CSB club soccer finishes first USCSL season with a trip to playoffs

Before the start of the 2022 fall semester, St. Ben’s only had varsity soccer and intramurals as paths to get on back on the pitch. Junior Ava Lenneman, vice president of CSB club soccer, had played intramurals and found that it just wasn’t enough for her.

“I played intramurals in the beginning of freshman year,” Lenneman said. “It wasn’t enough competitiveness, and there was a gap between the varsity team and intramurals. We needed more competition.”

Junior Casey Fredrickson, president of the club, added that club soccer was an avenue to balance school and athletics.

“Committing to a varsity level sport is time consuming,” Fredrickson said. “I thought if we could get people who want to play competitively, we could balance this with school in a more effective way.”

The team wrapped up their season in late October, finishing with an 8-3 win over St. Olaf in their final game as well as a trip to the Upper Midwest Collegiate Soccer League (UMCSL) North Division playoffs prior to that. This was the team’s first year in the UMSCL, and junior Cecilia Odegard, treasurer of the club, had good things to say about their team as well as their time at the University of Iowa for the tournament.

“We have a very fun, supportive team environment,” Odegard said. “It was really fun hanging out in the hotel together.”

The environment that Odegard speaks of wasn’t built in a day or even a year. In fact, according to Lenneman, the club had fewer than ten consistent members when it first began.

“In the spring of 2023, we had maybe four or five people consistently show up,” Lenneman said.

Despite the low numbers to start, the player count from this fall is much higher.

“On our roster we have 27 people currently,” Fredrickson said. “Commitment has remained high.”

Odegard added jokingly that this increase in numbers has left the team with a potential issue on some gamedays.

“Some days we don’t have enough jerseys for the girls,” Odegard said. “It is a good problem to have.”

While varsity sports would have a set of coaches to instruct its student athletes, this team fully coaches themselves. Fredrickson provided insight as a leader of this club on the blessings of this feature.

“It really helps us as a team,” Fredrickson said. “We all give each other feedback, and we keep each other accountable.”

On the other side of that, Odegard acknowledged the difficulties that come with this privilege, such as balancing competing against other teams and having a fun time.

“If we want to be a competitive program, then we can’t do equal playing time,” Odegard said. “Even though we try to be competitive, we are still trying to have a lot of fun with it too.”

The season is over, but the club soccer team is open to new players as they move into the winter months. Any Bennie can join, and Lenneman supported that. She also gave insight into some of the ways the club stays connected after the season is over.

“We have a range of people who haven’t played for a while and people who just finished their senior year on the varsity team,” Lenneman said. “There is a spot for any person who wants to join. We will start doing team workouts and join an intramural league during the winter, so definitely show up in the spring. It is less competitive and a great opportunity.”

A final contributing factor to join, according to Fredrickson, would be the tight group she wouldn’t have had if she had not helped start this club two years ago.

“I love this team,” Fredrickson said. “I think it is such a good opportunity to grow community and support each other on the field and off it. It is cool to see the people that come to the games to support as well. That is the beauty of this sport and of this club.”