The Wake

The men’s club soccer time lost in the semifinals of the National Tournament in Tuscaloosa, AL, but not before spoiling other teams’ championship hopes.

The highlight of the tournament was a 3-0 trouncing of defending champion Weber State, coach Alan Merrick said.

“They [Weber State] were mesmerized by our performance,” Merrick said. “We came out and took it to them early in the game.”

The Gophers beat Arizona State, Texas and Weber State and then loss to Utah Valley State in the semis. Nick DeMeuse scored two of the three goals in the Weber State game and had an outstanding tournament, Merrick said. Viktor Adamcsek also played exceptional at midfield, but Merrick said his team ran out of gas with only four available subs due to injuries.

“We felt happy and sad at the same time,” Adamcsek said. “We accomplished big things against good teams but we didn’t think Utah Valley State was a better team. We just ran out of gas.”

Besides Weber State, Merrick pointed to the Texas game as one where his players showed their professionalism and class despite playing against a chippy and aggressive Longhorn team.

The club’s Maroon squad, or B-team, featured many players that will make the Gold, or A- team’s roster next year, Merrick said. Maroon players like Neal Greimel and Seth Vertelney are expected to step in and step up with the losses of Gold stars Brady Eichorn-Hicks, Dan Spakowicz and John Seamen.

With the new changes, Merrick hopes next year’s team will evolve from the role of spoiler to tournament champion.