The ELI intramural indoor soccer team won the tournament during the winter session

ELI soccer team wields “secret weapon” to win tournament

In 2008 the ELI intramural soccer team gained a reputation to defend.

“When I arrived here in March,” said Carlos Reyes, “they said, ‘We are the champions.’”

In the January-February session, the team went undefeated.

“This is the first time ELI has won a tournament,” boasted intramural coordinator and faculty member Anne Owen, in a celebratory email.

It didn’t take long for Reyes, a 24-year-old sports journalist from Barranquilla, Colombia, to sign up for the spring team. Like many of his teammates, Reyes still felt a passion for the sport he played when he was in school.

“I like all sports, but I love soccer,” said Reyes. But it was his first time to play indoors.

“It’s faster, the ball is smaller and the rules are different,” reported Reyes.

There was another big difference.

“We had no time to practice.”

Instead, team captain Muataz Alkawaher arrived early to watch the other teams. By game time, the 29-year-old interior designer from Saudi Arabia had a “good plan to win.” That winning strategy would change with each game. But there was always one constant.

“I met with the players and told them how important it was. That it’s not just for fun,” he said. “I told them the goal is to win.”

That psychological tactic may have been decisive.

“Ambition is important in soccer,” agreed Irfan Kaya.

Kaya, who played on three amateur soccer teams in Izmir, Turkey, before coming to the United States to study mechanical engineering, admitted to being aggressive on the field.

“I feel adrenaline before the game and during the game. Even when I see a soccer game on TV, my legs start to tremble. I don’t like to lose.”

Happily for Kaya and his teammates, he didn’t have to.  • BM

Editor’s note: More than 160 ELI students registered to play intramural sports in 2008, including indoor and outdoor soccer, volleyball, basketball, dodge ball and softball. All teams proceeded to the tournaments. “It was successful for everyone who participated, met some American students and had fun,” said coordinator Anne Owen.