Club Soccer: Kickin' it in record numbers

As students started their fall semester classes, clubs and organizations took part in the annual rush to woo new students. One was pleasantly surprised by the response — the men’s club soccer team, which nearly doubled its usual turnout, with 115 students trying out for 50 spots.

Senior and team captain Luis Quintero attributed the increase in popularity to an expansion in advertising beyond the annual activities fair in Dillon Gymnasium. “We were really aggressive with our advertising campaign this year,” Quintero said. “This year our club designer, Hayk Martirosyan, created some terrific posters and business cards, which we distributed during frosh week.”

“Over the past couple of years, the officer corps has worked hard to build club soccer’s presence on campus,” he added.

Junior and club president Andrew Sartorius explained that the majority of the club played varsity soccer in high school before coming to Princeton. He said he personally joined because, “soccer is just a part of life for me.” Sartorius is a former writer for The Daily Princetonian.

“I knew I wasn’t going to play Division I soccer in college,” he said. “I loved being active and considered doing frisbee, but once I got settled into the squad there was no question.”

Each year, however, people with little formal experience join the squad. This year, the club took one member who had exclusively played pickup games before trying out.

For most of the team, though, it is a way to continue playing in an organized fashion. “I joined club soccer because I played very competitively in high school and wanted to continue playing at a high level in college,” senior Jake Sally said. Concerning the increase in tryout numbers, he said, “The team feels a lot closer and has a deeper respect for the club. You know you’re fighting for your spot.”

The squad meets for practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with away games on the weekends. Practices are coached by the captains — Quintero and senior Eduardo Contijoch.

“It’s a bit different from high school, since everything is run by the students,” Sartorius said. “Eddy and Luis have to be our teammates during games but do what needs to be done as a coach during practice.”

Quintero explained that being a captain on the team results in a demanding schedule. “Eddy and I have worked hard and met frequently off the field to discuss players on the team and schedules for practices,” he said. “Also, while playing in games, I have to not only be focused on the game, but also be thinking about substitutions and strategy.”

Club soccer outfits A and B squads, which comprise about 30 people each. The team competes in the Tri-State Premier League — an intercollegiate club league that comprises 24 schools across the East Coast.

Princeton plays in a subdivision with Rutgers, Fordham and Rider and also has games with schools as far away as West Virginia and Penn State. With a good record, a team can advance to the larger tournament.

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This year, Princeton is ranked ninth in the league. Sartorius considers this impressive, as “each year we play against schools such as Penn State, whose players could play varsity at Princeton.”

In 2008, the team reached the semifinals of the league tournament, but it struggled last season. So far this fall, the squad won one game and tied one, and will play six more games in the following weeks.

In-state foe Rutgers is the team’s main rival. According to Sartorius, Rutgers “is probably the closest to us in terms of skill, and the matches seem to always be close.”

Quintero — who has been a member of the squad since freshman year — explained that off the field, the team is “a tight-knit group. We have players who take classes together, play intramural sports, just about anything you can think of — we even have a paintball gig lined up for later in the year.”

“It’s nice to see members spread across the various classes and clubs — you’ll see a teammate just about anywhere you go,” Quintero said.

“My best friends are on club soccer,” Sally said. “It was a little scattered my freshman year, so it’s been fun to watch the club evolve into the well-oiled machine that it has become.”

Currently the squad practices and plays matches on the West Windsor Fields, which are located across Lake Carnegie.

“The facilities are often unacceptable,” Sartorius said. “It’s really hard to play as a team when you are unable to pass the ball across the field due to unkempt conditions.”

The club has engaged in conversations with members of the athletic department and was informed that the University is considering an agreement to allow club teams to use varsity fields with permission from the head coaches of the respective sports. Sartorius, however, said he does not expect any change in policy anytime soon.

“We would love it if we could have a game on a varsity practice field, but [men’s soccer head] coach [Jim] Barlow [’91] is extremely protective of the facilities,” Sartorius said. “It doesn’t make sense to me — we all pay tuition.”

Note: this article has been updated to correct tryout numbers.