The K-State men's club soccer team began a 17-hour journey of more than 1,000 miles to get to Pensacola, Fla., Tuesday, after finally raising the money they needed to compete in the national tournament.

After easily winning its regional tournament on Nov. 4, the team won a spot in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association National Tournament, which began today. This was the good news.

The bad news was that team members needed $10,000 to pay for travel expenses.

The team was only able to collect $1,500 of that from the Peters Recreational Facility via the Student Governing Association. Still needing $8,500, and having little time, team members began a mad dash to find money by any means necessary.

Chris Coffey, team treasurer and junior in management information systems, said after failing to get additional money from the university, the first places they turned to were businesses in the Manhattan area, and that is where they found their support. Coffey said donations from Flint Hills Beverage, Kite's Bar and Grill, GTM Sportswear and Copy Kats were crucial in helping the team make it to Florida.

Still short on funds, Coffey said the team was host to a soccer clinic to raise additional money. The clinic last weekend taught soccer skills to about 60 children between the ages of 3 and 15.

Alumni, players and families donated the rest of the money, and in only a week and a half, the team's hard work paid off.

"We've had a lot of people put in a lot of time and effort, and it's just nice that it all came together in time for us to actually be able to go," Coffey said.

Though the players knew they had a hard task ahead of them in raising the money, team members like Nick Gay, junior in electrical engineering, never gave up hope they would make it to the tournament.

"We were pretty much going to do anything we had to to get the moey," Gay said.

Getting the money was one thing, but once the team begins play on Thursday afternoon, the real challenge will begin.

There are 24 teams vying for a first-place finish, and of those, the K-State squad faces a serious threat in the first game. The team is set to play against the University of Michigan, the defending national champion.

This year's team is the first in the club's history to make it to nationals, and the players said they feel confident they can overcome the pressure of competing against highly skilled teams.

"I think if we play to our potential, we can do very well in the tournament," Coffey said.

The players like their chances of doing well, but to some on the team, just being able to compete after all the heartache is a reward in itself.

"I'm really excited for everyone on the team, and I think everyone else is excited as well," Coffey said.