The team huddle before a game
Courtesy | Cruz Reichert
Three years after declining an invitation to the national tournament for lack of funding, the men’s club soccer team left Nov. 19 for Kansas City, Missouri, and a chance to compete in the open division of the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association Soccer Championships tournament.
There are two ways teams qualify for the tournament, according to senior and former club president Jacob Beckwith. The champion division brings together the winners of each regional to compete for a national title. The open division invites competitive clubs on lottery bids.
“The open division is for the teams just on the outside looking in, but it’s a great opportunity for those teams to see what they’re working toward,” Beckwith said.
The Chargers are up against three teams this weekend: the University of Kansas, Sam Houston State University, and Weber State University. They will play two games on Thursday, Nov. 20 and one on Friday, Nov. 21, with a chance to advance to play on Friday night and Saturday with wins.
Beckwith said the competition will be worth the 10-hour drive.
“This is our benchmark and a goal for the future,” Beckwith said. “We want our guys to have a chance to compete in the championship division.”
Still, it is a feat for the Chargers to be in a position to go this year, according to sophomore club president Cruz Reichert. He said the team has been blessed with a dedicated group of seniors who helped make this possible.
“The seniors we have right now basically built this thing up from the ground,” Reichert said. “When they were freshmen they played on the ‘field’ behind the baseball stadium. It was more of a beer league sort of thing. Then Hayden Park got built, they fundraised, joined a new league, and started winning. It’s literally been their blood, sweat, and tears for four years on and off the field.”
Reichart also said Beckwith had a major role in bringing in money to help the club make strides financially.
“I basically inherited the money to go to nationals if we get the chance, and that’s the product of Jacob’s hard work from when he ran the club,” Reichart said. “It’s my job now to keep what we have and build every year.”
Beckwith said when he took over the club as a freshman, he was encouraged by then-seniors Brett Schaller ’24 and Matt Muller ’24 to save up for the next time a nationals bid would come along.
“Those guys had a great club and got the invite the year before we got here but couldn’t make the trip because they didn’t have the money,” Beckwith said. “They encouraged me not to let that happen again. So we saved and made it happen.”
The club joined a new league in 2022 and hired Graham Delano as the head coach in 2023. Both of these moves, Reichert said, have helped the club improve.
“We’ve seen great progress in the last few years,” Reichart said. “Two years ago we were one win away from nationals. We have a high-level coach who is sticking around, so we’re excited about that, too. We have great freshmen year in year out and a great group of upperclassmen willing to lead them. Each year is another step up in our level of being competitive.”
Senior Peyton Hutchinson, a four-year member of the club, said he looks forward to the chance to play for one more weekend with the team.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to play these last few games, and I hope it inspires the lowerclassmen and new students to continue to push the program towards greater excellence,” Hutchinson said. “We owe our gratitude to our club president, Cruz, and to former club presidents who have planned ahead to make this trip possible.”
Although the bid for this year came by lottery selection, Reichart said the ultimate goal of the club is to play at nationals in the champions division.
“Competing at nationals will be a big help for us to see what the standard is and where we are in relation to it,” Reichert said. “We want to show that we can earn being here. We want to show what we can do now and in the future.”
