On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, a group of women gathers on the fields at the Eugene M. Hughes Metroplex. They meet from 7-8:30 p.m. to hone their skills and create lasting memories.
They’re all a part of Wichita State’s women’s soccer club, which serves as an opportunity for them to make friends and keep playing at a competitive level after high school.
“Our goal right now, since we’re a club team, and we’re open to anyone regardless of experience, is to teach people how to play,” said Adrian Allen, a junior film major.
The soccer club is open to anyone of any skill level and is a way for people to keep playing a sport they love and find community. Some who find out about the club rekindle an old flame.
“I just found out about the club today (Thursday),” Emily Wadman, a freshman majoring in aerospace engineering, said. “I played soccer for 10 years before this, and quit before I really got into high school. So I just wanted to reconnect because I missed it.”
The club, which has a competitive team, is part of the Kansas-Missouri league and competes against other college’s club teams. The team’s next trip will take them to Illinois.
“We play other colleges, not their college teams, but their club teams,” Allen said. “We’re going to Illinois this weekend to play their club team, and we play a lot of teams in Missouri. We’ll be playing Maryville, and we’ll be playing Truman University. Most of the teams we play are in Missouri, but we do travel a lot.”
While the club is open to anyone at any skill level and welcomes people who have never played before, most of its members have a background in the sport.
“I played (for a) traveling club in high school because my high school was so tiny we didn’t have a team,” Allen said. “It’s a good way to stay in shape because it’s such an endurance-heavy sport.”
Whether it’s just staying in shape, reconnecting with a sport they love, or finding something new, the club’s members have built a strong community, on and off campus.
“Some of the girls come here, they’ve never played before,” Allen said. “And they end up staying because, I mean, it’s soccer — you learn to love it.”
