For those who haven’t heard, a women’s club soccer team is starting at the University of New Haven. After interest from students, the club is ready to get things rolling by next fall. According to club president Nina Trasente, the team missed the registration cut for entering this season, but will look to start friendly matches on Kayo Field as soon as the spring of 2018. Women’s club soccer will join club baseball, field hockey, men’s soccer, and tennis as a club that holds an NCAA counterpart at the university.   

Trasente jump started the idea of starting the club and is the one her team  will count on to get the club running. Being recruited onto a NCAA team can be difficult, so Trasente wanted to help provide a second chance to play a college sport.

“I really wanted to start a club team because I like the level of competition, and I wanted to play soccer on a lower level than NCAA women’s soccer,” Trasente said. “I’m all for dedication and hard work to a team, but I wanted a little more leniency, and didn’t want to be tied down to so much of a commitment. I wanted the schedule to be feasible for everybody. I also missed the bond between a team, and wanted to revive that.”  

Regarding interest level, there were a surprising number of girls willing to play college soccer.

“I have had nearly 70 girls approach me through email or in person and that blew my mind,” Trasente said. “I expected a big turnout, but to see it actually happen is just amazing. Right now, because we are so new, I want to keep only one team. However, in the future when we are more established and can handle the responsibilities of running a club, I would like to possibly create different levels of teams because of the interest level.”

With this much interest, the club shouldn’t have a problem developing the program and becoming successful in the future.   

With the number of fans who flock to see the university’s soccer programs, the New Haven community is sure to welcome a club team that could deliver the same caliber of play the NCAA teams provide.