Men’s club soccer gears up for first-ever spring season
For the first time in the Utah State men’s soccer team’s history, the group is gearing up for a spring season. The team usually plays strictly in the fall, but it has assembled a five-game spring schedule.
“It should be a little different. We have a couple of players leaving and a couple of players coming out just to try it out,” said Matt Cannon, a junior striker on the team and a co-captain. “It’s easy to be positive about it.”
The season will be a way to look at some new players and will focus on getting the players ready for the fall season.
“I would say 80 percent of the roster is the same,” said senior defender and team captain Joseph Burt. “We are trying out players. There are about six new ones.”
The team will take on the spring season without a coach. Former coach Sherri Dever stepped down after the past fall season.
“It’s not as intimidating as it sounds. We do have a couple guys with a lot of experience on the field, so it’ll be good for us,” Cannon said. “It’ll be interesting, and I’m excited to see how it goes.”
As a result of not having a coach, captains Burt, Cannon and Andrew Knickerson will be taking on a larger role as players and partial coaches.
“It’s pretty much us organizing practices and being player coaches throughout the game,” Burt said.
As far as finding a coach for the future, Burt said the team is in the process of searching for one.
“It comes down to the captains to find a coach,” Burt said. “It’s kind of difficult to find someone to coach the team without much or any pay.”
For Burt, this spring season is the last opportunity for him to play while wearing a USU jersey.
“It’s weird. It’s like a last hurrah,” Burt said. “This is my fourth year playing, and each year it has gotten more fun and more competitive.”
The team will open up its season on Saturday at 4 p.m. against BYU-Idaho, a team the Aggies have never played before. The game will be broadcast on Aggie Radio.
Though the whole season is uncharted territory for the men’s soccer team, the players are optimistic and plan to win.
“Expectations are really just to kind of figure out the team for next year, get a head start on regionals,” Cannon said. “A win would be really good. I think that’s what we expect. We have a good team.”
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