Cauldron

Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: Sports & Clubs

Media Credit: Public Affairs Men's soccer, posing in front of Link-Lee Mansion, began their season in August.

The men's soccer team kicked off its opening season in August and joined women's volleyball as the only intercollegiate sports on campus.

The University announced its plans to make men's soccer the next intercollegiate sport in November 2006, and began its search for a team coach. The interview process started not long after the announcement, and by March, the school had made its choice: Aaron Champenoy, the former head soccer coach at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Champenoy came to the University with 12 years of coaching experience.

"We interviewed four, five coaches," freshman team striker Jad El-Masri said. "I thought he was the greatest coach, the best out of them."

El-Masri was one of the students who sat in on the interviews. He moved from Saudi Arabia last year to attend UST and played on the UST club soccer team. He said his skill and interest in soccer were the main reasons he was involved in the interview process.

According to El-Masri, the new team started practicing in early July, even though it lacked enough players to form a full squad.

"The team wasn't complete, but whoever was there was starting to practice," El-Masri said. As Champenoy continued to recruit, the players' ranks continued to swell until there was a full-size team.

And El-Masri is not the only foreign player on the team. The team includes players from countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Germany and England.

While the players come from all over the world, one thing many of them have in common is age, El-Masri said. Of the 19 players currently listed on the roster, 14 are classified as freshmen. El-Masri cited the need for the team to grow together as the biggest challenge facing the group. "All these players are freshmen, and they're not used to the college level [of competition]," he said.

The team currently holds a 4-2 record. It won its first game against Our Lady of the Lake University, in San Antonio, as well as its most recent match against Northwood University. The next game is on Sept. 23, against Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.

UST is currently a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and classified as an independent. Many of the team's opponents are in the Red River Conference of NAIA, and all of the team's games have been in-state so far. However, the team is planning on a trip in late September to Arizona, where it is scheduled to play two games.

The team's goal for this season is to get a wildcard berth into the regional championship. From there, with enough wins, the team could compete in the national championships, El-Masri said.

The men's soccer team has two home games this season, as well a game at nearby Houston Baptist University. Because Hackett Athletic Compound is not a full-length field, the team must play its home games at another local field, which may be either at St. Thomas or Strake Jesuit high schools. To view the team's schedule, visit www.stthom.edu/soccer.

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