ROCHESTER, Minn. – While Shreveport residents sweated out gallons in the hottest June in recorded history, a handful of LSUS soccer players opted for a more friendly summer environment.
A total of eight men’s and women’s soccer players migrated to Minnesota for summer league action.
The student-athletes departed for Rochester, Minnesota, right after finals in May to play in semi-pro soccer leagues.
“It’s lovely being up here, there’s great people,” said LSUS defender James Averies, who is playing in his second Minnesota summer season. “The majority of players are in college from all divisions, and there’s a couple of high school players who participate to get that experience with college players.
“A lot of international players come up here because it allows us to stay in the country instead of flying back home for the summer.”
Averies, a Norwich, England native, and other men’s players for Med City FC live with local host families.
Averies is joined by fellow LSUS defender Jake Strachan and former Pilots Martin Rasmussen and Scott Neil. Strachan and Neil are from Scotland with Rasmussen hailing from Denmark.
Rochester is home to the renowned Mayo Clinic, and Averies said most everybody works in the medical profession. The high temperatures this time of year stay mostly in the 70s.
“Because of the host families, food and housing are covered,” Averies said. “It is hot up here in the summer, but it’s nothing like Louisiana and that humidity.
“The competition is really good up here, and it’s great preparation for the college season. It’s like playing a season before the actual college season.”
All four Pilot women’s players suit up for FC Rochester of the United Soccer League.
The women’s team is in its second season, and all LSUS players (Madison Salas, Carlota Alcalde, Abbie Rutledge and Chelsea Brown) play for the Rochester squad.
The team played a 10-game schedule that ended in early July.
“(Former LSUS coach Dejan Milosevic) had connections with team owners up here, and it’s an opportunity for us to become better players,” said Salas, a defender from Friendswood, Texas. “The competition definitely helped, and I found out that I’m still game fit.
“But it’s not just the fitness, it’s the skills aspect. Without this league, I would still be working out over the summer, but this league allows me to put touches on the ball in a game environment.”
Salas lived with Rutledge under the host family’s roof.
“I’d say we’re more laid back down South while they are more intense up here,” Salas said. “There are cheese curds everywhere you go, and I really like those.
“I would definitely recommend this experience for other players, and I wish I would have been able to start it earlier in my college career. It’s a great opportunity to step forward into women’s sports.”
The men’s season is still in full swing and will go until the beginning of August.
Med City is 6-2-4 and are unbeaten in their last five contests.
The men’s team is part of the Midwest North Conference, a seven-team league spanning Minnesota and the Dakotas in which you play each team twice.
The NPSL consists of 15 total conferences that crisscross the country.
“We’re guaranteed 18 games with the possibility of playoffs after that, so it’s like playing a season before the actual college season,” Averies said. “We train three or four times a week with two games, so it’s a great experience.”
LSUS sent some of its most talented players to the summer league as both Averies and Strachan were named First-Team All-Conference for the Red River Athletic Conference champion Pilots. Strachan was an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention on the back line.
Chelsea Brown set four LSUS records this past season, including a single-game record of five goals at Paul Quinn.
The all-conference honorable mention pick was joined in conference awards by Rutledge, who was named a Champion of Character.
