Each year, the intramural soccer season finishes with an event that goes well beyond a simple championship match. Food trucks, performers and other festivities help put an exclamation point on the season every spring.
This year’s Lancer Cup event came with all the trimmings. Food trucks offered dinner and desserts, and there was a variety of entertainment options including live music, a BMX bike show and a soccer juggling group called the Futboleros. The group performed before the game and during halftime.
Additionally, two youth soccer teams went head-to-head as an appetizer for the Lancer Cup intramural soccer championship match.
Marnie Kavern, the Community Life office’s program coordinator for intramurals, said Community Life has been looking forward to this event since the fall semester.
“I was excited for Lancer Cup,” Kavern said. “The atmosphere is unique and fun. It is a great opportunity for students to take a break from studying and enjoy the friendships they have made this semester.”
This season, 18 teams competed in California Baptist University’s co-ed competitive league, which began play on Feb. 11. Each team was named after a country from around the world.
“Lancer Cup is special because it has a more global focus than our other intramurals,” Kavern said. “Each of the soccer teams is named after a country, giving it more of a World Cup feel.”
In the 2019 edition of the Lancer Cup, undefeated Italy bested Bhutan 3-1 to capture the intramural soccer championship after the match was tied 1-1 at one point.
Mark Furtado, junior kinesiology major and member of team Italy, said winning the Lancer Cup this season was a great feeling for him and his teammates.
“I won it freshman year and then this year; it was great playing with guys my age where we could all just shoot, score and get the goals to come together and win,” Furtado said. “It was amazing. Playing soccer is the best intramural (sport).”
Diana Zambrano, senior psychology major, said she enjoyed attending Lancer Cup and taking in the festivities.
“I was able to see how CBU students encourage one another on the field,” Zambrano said. “I loved that some youngsters were able to come and play.”
Zambrano said the youth soccer showcased before the Lancer Cup match was an excellent addition to this year’s event.
“This can inspire the children to go to college one day and always have it in their minds that they played at a college campus when they were small,” Zambrano said.
Kavern said the planning process for the event has been in the works for a while as Community Life secured entertainment and activities to make Lancer Cup as memorable as possible.
“The planning for (Lancer Cup) started last semester with brainstorming,” Kavern said. “Then, this semester is when we started nailing down final ideas and entertainment.”
