LBCC Soccer Club Starts

The Linn Benton Runners began their competitive season this past Saturday against their rival foes of Central Oregon in Bend. After weeks of tryouts and practice, the twenty-two member squad took the field on Saturday to eventually fall short by a final score of 2-4 in favor of COCC.

When the teams took the field, the atmosphere was a mixture between excitement, and worry. According to Sean Stasiak, a starting player for the Runners, “A lot of us were exhausted from the trip to Bend and dealing with our first week of class.” Quickly in the first half, COCC came out roaring to a 2-0 lead over the Runners. At halftime, with a little help from advisor Art Mota, the Runner’s came out with a roar of their own, scoring two goals fairly early in second half. After a period of tough fought balls and plays, COCC went into overdrive and scored two game clinching goals within three minutes of one another.

Although this loss has come early in the season, the team is already looking ahead to their next game this coming weekend. “COCC in my opinion, is our biggest rival,” states Stasiak. “Our biggest problem last week was ourselves” he went on to say. “Although we lost to COCC, we can’t forget we have another game this weekend against Western.”

Unlike many other clubs on campus, the Runners are one of the few where spots on their roster are incredibly competitive. Grady Thompson states that “roughly thirty or forty people came out for tryouts this year. Unluckily, we only can hold a squad of about twenty men.” This difficulty of completion for a spot on the roster has helped the team grow to a new level throughout the past few years. “Playing for the LBCC Soccer Club has really given me the chance to still compete with a well rounded group of people,” Stasiak states.

According to the Soccer Clubs website, the Runner’s compete in a league dubbed The Cascade Collegiate Soccer League. Fellow competitors include; Oregon State University, Lewis and Clark, University of Oregon, University of Portland, and many other teams. With a tough schedule throughout the year, and miles of traveling to do, the Runner’s look forward to their next match this coming Saturday and 2pm on the soccer fields of LBCC.

Geoff Watkins

Edit: The venue for the game was moved to the field at Corvallis High School the night before the scheduled time. Runners are currently 0-2 in League standings.