Arizona defeated 2-1 to eventual champs

A long hard-fought season came to an end this weekend for the men's club soccer team as the Wildcats fell short in their national title dream.

A 1-1-2 record in the national tournament held in Bakersfield, Calif. left the high-powered Wildcats with a final rank of No. 5.

"Ranked five out of 116 schools is pretty good if you ask me," head coach David Hunter said.

Arizona, ranked number one in the Region 6 of NIRSA, and lost in the quarterfinal game to eventual national champion Weber State, 2-1.

"It's frustrating because we didn't play up to our ability, we were better than that," team captain Will Yokubaitus said.

In first round matchups, UA went 1-0-2 and won its respective bracket. The victory came over Texas 2-1. Arizona then went on to post ties against Illinois (2-2) and Colorado State.

Striker Ivan Lerme led the Wildcats in scoring for the tournament with three goals and one assist. Marking backs Kvar Black and Ryan MacEachern put forth solid defensive efforts, while keeper Paul Anderson had a noteworthy tournament as well, never allowing more than two goals in any of Arizona's four games.

"Those guys played an outstanding tournament," Hunter said. "There is not a lot of blame to go around, we played our hearts out."

Hunter said Weber State was just deeper and had fresher legs.

"We played tough, but it just seemed that they got a few bounces to go their way," Yokubaitus said.

For Yokubaitus and Hunter, this weekend's tournament marked the end of their UA soccer careers. Yokubaitus will graduate in May with aspirations of a career in engineering. Hunter will be ending a 14-year run as a UA player and coach.

"At least we got a chance to show the younger players what it takes to win a national championship," Yokubaitus said.

For Hunter, almost a decade and a half of dedication to Arizona soccer comes to a close.

"I'm sad it's my last game, but I couldn't be more proud and pleased with the success of this team," he said.

Arizona men's club soccer will continue in the spring, with weekly workouts and several tournaments in Las Vegas, San Diego and a Mardi Gras tournament in Louisiana. Students from the UA, Pima and local club teams are welcome to workout with the squad, which will likely hold Friday practices in the spring.