Wins spot at nationals through lottery
COURTESY PHOTO
The UTRGV Club Soccer finished its final game of the season against the St. Edward’s University Hilltoppers on Oct. 15 with a score of 1-1 and is preparing to compete at the national level.
The team has played seven games so far this season, with five wins, one draw and one loss.
Club President Diego Torres, a psychology senior, said it is “amazing” to advance to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Regionals and Nationals.
“It’s amazing because when I started being president of the club and managing all of this, we started having just, like, six members going to every practice, just a couple of scrimmages here and there but just having fun,” Torres said. “Now, it’s something big. Like, it’s something real. We’re a very competitive team. We’re always building. I think it’s all on the foundations.
“ … It’s a family now, like, everyone is super happy being there practicing. So, I think it’s pretty amazing, but also, it’s a bit of the work that we’ve all been committing to.”
The team’s place is secure for regionals.
“We got it thanks to our points in the league, because we ended up first place in our region,” Torres said. “So that’s why we got that spot.”
He said the team secured the spot in nationals through a lottery, in which four teams from each of the six regions can enter to get a spot in the open division.
“For nationals, it was because of a raffle,” Torres said. “… Basically, by luck, we got that spot. And thanks to that, we got that safety spot for the nationals.”
For regionals, the club will compete in Lubbock and nationals will take place in Round Rock.
Regionals will take place Oct. 27-29, followed by nationals Nov. 16-18.
“We go out there and give it our all and just leave everything on the field,” said Richmond Akwarandu, a nursing senior and vice president of the club. “It feels really good. And most of the guys are excited for that. Most of them are prepping really well, and taking care of their body and getting ready to face this task.”
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The team’s record in Region IV is five wins, one tie and one loss.
The teams they faced during the season were Trinity University, Incarnate Word University, Tarleton State University, Texas State University, UTSA, St. Edward’s University and South Texas College.
Torres said the game against Trinity University stands out to him.
“We won that game 3-1,” he said. “It was a tough game. And, I felt like it was a game changer for us because it was a tough game. But we managed to get through the situation through a positive mindset. And no matter how the situation of the game was going, we always kept ourselves as a team, being positive and kept working for it. We ended up winning that game.”
Akwarandu said,“So far, this is our first national, so the guys really work hard for it.”
Pedro Meza, a civil engineering junior and defender for the UTRGV Men’s Club Soccer, talked about improvements that he is most proud of for his team.
“I would say Arturo Ramirez has come a long way,” Meza said. “We have this midfielder, this year he has become one of my favorite players. He’s really improved.”
Torres said the club accepts new members at any point in the semester.
“They’re always welcomed,” he said. “And if they like it, and they think they have the level to be in our competitive squad … we’re going to have tryouts at the beginning of every semester. So they’re more than welcome to join in, to try it out and to be part of the family as well.”
Students interested in the club can follow utrgvmclubsoccer on Instagram. Livestreams of games are available on UTRGV Men’s Club Soccer on Facebook. More information about the club can be found on V Link.
