Suffolk University men’s soccer goalkeeper Nathan Harlow was named Conference of New England’s Most Important Player in the postseason after he helped lead the men’s soccer team to their conference championship win and to the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Rams brought the CNE championship home to Boston, as well as putting up a fight against Connecticut College as Harlow guarded the net against one of the best Division III offenses in the nation.
Harlow, a sophomore double major in economics and finance, is originally from just outside London, but spent the majority of his high school years at The Taft School in Watertown, CT. He played soccer for Taft while finishing his high school education before coming to Boston.
Though Harlow has spent the majority of his last decade on the field between the goalposts, he was not always a goalkeeper.
“I’ve been a goalkeeper since I was 13 years old. Before, I was a striker,” said Harlow. “I played at some notable English academies growing up, and then played with a semi-pro team as well in England.”
His success at Suffolk is clear just by looking at the numbers, with his shutout against Western New England in the CNE Semifinals as a stunning example. The team ended the season with a record of 10-7-5 and a goals-against average of about 1.30. Harlow collected nine wins with a GAA of 1.05.
“He had a great year, very obviously, as outstanding player in the conference tournament and second team all conference during the regular season,” said Bill Maddock, the Suffolk men’s soccer head coach. “I think that was really indicative of his consistency throughout the year, he did a really good job of approaching the season’s practices with a certain level of professionalism.”
Harlow also doubled his playtime in the 2024-2025 season, clocking out last season with 810:35 minutes compared to his 1720:59 minutes this year as of Nov. 16.
Though the goalkeeper has played a bigger role for the team this season, not much else has changed on the roster which has contributed largely to their success this fall.
“I just feel like it’s kind of a team of destiny this year. That’s probably how you can describe our team. It’s probably just one team of destiny because everything just needs to be aligned for us,” said Harlow. “We have a big start of seniors this year, but in a healthy blend of grades throughout the start of grade elevens. I just feel like everyone is doing really well.”
Coach Maddock spoke similarly on the team’s spirit and familiarity playing a role into this season’s success.
“Looking at last year’s team to this year’s team the talent level for the overall group was pretty similar, but this year they were very selfless,” said Maddock. “They had on-the-field consistency and off-the-field consistency, some individual sacrifices. I’ll give the group, the guys, a lot of credit for how they approached the postseason.”
While other teams in the CNE as well as the NCAA may have had to adapt to the playing style of their new crop of freshmen and fill in the holes their graduates may have left, Suffolk men’s soccer team had the advantage of few seniors leaving the field.
“We rebuilt where we were last season, whereas other teams had to rebuild,” said Harlow.
With familiarity on the field also comes familiarity in the locker room and across campus.
“What’s a common theme across all the best teams I’ve played for is how united we are,” said Harlow. “You really see it as a family more than teammates. People want to hang out with each other outside the field, not just on the field, which is obviously a sign of that.”
But a part of being a student-athlete is also the student part, where toggling classes and practice may become difficult. When asked how he likes this dual life, Harlow expressed its benefits.
“I actually kind of enjoy it, to be honest. I like the structure that it gives you,” said Harlow. “It’s also nice when people say hello to you and recognize your place and say, well, that’s not really why I’m out there. I’m just doing my job.”
With all the friendly faces across campus, especially after the successful season the soccer team had, a lot of students have traveled to home and away games to support the Rams from the sidelines.
“I think when you’re lucky enough to have a good group of people who come to the big games, it’s going to help a lot. Seeing a wall of Suffolk students really gets a big bit of a wind behind you once you’re playing,” said Harlow. “You don’t want to play badly in front of them. You don’t want to let them down. That’s my personal motivation.”
Though Harlow was a star on the field guarding the net, when asked if there was anything he would like to express about this season he highlighted the heroes behind the scenes of the program.
“I think there’s a lot of people that suffered that probably haven’t been recognized as much as I’d like to see for their help with me and probably other people in general,” said Harlow. “People like Coach and his wife, Amanda McGrath, have really helped me with off-the-field things to make my on-the-field performance much better. I think it’s not just me playing well on the field, it’s everyone behind the scenes in the world.”
Already looking ahead to next season, Harlow and other returning players will play a big role in shaping the team with so many graduates leaving after the fall and spring semesters.
“It’s always hard to win [the championship] the first time, and it’ll be harder to win it again,” said Maddock. “With Harlow being a returner and all the other goalies being returners we do have a really talented group of about 21 [players] coming back, so the core is there”
Though the soccer team’s season has come to an end, the appreciation for all of the teammates and faculty in the program is still strong and Harlow’s title of MVP in the CNE championship is celebrated as the CNE title was brought home to Boston with a crowd of Suffolk students cheering from the stands.
