On Sunday, March 9, the University of New Hampshire’s first women’s club soccer team tryouts were held. Sixty players competed for a spot on the 20-person roster. This was a huge starting point for the team, which has been in the making for many years now.
Junior Lily Bacca, founder and president of the club team, has been hard at work forming this team since her freshman year. She watched intramural soccer interest grow and collected numbers from girls interested in playing more competitively.
“All of the other schools I got accepted into had the opportunity for me to play soccer either at a varsity Division III level or competitive club level…but they weren’t UNH. When I made the decision to commit to UNH, I also made the decision to commit to a women’s club soccer team. I knew there had to be interest out there from people just like me,” said freshman Somor Loto, the vice president of the club team.
Bacca and Loto began discussing the formation and recruiting players through pickup games for what is now the UNH women’s club soccer team.
“It wasn’t till meeting Somer Loto, an incoming freshman who showed the same passion towards the sport that I did, that I knew I had the support,” said Bacca.
From there, the pair continued to gain support from players striving to play more competitive soccer as well. They held a few pickup games at UNH and played in two daylong tournaments in Boston and Maine against other schools’ club teams in late 2024.
Now, a few months later, the team continues to build connections with various schools across New England. Since they are not part of an official league, every game is an away game for now.
It has been a smooth start for the team, winning its first game 5-3 against UMass Lowell on March 30. The future looks bright with more games and tournaments to come soon.
“It really is unfortunate that it has taken this long for a club team for women’s soccer here at UNH. There is clearly a high interest for people to be involved with this club, but it’s clear that many people didn’t know where to get started with forming one,” said Bacca.
Thanks to Loto and Bacca’s dedication and passion for the sport, they were able to successfully build this team from the ground up. They are excited for what their future as a team will hold.
“We’ve worked so hard to make this dream happen not only for ourselves, but for everyone else who loves UNH just as much as we do,” said Loto.
