On a hot August evening in 2019, three freshmen anxiously awaited by the goal post for their first tryouts with the Texas men’s club soccer team. 

Three years later, the seniors look back and have one piece of advice for those who stand where they were three years ago: Roll with the punches. 

Dhruv Sethi, a computer science senior, fell in love with soccer at an early age.

“I played soccer, tennis (and) a lot of cricket,” Sethi said. “Eventually in high school, I had to make a choice between all three of them, and I liked soccer the most so I stuck with it.” 

Sethi, who plays as a right forward on the team, said some of his favorite experiences came at the 2021 National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association National Soccer Championships in Foley, Alabama.  

After a long pause in the 2020 season due to COVID-19, Texas advanced from its region to the national finals. 

With the score tied 0-0 during one of the regional games, Sethi scored the winning free kick that moved Texas into the next round. Though the team ultimately fell 3-1 to Brigham Young University in the title game, Sethi was proud of how far he had come. 

“It was one of my best moments ever in terms of feeling and in terms of playing soccer,” Sethi said. “It was really a noteworthy experience.”

Senior goalkeeper Chris Hesse had a similar experience during the team’s semifinal game against North Carolina. With the game tied 1-1 at the end of regular time, the game went to penalty kicks to decide a winner. 

“I was able to save two of them,” Hesse said. “That’s what pushed us over into the final.” 

Raised by German parents who ignited his interest in soccer, Hesse began playing at the age of six. 

“I’d actually bring my goalkeeper gloves with me (to school), and everyone would be running around in tennis shoes, and you would look over and see this kid holding these huge gloves,” Hesse said.

Hesse played one of his first games with the Texas club team during its preseason as an impressionable freshman, driving almost five hours to the game. Ever since then, the sport has stuck with him. 

“For me, it’s a bit of a catharsis, no matter what is going on in my life or in school,” Hesse said. “When I’m out there, … it’s a really nice avenue for me to forget everything going on for a little bit.”

The team’s other goalkeeper, senior Ian McIntosh, has also had an impressive four years with the club. Though he was one of the last people in the final rounds of tryout to be selected during his freshman year, McIntosh is now vice president of logistics and the captain of the team. 

“If you told me that was going to happen in my freshman year, I wouldn’t have believed you,” McIntosh said. 

But each of the players’ growth within the team didn’t come without struggle. As freshmen trying out for one of the most premier club soccer teams in the nation, they were still discovering themselves and their goals. 

“You’re an adult but everyone around you feels like they’re bigger, a lot more facial hair,” Sethi said. “It was very intimidating. They looked like men and you felt like a little kid.”

Sethi, Hesse and McIntosh worked hard to dedicate most of their time to making a favorable impression on the coaches, developing relationships with teammates and showing up to late night practice and games that required hours of travel on the road.

 “I had to let myself be patient,” McIntosh said. “Let myself grow into the program and in my role.”

The three seniors emerged as dedicated players, reviving the passion for the sport that they fell in love with from an early age. 

“You have to learn to roll with the punches, and you have to realize that there are some things that you can’t really change at the end of the day,” Hesse said. “You have to be fine with that and be able to move forward from that.”