SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It was a disappointing ending to the USD men's soccer season as they lost in the NCAA Sweet 16 to Vermont on a penalty kick.
"Unfortunate penalty given away was a little controversial from our end, but nothing we could really do about it, so a really unfortunate way to lose," says USD defender Jack Sandmeyer.
Unfortunately, it was not a storybook ending for the Toreros soccer team, but for senior Jack Sandmeyer, he had a story of his own. He overcame a few obstacles which allowed him to continue to play the game he loves in his hometown.
"I started at UC Davis but it didn't really work out over there. I just had a conflict of interest with the coaches, so I came back here. I wanted to join the team at USD, but I think there were too many guys. I decided to transfer as a student and come back to the city I grew up in," says Sandmeyer.
Sandmeyer enrolled at USD to be a student, but still had the urge to play soccer. So he tried out for the USD club team.
"I was able to try out for them but it was unfortunate it didn't work out. I thought at that moment 'I guess I am done playing soccer.'"
However, he was not done, thanks to Toreros head coach Brian Quinn.
"I was able to get a tryout, and from that point on, it worked out really well. I was able to put all my heart into each training, although not knowing if I would be on the team or not," Sandmeyer says.
The St. Augustine grad made the team his sophomore year and has never looked back. Now in his senior year, he came up big in the NCAA Tournament against Duke as he scored the game-winning goal.
"When I got the goal in the last seven minutes, it was such an amazing experience. I never really knew if I was ever going to be on the team or if I was ever going to play soccer again. To score the goal was amazing."
