Homecoming Athletics at Kean University 2023

By Kervin Coleman | Published October 16, 2023

Every university uses homecoming as a way to bring its population together. Students, professors, directors, and alumni come together for the tradition of homecoming to spread the campus’s culture and a chance for people to connect in ways they may not have previously. Homecoming exhibits and enhances school spirit for a week with plenty of festivities, but none more prominent than the athletic events.

Kean University’s homecoming festivities will occur on Oct. 14. Three different Cougars teams will be roaring into action at Kean University Alumni Field that day: the football, field hockey, and women’s soccer teams. These teams will duke it out that day, defending their home turf. 

While the barbecues and music erupt during the tailgate, the football team will be in the locker room, getting their minds right before their game. They will play in a NJAC matchup versus The College of New Jersey Lions. The Cougars have won the previous two matchups versus the Lions in hard-fought single-score games. 

Last season, the Cougars played the Lions in the season finale of a night game that included inclement weather. Senior Quarterback Robbie Nungesser startedthe game but didn’t finish the game. While breaking away a run from the defense, he saw free turf in front of him but then collapsed to the ground, suffering a hamstring injury.

“I ended up injuring the same hamstring that got injured during the homecoming game, and this happened on only the third play,” Nungesser said. “This hurt because of all the preparation leading up to it and how hard I worked every week just to stay healthy.”

Homecoming 2022 was a tough day for Kean football. The team competed valiantly with the injury bug, losing Nungesser and their backup quarterback sophomore, Dario Bryant, to a thumb injury and senior linebacker, Ray Gorny, to a torn ACL.

“I ended up straining my hamstring at the end of the third quarter and was unable to continue playing,” Nungesser said. “I wanted to finish the game so badly in front of our home crowd, but I was unable to.”

Nungesser feels as though homecoming is a time for the whole school to come together and show great school spirit and pride. He views the interactive activities around campus as bringing the campus together as one. 

“I feel like we’ve been coming together and pushing each other more to work harder every day towards one common goal, a win,” Nungesser said. “We will all continue to push each other and get better every day.” 

Meanwhile, the field hockey team will take the field after the football game to take on the University of Lynchburg in an out-of-conference matchup.

Kelsey Corbett is a junior returning midfielder for the Cougars. Last season, she recorded twenty points and a 78% shots on-goal percentage. Corbett is a catalyst on a team that’s currently number 12 nationally ranked. 

“I am extremely proud of my team for being nationally ranked,” Corbett said. “On a team level, I wantto get to our fullest potential.” 

Corbett gives graces to each member of the team for putting in relentless effort during practice. The goal after is to have hard work translate well into the game. The team thrives from the energy of each other.

“Individually, I’m always striving to get better, and I am dedicated to being the best teammate that I can be,” Corbett stated. “We pick gameday buddies and send nice messages to one another to motivate them for game day.”

Going forward, the outlook for the team is to uplift one another into victory, and being nationally ranked has been something that ignited the team further.

“Being nationally ranked serves as motivation for us to push even harder and demonstrate what Kean field hockey truly represents,” Corbett said.

The Cougars have an undefeated record of 4-0 all-time versus the University of Lynchburg. Corbett anchors that the team is aware of that and looks to continue that win streak.

“I knew that we were 4-0 versus the University of Lynchburg, but that doesn’t change our mindset going into the game,” Corbett said. “We always play the game, not the name. Regardless of the record, we play hard.”

Lastly, women’s soccer has the final game of the day. They will go against the William Paterson University Pioneers in an NJAC matchup. The Cougars haven’t suffered a defeat to the Pioneers since 2018. Although, their matchup was an even 1-1 tie last season. 

Last season, the Cougars finished with a record of 5-7-6 and an NJAC record of 2-3-4. This season, they’re looking to build off last year with returners such as juniors Sophia Lang and Sonya Brewer, as well as freshman additions Kaydence Oakley and Anabel Makutonin.

---