The Oswego State men’s soccer team is already like a family, but this year, the team has a unique duo of brothers from Liverpool, New York.

Growing up, soccer was always a big part of Jacob and Caleb Munksi’s life. It is something they have always shared with their family.

“It’s something we can all do together no matter what our age difference was, whether it was pickup in the front yard with a bunch of friends or just playing on the field,” said Caleb, a freshman defender. “During practice, we all practice together. It’s something all three of us could do, and we knew it was going to be there during the week.”

Jacob, who is a junior defender, and Caleb also played together on their high school soccer team.

Jacob was named team captain of the Liverpool boys soccer team in 2015. Caleb followed, as he was named team captain for the 2016 and 2017 season

“It was fun to play with him in high school, and it’s kind of cool that now we’re in college, out of all the colleges he could choose, he chose Oswego,” Jacob said. “So, it’s kind of cool that he chose to come play here and I’m happy to have him.”

Caleb, who is the youngest of three brothers, said there is pressure just from being the youngest, but he enjoys it because without his brothers, he said he probably would not be where he is now.

“Going to their games when I was younger, I was always on the sideline like, ‘dang, I really want to be out there,’” Caleb said. “One day I got out there, and they always pushed me to be better.”

Oswego State men’s soccer head coach, Dan Kane, said his assistant coach, Scott Brown, was helpful in recruiting Caleb, who was a highly recruited player.

Jacob also played a part in Caleb choosing Oswego for college and soccer.

“He [Jacob] kind of helped me choose this school, talked to the coach, helped me get here,” Caleb said. “He could be lying to me, but I think he wanted me here.”

Kane thinks of his team as a family and enjoys the bond between Jacob and Caleb bring to the team.

“They have a fun relationship, too. We always talk about us as a family, but when you actually have family on the team, I think it helps you,” Kane said. “When you get in low spots, you need your family to pull you up. They have intimate knowledge of how to do that. I think it’s a huge benefit.”

With his brother on the team and close ties between the other players, it was rather easy for Caleb to fit in.

“Jake’s just my blood brother,” Caleb said. “They’re all family.”

There were never any questions whether the players would take in Caleb as one of their own.

“I know they’re going to treat him well because they’ve treated me well, [and] they treat everyone else well,” Jacob said. “It’s a good family environment. Everyone is welcome, even the freshmen. Even though they don’t have any siblings on the team, they all still feel like they’re siblings.”

The brothers, who both play the same position, are completely different in their style of play, according to Kane.

“Jake is more of a, what we call, a wingback. He gets up and down the field, a great runner, good 1v1 and attacking skills,” Kane said. “Caleb is more of a no-nonsense defender. [He] grinds the game, definitely a defender that an attacker doesn’t like to see when they’re matched up against.”

With the same positions and different playing styles, the brothers do have some brotherly competition when playing with each other.

“For me, it’s not really a rivalry,” Caleb said. “It’s more of he plays hard, so I have to play hard, I play hard, so he has to play hard, a brotherly love competition.”

Kane hopes that Caleb and Jacob can bring their own family traits to the team that would lead to a good impact in the program.

With the special bond between Jacob and Caleb, and their love for soccer, they look forward to a successful season together and with the Lakers.

“When we were younger, we tried all different kinds of sports,” Caleb said. “But soccer was the one that connected with us the most.”