel soccer history.
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-- #MarchingForward --
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