Senior Chris Jordan, senior Julian Deutsch, graduate student Corey Meisenheimer and senior Nich Thaxton move down the field during a game against Eastern Kentucky at a tournament in Clemson, S.C. in April 2013." />
Courtesy of N.C. State Club Men's Soccer
Senior Chris Jordan, senior Julian Deutsch, graduate student Corey Meisenheimer and senior Nich Thaxton move down the field during a game against Eastern Kentucky at a tournament in Clemson, S.C. in April 2013.
Having already recorded strong wins over UNC-Charlotte and East Carolina this spring, the N.C. State club men’s soccer team is fully committed to returning to the national tournament for the first time since 2012.
Competing in Region II of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association’s club soccer league, the Wolfpack plays games in the fall against rivals such as Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, the Citadel and Clemson.
“We play league games against those teams,” senior goalkeeper and club president Julian Deutsch said. “The first place team automatically makes regionals with wildcard teams making regionals as well. Win regionals and you’re headed to nationals.”
Deutsch, who also serves as the team’s captain and player-coach, is cautiously optimistic about the team’s chances for making it back to nationals in the fall.
“It’s really hard. It’s a 12 team league but we only play six of them and they’re randomly assigned,” Deutsch said. “Last year we ended up playing three of the hardest teams and didn’t make regionals, which we normally do. However, this is a pretty strong group this year with a good mix of young guys and veterans.”
Right now, the team is concentrating on the preparatory spring season, which allows the group to practice, play games and bond together as a team. Tournaments are eagerly anticipated as a way of testing the team’s progress against that of other clubs.
“Schools put the tournaments on every semester,” Deutsch said. “Clemson has one every semester that we’ve been going to for the past six years or so. Two weeks from now we’ll be down there again. In the spring it’s a lot less structured. I e-mail other presidents and set up games.”
Most players come from extensive soccer backgrounds with experience playing at extremely high club and high school levels, so incorporating skill sets and coordinating players from a host of levels is a challenge.
Sophomore defender Colin O’Dowd, for example, brings semi-professional experience to the group. As a member of Triangle Brigade F.C., O’Dowd is just one of many club soccer players getting involved in the sport any way he can.
“I love the sport and I like playing in competitive matches,” O’Dowd said. “I think the team is really strong. We have a young team with a lot of skilled players.”
Now in his third semester with the Wolfpack, O’Dowd believes the club is on the right track and expressed his desire to contribute.
“The future seems bright,” the defender said. “My goals for this season are to win a tournament and maybe score a few goals.”
With 35 players on the roster at a given time, the club team is a representation of the thriving soccer community at N.C. State. Typically, dozens attend the two tryout sessions, held in the first few weeks of September for the fall season and February for the spring.
Sophomore midfielder Richard Palmer is one of seven players in his first semester with the team.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time on the club team so far,” Palmer said. “The level of competition really honestly surpasses any team that I’ve played on previously, which is cool. I love playing with such a great group of guys who challenge me and help better my play.”
The Wolfpack’s next game is set for Sunday as it travels to Duke for a 3 p.m. kickoff. The following weekend, State hits the road for the Clemson tournament.