The 2026 Annual Meeting of the AAS at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was the scene of something special – even in the already-rarified world of arachnology: the first ever AAS soccer competition. With teams fielded entirely from the ranks of meeting attendees (see team rosters below), the event was a joyful nod to this year’s World Cup competition. (The excitement of this global event reportedly kept a couple of members from attending some of the talks).
Taking place on UNL’s Vine Street Fields, the match was well-attended and had “a wonderful atmosphere thanks to energetic team play and a great crowd,” said Jillian Kurovski, the event organizer and an Araneos team member.
“On our side,” recalled Gustavo Silva de Miranda, another Araneo, “we had great team play, with our defense going super well, avoiding goals.” Gustavo was inside the goal area when the ball was passed to him, and he scored for the Araneos. On the other side, he said, “they had great players, especially Erika Garcia.”
Patrick Casto scored the first goal in the first half from a cross. “For the Mygalomorphs, Rodrigo [Monjaraz-Ruedas] and I made a play,” said Casto. “He passed to me, and I kicked it in.
“I remember a lot of joking around with the other team,” said Brandon Marrone, who scored two goals for the Araneos in the third period. “It was a very friendly game, but we knew that there were certain players who needed to be marked because they really skilled. One guy on the other team kept shooing me away and called me a mosquito because I was always on him adding pressure.”
The Mygalos “had a very skilled team,” says Marrone, “and we had a high-endurance team. A lot of my teammates before the game said they had never played soccer before and were really more cross country/track” athletes. Araneomorphs had lead the entire game.
Garcia scored two goals in the second half. “After several failed attempts at shooting on goal,” she recounts, “the first one was from the right side outside of the box at a distance and the ball went in towards left side of the goal. This was maybe 10 minutes or so into the second half, I think leaving the score at 3-2 at this point.”
“On most of Erika’s plays,” said Casto, “she was mobbed by 3-5 players at a time and still kicked it through them and got the ball in.” Mariela Oviedo-Diego was “sticking to me like glue!” says Garcia, and “Brandon Marrone was a speedy defender to get by.”
Some good play by her teammates stands out in her memory: “David Vrech did a good job distributing the ball throughout the game. Carlos Santibanez and Jihoo [Kim] made some good runs up top to get in for a scoring opportunity. Joao Rugine was also key to distributing the ball. David, Joao, and I had some good combinations.
For Garcia’s second goal, she says, “Joao and I worked our way from half field, quickly passing the ball to each other through several defenders, where I was left 1v1 with the keeper, and I passed the ball to the left side of the goal. This might have been in the final minutes of the game if I recall correctly, leaving the final score at 4-3.”
Marc Milne, an Araneo, recalls that “amazing goal … It was a hard shot that soared into the top left corner past the goalkeeper. Definitely the best goal of the game.”
A rematch is already planned for the 2027 meeting, to be hosted in Indianapolis by Marc Milne. This one will have a scorekeeper because, said 2026 organizer Kurovski – who also scored a goal – “I would rather play!”
View the AAS 2026 soccer team rosters
