A 21-hour van ride from Amherst to Memphis, Tennessee and back to Amherst was well worth it for the Massachusetts men’s club soccer team, as it played in the NIRSA National Soccer Championships this past weekend.

The team entered the tournament coming off a successful 2014 season in which it posted a 4-3-2 record and was undefeated in its division.

Having the opportunity to appear in the tournament was significant for the Minutemen as the team had to fund its way to the competition. With little funding from the University, it had to get creative in order to earn the necessary funds to travel.

Sophomore goalkeeper Curtis Barnes expressed the struggle the Minutemen faced to gain the money they needed.

“When the University didn’t give us a lot of money, we realized that we had to scramble,” Barnes said. “Some of us asked for donations, we had a player raffle off (Boston) Bruins tickets, we had tables set up outside Berkshire Dining Commons and Stackers Pub. We did anything we could to raise the money we needed.”

The goal was to raise $10,000 dollars, but UMass fell short of that mark. In order to compensate for the deficit, the Minutemen opted to drive in vans rather than charter busses, as was initially planned.

“It was dangerous just having vans and having to drive ourselves,” Barnes said. “We ended up all taking shifts. We could have raised more money than we did, but we didn’t. We all wanted to go and if that was the only way, we were going to do it.”

UMass competed against the top club teams in the nation during the tournament that lasted from Nov. 20 to 22.

“It’s huge. There are some really good teams there,” Barnes said. “There are teams with players that could have played varsity athletics. You are truly competing with some of the best players in the nation.”

“It’s a lot of exposure for these kids. It’s great for guys to be able to play in a national tournament because not many people have had a chance to play in one,” Barnes said.

When it came to actual tournament time, the Minutemen did not have the success they had hoped for.

The team went 0-2-1 during the three days. UMass tied California Polytechnic 0-0 in its first game. The Minutemen then lost to Colorado State, 2-0 and Colorado Mines, 3-1 in the consolation game.

Despite not having the success in the win column, Barnes said he thought his team came out with a good performance.

“Some games we could have played better, but we held our own and we are a talented team,” Barnes said. “We did what we knew how to do. We just couldn’t score, which was unlucky, but as a whole I think we played well.”

With this trip to nationals, Barnes said the team hopes it means well for the future of the program.

“I think our future looks bright,” Barnes said. “It definitely gets our name out there to other players on campus. More people will want to try out and it will give us a better look at more players.”

UMass women’s club soccer has successful weekend at nationals

Like the men’s team, the UMass women’s club soccer team made the trip to Memphis for the national tournament.

The Minutewomen experienced their most success of the weekend in its consolation game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, winning 4-0.

The other two games ended in a 2-1 loss to San Diego State and a 1-1 tie against Vanderbilt.

Adam Aucoin can be reached at [email protected].