Often wondering where they’ll play next, the men’s soccer club associated with Fresno State continually goes wherever they must to play other teams. Officially recognized as a club soccer team, Fresno State plays in the Division II North League of the West Coast Soccer Association.
“We don’t get to play on campus” Nuan Garcia, a senior at Fresno State and director of the men’s soccer club, said. “The issue is that there is not enough green space and this goes for all the club sports including intramurals. Even people who just want to kick the ball around or throw a Frisbee don’t have space.”
The club, which originally began in 2007 and has been active for three-and-a-half years, continually searches for a field in which they can practice and play their matches. As they are not allowed to play on campus property, the club usually ends up finding another place to play. Whether it is at a park or elementary school, the team finds it rather inconvenient.
“Every other university we go to play at, we have played on campus against the opponent,” Simon Bettencourt, a sophomore soccer club player said. “However, when teams come here we go to some other site.”
Since the university folded the men’s soccer program by rule of Title IX, certain athletic programs were disbanded. Thus, the men’s soccer team was eliminated and other athletic programs for female students continued to exist.
“Of course were not going to like it, but it is the rules of Title IX which is where they have to make everything equal for both genders,” Fresno State sophomore soccer player John Viano said.
“We are pretty disappointed that the school cancelled the soccer team, but I think what’s worse is that they didn’t even give any soccer people an opportunity to play club sports,” Garcia said. “Even intramural classes don’t receive the facilities, resources or even green space needed to play and that makes it suck around here.”
The future of the Fresno State men’s soccer club is rather uncertain as they continue to search for a field to play or even practice on.
Garcia, who not only oversees the team but also plays too, is not too optimistic when it comes to the prospects of the club.
“We are pretty much a dead end kind of thing as we can’t really expand or grow,” Garcia said. “And we see a lot of money being wasted because of this. ASI and the club sports organizations pay for some of the players’ insurance, but we can’t really use it because we don’t play on campus. So we either have to find a secondary insurance or play at risk.”
“I also think that our students have a lack of school spirit, and in combination with the lack of green space available to play on, it leads to everyone suffering,” Garcia added.
The field south of the south gym, which currently receives the most traffic, is in desperate repair. Garcia and the soccer club wishes that the university board would do something about the lack of quality fields and begin repairing the old damaged ones.
“The south gym field is pretty much destroyed as it is used for everything from extra parking to intramural activities,” Garcia said. “And I am looking forward to getting more green space.”