The Virginia club soccer team is back from this weekend's National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Regionals in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where it tied two matches and an opponent forfeited in the last. The team has secured a spot in the Open Division Championships.
Steep competition
Each year, between 100 and 120 men try out for the Virginia club soccer team, and roughly eight to 15 make the team, according to club President Russell Korte.
"Anywhere from five to 10 percent make it," Korte said. "It's pretty tough, and even harder to evaluate all the people."
A significant proportion of the 33-member team, Korte said, are players who had to try out more than once.
"There are eight fourth- [and fifth-] years on the team, and four of us have been on the team since first year," Korte said.
One reason the team is one of the most competitive club sports on Grounds, senior forward Billy Butler said, is the presence of ex-varsity team players on the club team.
Korte, who has been on the team since he was a freshman, said the team has played in nationals every year in recent memory.
This year, the Cavaliers will head to Pensacola, Fla. in mid-November to play in the Open Division of the Club Soccer Championships.
The Open Division includes teams that did not advance to semi-finals during regionals, according to Korte.
"We didn't get through because the other team in our bracket had three wins," Butler said. "But after this tournament, we know what we are capable of and we know we can compete on a big level at nationals because we saw a lot of the competition at regionals."
Butler said the team saw a number of opponents at regionals that it will face in Pensacola.
Korte said, in his experience, Virginia has played in both the Championship Division and the Open Division, and both are extremely competitive.
Getting their heads in the game
Club soccer operates as a well-oiled machine both on and off the field. The squad has three two-hour practices a week and organizes fundraisers to supplement contracted independent organization funding from Student Council. The team works concessions at various University and John Paul Jones Arena events for additional financial help that allows the team to travel to competitions, Korte said.
The Cavaliers usually play other club teams in Virginia before heading to out-of-state tournaments, including regional and national competitions. Club team members are confident in their team's ability to face both local and out-of-town opponents.
"We are easily the best team in the state," sophomore goalie Kevin Russell said.
This year at regionals, Butler said he expected the team would perform better but noted, however, that the team did not lose any matches after the 10-hour drive to the tournament.
"It was rough timing," Butler said. "We had two games the night we got there. We tied the top seed, Auburn, and then we almost squeezed a victory out of George Mason University but we ended up tying them."
The other team forfeited, he added, so Virginia did not have an opportunity to push through to the semi-finals.
Bonding and brotherhood
The club soccer team has given its members not only the opportunity to engage in intercollegiate competitive sports, but members of the team said they also have found a family within the team.
"Whenever we're not on the field, we're laughing and having a good time, doing stupid things and making fun of each other," Butler said.
Butler said the team even has a social chair, senior midfielder and defender Will Kearns.
"When we meet outside practice and games, we really get to know each other and become better teammates on a different level," Kearns said.
Sophomore defender and midfielder Eric Scofield said he was new to the team this year, yet had no problem fitting in with older members of the team.
"Being a new person, camaraderie is very important," Scofield said. "We gelled very quickly."
Russell said he agrees that finding a bond on and off the field helps the team's performance.
"To do well, you have to gel," Russell said.
Russell said he made the team as a freshman, noting the efforts of the team to include him in social events made him feel more comfortable with the team.
The older guys "made it a point to invite me out outside practices," Russell said. "There is a huge effort to get younger guys involved."
For some team members, playing club soccer has provided an opportunity to get to know former opponents.
"Some of us competed against each other in high school," Butler said. "For example, the last time I saw [Kearns] before U.Va. was in a high school state championship semi-final match."
Kearns also said it was fun to see familiar faces as a freshman on the soccer field.
"It was good to play with the people I had competed against in high school," Kearns said.
Irreplaceable
Team members said club soccer has been an unbeatable aspect of their college careers.
"Club soccer is such a big part of my University experience that I want to continue to play soccer down the road," Butler said. "I'll definitely teach my kids how to play soccer as soon as they can walk."
Korte said the team has also been a positive experience for him.
"When I left high school, I thought my career was over," Korte said. "I couldn't have imagined anything better than playing with this club team."
Russell and Scofield said they plan to continue their club careers in the next two years, adding, however, they cannot imagine what the team will be like without the current seniors.
Scofield said Korte's "word is law," and that "as an older presence on the team, Korte can get you pumped up."
Scofield added that all club soccer players are teammates now and "friends for life"
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