While most teams had already started the new season of Morale, Welfare and Recreation Soldier soccer, members of the 227th Quartermaster Company, 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade team were training in the field. Although they got off to a late start, the team hit the ground running at Fryar Stadium Monday when they faced off against 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

At the start of the game, the 227th made their presence known on the field, taking quick possessions and making timely recoveries when the ball fell into the possession of the 502nd. By the second half, the 227th had scored four unanswered goals against their opponents.

Making a final push to get onto the scoreboard, the 1/502nd got the ball past the 227th goalkeeper, bringing the score to 4-1. The 227th was quick to respond, however, and the game ended with a final score of 5-1.

“This is our third game of the season,” said Spc. Giovanni Iosue, 1/502nd. “I know it didn’t turn out too well, but really, we’ve got a lot of guys on the team that are brand new to the sport.”

Iosue, who said he played some high school soccer but has not played much in the years since, shared that his team’s most prominent goal for the current season is to show up and have a good time, regardless of the score.

“It’s just really fun to play, to get some guys out here and play soccer,” he said. “Just to be out here on this beautiful field is fantastic.”

Looking ahead, Iosue said the team will try to incorporate some more players from the battalion to strengthen the roster, and that the focus will be on getting the new players to learn the style of the veteran team members.

“We have a good mix out here already – medics, scouts, mortars,” he said. “It really brings the company together and it’s a good time.”

As for the seasonal latecomers, the fact that the 227th CSC team has a core of returning players gives the team a substantial jumping off point.

“There are probably about five of us [who] played with the Fort Campbell soccer team itself,” said Spc. Kyrell Stewart, 227th Quartermaster Co. “At the last Commander’s Cup last November, there were a lot of 227th players. It’s definitely an advantage.”

Monday’s victory was a great start to the season, Stewart said. Looking ahead, he feels like his group – which works together on and off the field – need only keep doing what they are doing, and that more wins will follow suit.

“We just have to keep the team together,” he said.