Sept. 22 marked one month since the start of the 2025-2026 McGill Fall Athletics season. So far, the Martlets and Redbirds are off to a rough start and are looking to regain their athletic prowess. 

Redbirds Football is at a tipping point, with their season locked up with two wins and two losses. They started the season strong with a home-field win against Université de Sherbrooke’s Vert Et Or on Aug. 22. However, they were unable to secure wins at either of their away games on Aug. 30 versus the Université Laval Vert Et Rouge and on Sept. 5 versus the Concordia University Stingers. Despite their subsequent home-field win against the Université de Montréal Carabins on Sept. 19, the Redbirds will have to learn how to capture victories on the road if they want a winning season. 

Soccer has experienced a similar start to the year, with both the Martlets and Redbirds having difficulty sealing wins. In their regular seasons, the Martlets are 2–1–4 and the Redbirds are 1–2–2, with both teams most recently tying the Vert Et Or on Sept. 19. However, both teams have seven matches left until the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Semifinals, so it is not too late for them to end on top if they can start to outscore their opponents. 

Redbirds Lacrosse is in for another successful season this year, and has already earned a 4–1 record with much of their season left. Senior midfielder Joshua Jewell has spearheaded this accomplishment, scoring seven goals across the team’s two winning games and being named McGill’s Athlete of the Week on Sept. 15. Another senior midfielder, John Miraglia, scored a hat-trick during the Redbirds’ win against Trent University on Sept. 14. 

Redbirds Rugby are coming off a win in Sherbrooke versus the Bishop’s University Gaiters. This brings them to a 2–1 record. However, with such a short season, they will have to keep up the momentum in Ottawa this coming weekend to secure a home-field advantage in the RSEQ Semifinal. Martlets Rugby is having a tough time this season, having just come off a loss against Concordia on Sept. 21 to bring their season record to 0–4. The Martlets unfortunately have not finished within 20 points of any of their opponents, and have only two games left to prove themselves before the RSEQ Semifinal on Oct. 12. 

Redbirds Baseball is having a difficult start, with a 3–7 record. This past weekend, they broke even at Carleton University, beating the Ravens twice on Saturday, then falling to them twice on Sunday. On Saturday, rookie catcher Nathaniel Steffler snagged two runs, and catcher Robert Glusker earned two hits, a walk, and two runs scored. The team’s season is far from over, with 15 games left before the Canadian National University Championships, which are being held in Montreal this year.

McGill Golf have finished middle-of-the-pack in their past two tournaments, though star players have stood out. The Redbirds finished sixth of nine teams and the Martlets finished third of six teams in the teams’ first tournament, held on Aug. 24-25. During the second tournament, the Martlets secured the same ranking, and the Redbirds improved, finishing fourth out of nine teams. Martlets’ Astoria Yen has shone on the green and tied for first place out of 26 women players in the tournament last week, securing McGill Athlete of the Week on Sept. 15. Golf looks to improve its standings during the RSEQ Championships from Sept. 22-24 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. 

The McGill Cross Country team started their season off strong at the McGill Invitational this past Saturday, Sept. 20 at Parc Mont-Royal. The Martlets runners came in first and the Redbirds finished fourth of nine teams. Most notably, Martlets’ Sienna Matheson earned silver in the women’s race. 

It is not the first month back that fans may have hoped for, but McGill’s Fall sports teams still have a chance to turn their seasons around, to get out of the dangerous middle range in their respective leagues, and to strive for the championship-bound path.

Author and Sports Editor Clara Smyrski is a member of the McGill Women’s Field Hockey team and thus cannot comment on their performance this season.