Experienced Lowell boys soccer team enters 2026 with unfinished business
Justin Scott - Info@redarrowpreps.com
8/22/2026
Soccer in America is riding a post-World Cup wave. The USMNT put together a respectable tournament run, highlighted by a group-stage victory before its elimination against Belgium, and once again helped bring the sport into the national spotlight. Off the field, soccer continues to grow through pop culture as well, with the critically acclaimed Ted Lasso returning. That momentum is being felt locally, where a new soccer stadium in Grand Rapids is nearing completion ahead of AC Grand Rapids’ planned MLS NEXT Pro debut in spring 2027.
There is a similar wave surrounding the Lowell boys soccer program as the 2026 season gets underway.
Head coach Elena Barriger has a difficult time putting exactly what that feeling is into words, but she sees it when her players take the field together. With an experienced group of seniors and juniors returning, expectations are high for a team that believes it has the pieces to contend in a difficult conference race.
“There’s a different feeling around this group right now,” Barriger said. “It’s hard to put into words, but you can feel it when they step on the field together.”
Lowell enters the season with a veteran core led by seniors Drew Gramza, Cade VanLaan, Jacob Ort, Ben Homolka and Clay Inman. Barriger sees that group as the foundation of the team, both because of what they bring on the field and the experience they have accumulated during their varsity careers.
“They have been through the battles, and they set the tone every single day,” Barriger said. “They are the backbone of what we do, and everything we build this season will be built on their leadership, their consistency and their willingness to compete.”
The Red Arrows also have depth in goal, where Noah Brandt, Adrian Vidinlic and Sabin Ingram give the coaching staff several options. It’s an usual group being able to have three fully capable starting goalkeepers. Vidinlic plays outfield as well and is returning to the program after playing club last year. Barriger said each brings a different skill set while sharing the composure and competitiveness needed to direct the team from the back.
Seniors Wesley, Tanner Swayze, Levi VanLaan and Logan Jannenga are also expected to take on important roles throughout the season.
That experience extends into the junior class, where Lowell expects another group of players to take a significant step forward. Barriger specifically pointed to Max Fegel, Finn Ault-Balcer, and Wiley Garrelts as three players who have shown considerable growth entering the year. Garrelts is sidelined to start the year with an injury, but both Fegel and Ault-Balcer have found the scoresheet already through the team’s first two games, both wins.
Below - Meet the 2026 Lowell Soccer Team
“They’ve taken huge steps forward, and they’re looking better than ever,” Barriger said. “There’s a confidence in the way they’re playing right now, and more importantly, there’s a hunger. They’re not just trying to fit into the team anymore. They’re trying to impact it.”
Lowell will not have any freshmen on the varsity roster this season, but several sophomores will have opportunities to contribute.
Will Selent returns for his second varsity season and continues to develop into an important piece for the Red Arrows. Vaughn Gage, Josh Maki, and Jackson Coolbaugh are also expected to see significant roles.
For Barriger, however, the importance of the sophomore group goes beyond what it can provide Lowell this fall.
“We don’t want to build a team that can compete for one season,” she said. “We want to build a program that expects to compete year after year. That starts with developing those younger players, teaching them what it means to represent Lowell soccer and preparing them for the moment when their number is called.”
Establishing an identity
Before worrying about results, Lowell's early-season focus is centered around their identity.
The Red Arrows want to establish quickly what type of team they are going to be, with an emphasis on discipline, relentlessness and playing for one another.
Barriger knows Lowell has talent, but believes the qualities beyond talent will ultimately determine how far the team can go.
Coach Elena Barriger awards man of the match honors after Lowell’s 6-1 win over Godwin on Wednesday.
“Talent can win you games,” she said. “Talent alone will not win you a conference championship. That takes trust. Sacrifice. Discipline. Grit. And the willingness to keep fighting when your legs are tired, the game isn’t going your way and everything in you is telling you to stop.”
Lowell enters the year knowing the conference race will provide plenty of challenges. Despite losing a big senior class, Allendale remains the team to beat in the River Cities until proven otherwise. Barriger said the Red Arrows respect the teams standing between them and their goals, but are not intimidated by what lies ahead.
The program has adopted the Latin phrase “Vincere aut mori,” which translates to “to win or to die.” For Lowell, Barriger said the message is about laying everything on the line.
“We believe in this team. We believe in the work. We believe in each other,” Barriger said. “And more importantly, these boys are starting to believe in what they are capable of accomplishing together.”
Carrying the program forward
Lowell will also have a meaningful connection to its past on the coaching staff this season.
Barriger credited the entire staff for helping develop not only soccer players, but teammates, students and young men. Coach Collin Kruzel will continue leading the JV program and preparing younger players for eventual varsity opportunities.
Another addition carries special significance for the program.
Former Lowell player Carter Szymanski has joined the coaching staff after playing collegiately with Great Lakes Christian College, continuing a family connection to the Red Arrows following the death of his brother, Sebastian Szymanski, who previously coached within the program.
Barriger said Sebastian's influence remains part of the culture the staff is continuing to build.
“This program has been shaped by people who gave everything to it, including Sebastian Szymanski, who was part of this coaching family and helped lay the foundation for what Lowell soccer is becoming,” Barriger said. “After his passing, the impact he left behind is still felt every day in how we coach and how we compete.”
Having Carter back with the program brings another former Red Arrow into the next chapter of Lowell soccer.
“It’s not just symbolic,” Barriger said. “It’s a reminder to our players that this is bigger than any one season. It’s a legacy being carried forward, and they are now part of it.”
Unfinished business
Like every team, Lowell enters a new season needing to account for the seniors who graduated from the previous roster. Barriger does not view that process as replacing them.
“You don’t replace them,” she said. “Every senior class leaves its fingerprints on a program, and last year’s group certainly did. They gave us leadership, experience and memories that will always be part of Lowell soccer.”
Instead, the responsibility now falls to the players who remain.
Ben Homolka is expected to have a big season for the Red Arrows in his senior year.
The challenge Barriger has presented to her returning seniors and juniors is not how they will replace the players who graduated. It is what they will do with the opportunity now in front of them.
“This is their team now. Their season. Their chance to decide what their legacy is going to be,” she said.
Lowell enters 2026 believing there is more to accomplish.
“We have unfinished business,” Barriger said. “We know exactly what we want. We also know saying it means absolutely nothing unless we’re willing to earn it.
“So we’re going to show up. We’re going to work. We’re going to fight for one another. And when things get difficult, and they will, we’re going to remember what we believed before the first whistle ever blew.
“I believe. And so do they. We’re ready.”
