11/5/2026 1:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Three decades after Max Stoka and Santo Costabile became teammates, their sons, Mateo and Antonio, are building a Marquette connection of their own.
For Mateo Stoka and Antonio Costabile, the connection to Marquette began long before they ever wore a Golden Eagles uniform.
Their fathers, Max Stoka and Santo Costabile, arrived on campus as teammates more than three decades ago. Like so many student-athletes before and after them, they came to Marquette to play soccer. What they left with was something much more lasting: friendships, memories and a lifelong connection to the university that continues to shape their lives.
Now, their sons are adding another chapter to that story.
Neither path was scripted. Neither family expected it. Yet somewhere along the way, the sons of two former Marquette teammates ended up walking the same campus, wearing the same colors and discovering many of the same things their fathers found years earlier.
"When your kid starts looking at colleges, you never really think they're going to go where you went," Santo said.
For Mateo, Marquette always felt familiar.
Long before becoming a Marquette student-athlete, he had spent years around the university. He grew up hearing stories about his father's experiences, attending games and getting to know many of the teammates who remained a significant part of Max's life long after graduation.
"I think me and my brother were kind of born into it," Mateo said. "We would go to all the sporting events, hang around all his buddies that he obviously grew very close with from his time being here. It became sort of a family."
Still, Mateo's route to Marquette was not a direct one.
He began his collegiate career at Pittsburgh, where he spent three seasons before entering the transfer portal. When the opportunity arose to return to Milwaukee and continue his career at Marquette, it gave him the chance to join a program that had been woven into his life since childhood.
Rather than simply following a path laid out for him, Mateo arrived at Marquette after experiencing college soccer elsewhere. His decision brought him home and gave him an opportunity to build his own relationship with the place that had meant so much to his father.
For Max, that made Mateo's arrival even more meaningful.
"Once he graduated from from Pitt, and he had two more years of eligibility, for sure I was excited to get him in front of Marquette," Max said. "He looked at a bunch of schools, and then I did push Marquette. A, for its academics, and B, because I knew Santo's kid was here, and (Coach) Korn and some others. I thought it would be very cool for him to come back."
Antonio's connection to Marquette developed differently.
At first, Marquette was simply the place his father talked about when discussing his college years. Over time, however, those stories became more tangible as Antonio grew familiar with the university, attended games and met people connected to the program.
"It started out mostly as my dad's school," Antonio said. "As I got older, I started looking into the university more, went to some games and got to know people around the university. I realized it was something I wanted to be a part of."
Despite taking different routes, Mateo and Antonio arrived at the same destination. Once they did, they quickly realized their connection extended beyond a shared school and soccer program.
"As soon as he walked in the locker room on his visit, we're like, 'Yo, what's up? Our dads are friends,'" Antonio said.
The friendship came naturally.
"We were boys ever since."
The moment was fitting given the history connecting their families.
For years, both sons had watched their fathers maintain relationships that began at Marquette. Former teammates remained close friends. Alumni gatherings became reunions. The bonds formed through the program did not disappear when their playing careers ended.
Those examples shaped how Mateo and Antonio view their own college experiences.
"My dad talks to almost every single guy that he went to school here with," Mateo said.
Antonio heard a similar message from his father.
"My dad says pretty much the exact same thing," he said. "This is where you find who you are. This is where you find your best friends. This is where you make relationships that are going to last a lifetime."
That shared perspective helps explain why both sons speak less about their fathers' accomplishments on the field and more about the relationships they built away from it. The details of their college careers differ from those of their fathers. The sport has changed. College athletics has changed. The student-athlete experience looks dramatically different than it did when Max and Santo played.
The importance of community, however, remains the same.
That is evident in the friendship Mateo and Antonio have formed. Their fathers supplied the initial connection, but the sons have developed a relationship that belongs to them.
Antonio describes Mateo as someone who naturally brings people together.
"He's a glue guy," he said. "He brings the guys together."
For Mateo, that quality reflects something larger about the program and university.
"I think one of the things that we try to do is make sure everyone feels welcome, everyone feels a part of the team," he said. "I think that's the Marquette way. Building a community, making sure everyone feels a part of it. And I think that's something that shouldn't be overlooked"
It is a sentiment both fathers recognize because it reflects what they experienced decades earlier.
For Santo, watching Antonio represent the same program has produced moments he never anticipated. Years after leaving Marquette, he found himself watching his son wear the same colors and become part of the same community that had shaped his own life.
"It hit me the first game he played here," Santo said. "On the way to the game, I'm from Chicago so on the drive up, I was kind of worried about how he was going to perform and that sort of thing, obviously, I'm his dad. I just wanted to hoping that he'd have a decent showing so he could get some minutes on the field as a freshman. But that kind of all went away when I was in the stands and looking down and watching him. It was like that didn't matter. Just watching him on the field, I started to tear up. It was so surreal."
Max has experienced a similar sense of pride watching Mateo. After three seasons at Pitt, his son found his way back to Milwaukee and into the program that had remained part of the Stoka family for decades.
"Every time he plays, I'm proud to have the Marquette jersey on him," Max said.
"Just make sure you understand the significance of this and take it in," he stresses. "I think he has started to understand that a little bit more. Even seeing him today, and just the ways with his teammates and how he's handling things, I couldn't be more proud of him."
What makes those moments meaningful is not simply the shared uniform. It is the realization that the experience continues. The lessons, friendships and values that shaped one generation are now shaping another.
Both fathers offer similar advice to their sons: appreciate it while it lasts.
Enjoy the training sessions, locker room conversations, road trips and daily routines that can feel ordinary in the moment but become lasting memories later.
"Enjoy it, it goes by fast," Mateo said of the message passed down to him. "You're going to make some of the best relationships you'll make in your whole life. Cherish them and make sure you stay in touch with all those guys."
For Santo, Marquette was part of the transition into adulthood.
"I came here as a kid and I left as a man, I really believe that," he said.
Max's message carries the same sense of urgency.
"Don't take this for granted," he said. "We went through and we blinked and it was over."
"Marquette has given me things that when I was going here, I didn't think I would have it. I thought I'd be here for four years. When I played soccer professionally after school, I'm like, "I'll never look back. I'm going to get a job. Who cares where you go to school?" And then as you separate yourself from the university, you find out you're still hanging out with the guys you played ball with and guys that were in your class. You're still on our text messages. Even us, we're on our soccer text messages. It's like we never left the university. We still know who's leading the chat, who's making fun of who, who we can go after...Marquette has given me a huge community outside of my immediate family, my business work, it's like a separate family that's intertwined."
More than three decades ago, Max Stoka and Santo Costabile arrived at Marquette as teammates. The friendships they formed remained long after their final matches and eventually supplied a connection between their sons.
Today, Mateo and Antonio share the same program, the same field and many of the same daily experiences their fathers once did. One came to Marquette after beginning his career at Pitt. The other gradually came to see his father's university as a place where he could write a story of his own.
The names may be familiar, but this is not simply a story about two sons retracing their fathers' steps. It is about discovering for themselves why Marquette remained such an important part of their fathers' lives.
It is about relationships that survived the passage of time, two paths that eventually converged in Milwaukee and a friendship that has come full circle, back where it started.
Their fathers, Max Stoka and Santo Costabile, arrived on campus as teammates more than three decades ago. Like so many student-athletes before and after them, they came to Marquette to play soccer. What they left with was something much more lasting: friendships, memories and a lifelong connection to the university that continues to shape their lives.
Now, their sons are adding another chapter to that story.
Neither path was scripted. Neither family expected it. Yet somewhere along the way, the sons of two former Marquette teammates ended up walking the same campus, wearing the same colors and discovering many of the same things their fathers found years earlier.
"When your kid starts looking at colleges, you never really think they're going to go where you went," Santo said.
For Mateo, Marquette always felt familiar.
Long before becoming a Marquette student-athlete, he had spent years around the university. He grew up hearing stories about his father's experiences, attending games and getting to know many of the teammates who remained a significant part of Max's life long after graduation.
"I think me and my brother were kind of born into it," Mateo said. "We would go to all the sporting events, hang around all his buddies that he obviously grew very close with from his time being here. It became sort of a family."
Still, Mateo's route to Marquette was not a direct one.
He began his collegiate career at Pittsburgh, where he spent three seasons before entering the transfer portal. When the opportunity arose to return to Milwaukee and continue his career at Marquette, it gave him the chance to join a program that had been woven into his life since childhood.
Rather than simply following a path laid out for him, Mateo arrived at Marquette after experiencing college soccer elsewhere. His decision brought him home and gave him an opportunity to build his own relationship with the place that had meant so much to his father.
For Max, that made Mateo's arrival even more meaningful.
"Once he graduated from from Pitt, and he had two more years of eligibility, for sure I was excited to get him in front of Marquette," Max said. "He looked at a bunch of schools, and then I did push Marquette. A, for its academics, and B, because I knew Santo's kid was here, and (Coach) Korn and some others. I thought it would be very cool for him to come back."
Antonio's connection to Marquette developed differently.
At first, Marquette was simply the place his father talked about when discussing his college years. Over time, however, those stories became more tangible as Antonio grew familiar with the university, attended games and met people connected to the program.
"It started out mostly as my dad's school," Antonio said. "As I got older, I started looking into the university more, went to some games and got to know people around the university. I realized it was something I wanted to be a part of."
Despite taking different routes, Mateo and Antonio arrived at the same destination. Once they did, they quickly realized their connection extended beyond a shared school and soccer program.
"As soon as he walked in the locker room on his visit, we're like, 'Yo, what's up? Our dads are friends,'" Antonio said.
The friendship came naturally.
"We were boys ever since."
The moment was fitting given the history connecting their families.
For years, both sons had watched their fathers maintain relationships that began at Marquette. Former teammates remained close friends. Alumni gatherings became reunions. The bonds formed through the program did not disappear when their playing careers ended.
Those examples shaped how Mateo and Antonio view their own college experiences.
"My dad talks to almost every single guy that he went to school here with," Mateo said.
Antonio heard a similar message from his father.
"My dad says pretty much the exact same thing," he said. "This is where you find who you are. This is where you find your best friends. This is where you make relationships that are going to last a lifetime."
That shared perspective helps explain why both sons speak less about their fathers' accomplishments on the field and more about the relationships they built away from it. The details of their college careers differ from those of their fathers. The sport has changed. College athletics has changed. The student-athlete experience looks dramatically different than it did when Max and Santo played.
The importance of community, however, remains the same.
That is evident in the friendship Mateo and Antonio have formed. Their fathers supplied the initial connection, but the sons have developed a relationship that belongs to them.
Antonio describes Mateo as someone who naturally brings people together.
"He's a glue guy," he said. "He brings the guys together."
For Mateo, that quality reflects something larger about the program and university.
"I think one of the things that we try to do is make sure everyone feels welcome, everyone feels a part of the team," he said. "I think that's the Marquette way. Building a community, making sure everyone feels a part of it. And I think that's something that shouldn't be overlooked"
It is a sentiment both fathers recognize because it reflects what they experienced decades earlier.
For Santo, watching Antonio represent the same program has produced moments he never anticipated. Years after leaving Marquette, he found himself watching his son wear the same colors and become part of the same community that had shaped his own life.
"It hit me the first game he played here," Santo said. "On the way to the game, I'm from Chicago so on the drive up, I was kind of worried about how he was going to perform and that sort of thing, obviously, I'm his dad. I just wanted to hoping that he'd have a decent showing so he could get some minutes on the field as a freshman. But that kind of all went away when I was in the stands and looking down and watching him. It was like that didn't matter. Just watching him on the field, I started to tear up. It was so surreal."
Max has experienced a similar sense of pride watching Mateo. After three seasons at Pitt, his son found his way back to Milwaukee and into the program that had remained part of the Stoka family for decades.
"Every time he plays, I'm proud to have the Marquette jersey on him," Max said.
"Just make sure you understand the significance of this and take it in," he stresses. "I think he has started to understand that a little bit more. Even seeing him today, and just the ways with his teammates and how he's handling things, I couldn't be more proud of him."
What makes those moments meaningful is not simply the shared uniform. It is the realization that the experience continues. The lessons, friendships and values that shaped one generation are now shaping another.
Both fathers offer similar advice to their sons: appreciate it while it lasts.
Enjoy the training sessions, locker room conversations, road trips and daily routines that can feel ordinary in the moment but become lasting memories later.
"Enjoy it, it goes by fast," Mateo said of the message passed down to him. "You're going to make some of the best relationships you'll make in your whole life. Cherish them and make sure you stay in touch with all those guys."
For Santo, Marquette was part of the transition into adulthood.
"I came here as a kid and I left as a man, I really believe that," he said.
Max's message carries the same sense of urgency.
"Don't take this for granted," he said. "We went through and we blinked and it was over."
"Marquette has given me things that when I was going here, I didn't think I would have it. I thought I'd be here for four years. When I played soccer professionally after school, I'm like, "I'll never look back. I'm going to get a job. Who cares where you go to school?" And then as you separate yourself from the university, you find out you're still hanging out with the guys you played ball with and guys that were in your class. You're still on our text messages. Even us, we're on our soccer text messages. It's like we never left the university. We still know who's leading the chat, who's making fun of who, who we can go after...Marquette has given me a huge community outside of my immediate family, my business work, it's like a separate family that's intertwined."
More than three decades ago, Max Stoka and Santo Costabile arrived at Marquette as teammates. The friendships they formed remained long after their final matches and eventually supplied a connection between their sons.
Today, Mateo and Antonio share the same program, the same field and many of the same daily experiences their fathers once did. One came to Marquette after beginning his career at Pitt. The other gradually came to see his father's university as a place where he could write a story of his own.
The names may be familiar, but this is not simply a story about two sons retracing their fathers' steps. It is about discovering for themselves why Marquette remained such an important part of their fathers' lives.
It is about relationships that survived the passage of time, two paths that eventually converged in Milwaukee and a friendship that has come full circle, back where it started.
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