The UNA Men’s Soccer Club is one of the many clubs that UNA has to offer. They started their season on Sep. 21 in Birmingham, beating the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers 4-1.
The soccer club allows students who enjoy soccer meet other students who share the same passion, continuing to play and furthering their skills through college.
The president of the club is Zach Boyett, who has been a member of the club since 2022. When he joined, they were “rebuilding” after the original club disbanded for a few years, with the new club starting to recruit members in 2021. Boyett shared his excitement over the club’s growth.
“This year, we had the most new people we’ve ever had coming in since I’ve been here, by double,” said Boyett. “We’ve really gone from playing two/three games a season, local games, to ten games a season, traveling, getting the name out there. Winning some really big games, we’ve won some really big games last year.”
He said that he found out about the club from Instagram, and now he encourages people who would like to join to reach out to him or vice-president Ryan Mukendi through Instagram, @una_msoccer, or email, [email protected].
Mukendi, the club’s right back, found the club through his friends. He loves to travel and has played soccer in many different places, such as Tunisia, and finds that the UNA Men’s Soccer Club is a diverse group of people.
“Since I’ve come here, I’ve really [experienced] that the club is really diverse, that it’s mainly nationality, so it’s a great opportunity to learn from each of them,” said Mukendi.
He enjoys the “different talent and different vision” all of his teammates bring.
“Every time, everybody tries to get better and try to improve and really tries to make the team stronger,” he said.
Yuto Nakashima, left and right winger, said the team inspires him because the team can “be strict [with] each other”, while still being “a group of friends”,” and being “nice to each other.”
“The team is really nice, we can play [with] each other, and everyone [is] punctual. Everyone is nice to freshmen, so it’s [a] nice team,” said Nakashima. “I love UNA’s Men’s Soccer Team and I will do my best.”
Boyett said he has always been passionate about soccer. He sees the team as “a good way to keep [him]self in shape, and also, just a good way to stay competitive past high school.”
In high school, he pushed for the high school’s very first soccer team, so he enjoyed seeing the growth of his University’s team as well. Boyett is happy to see the sport growing throughout the country.
“When I was growing up, it was not something that was very prominent,” said the captain.
“I’ve played soccer for my whole life, so, like, being able to play against people who are at the D1 level is really fun, really interesting,” said Ashton Bright, a winger for the team.
He wanted to play D1 soccer and tried out for the club after one of his friends on the team suggested that he join.
Bright said, “It’s very competitive; that’s what I enjoy about it. And being able to play with the people here, makes me wanna play even more.”
The club has been able to travel and play many teams all around the nation, including Stetson, Fla., Vanderbilt, Tenn., Mississippi State, University of South Carolina, and University of Tennessee Knoxville, alongside other teams in N.C. and Ga.
Mukendi said that his favorite place to play so far has been the University of South Carolina because he felt the UNA club was in its prime, and the S.C. team was a really good competitor, being their only loss of the season. He liked the competitive aspect. While Boyett enjoyed their games at Stetson and Vanderbilt.
Boyett believes the growth of the club has let them travel more and have more opportunities to play bigger teams.
He said, “Now we’ve gone from playing teams, you know, that are just local. Mississippi State was the furthest we’d really travel when I came around, and we’ve really grown now.”
The club hopes to recruit more members and continue to grow to become a team eventually.
Clubs like the Men’s Soccer Team allow students to meet and learn about people of other nationalities and different backgrounds, as well as let them explore and further their passions and interests in a competitive environment. The community in these clubs allows for life-long memories and bonds.
“As of right now, we’re just a club, but I feel like with the time, the club will definitely become bigger, and inspire and attract more people. I hope that this interest will show the university that they should definitely keep an eye on us, and make the team become bigger and maybe the future official team for the university,” said Mukendi.
“You don’t have to be a professional athlete to come out here and have a good time. If you like the sport, you won’t regret coming out here and playing,” said Boyett to students who may be interested in trying out.
