Tulane men’s club soccer is back on the field after a slow season due to COVID-19 last school year. Soccer is one of the few sports teams that Tulane Athletics does not have as a Division I sport; however, the men’s club soccer team is highly competitive and arguably just as talented as DI teams. 

Tulane men’s soccer is one of the many club sports here that competes competitively against other universities in the southern region of the nation. Any male Tulane student is allowed to play and participate with the team. However, certain players are invited to join a roster close to 20 players for certain matches and tournaments.

As a fully functioning club here at Tulane, the men’s team has an executive board run by President Eliot Minus and Vice President Will Wisen, along with a treasurer, secretary, social chair and other positions. Along with the executive board, the club elects captains to lead the team. This year’s captains are senior Nicky Armitage and junior Tyler Schlonsky. Tulane alumnus Ibrahim Belkouche serves as head coach.

Every Monday, the team holds practices open to anyone at Yulman Stadium, but they also have invite-only practices to prepare for upcoming games or tournaments with the roster that is participating for that particular event. 

The men’s team plays in the Louisiana division of the Texas Collegiate Soccer League. Other teams in the league include Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Nicholls State University. 

Tulane’s fall league record stood at 6-1-0, so the team was formally invited to the TCSL Regionals tournament hosted by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas from Friday, Oct. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 31. 

The Regionals tournament is split up into groups, and the winner of each group gets to travel to Nationals. Tulane tied the University of Oklahoma 1-1, tied the University of Houston-Downtown 1-1 and lost to Texas Tech 4-0. Texas Tech won the group and was invited to the Nationals tournament. 

Sophomore center back Josh Warsaw joined the team last year and reflected on how different the two years are, saying “Last year was pretty informal due to COVID restrictions. We only got to practice once a week compared to three times a week this year. We had one scrimmage against a local team but couldn’t really compete otherwise.”