“Players can tear out the grass in a few seconds, then the problem is growing it back,” Evans said.

The field is composed of perennial bluegrass, also known as ryegrass, but the annual bluegrass that grows naturally “outcompetes” the ryegrass, Evans said.

The problem with this is that the annual bluegrass’s roots are shallower than the ryegrass’s, making it much easier to be torn out.

The grounds crew fertilizes regularly by putting seeds down, but they don’t put the seeds into the soil. Evans said if they use too much fertilizer then the grass grows too much for the gardeners to mow.

Whether they are trying to maintain the field or simply fix a problem, it still affects the players.

“Last week they were trying to regrow some of the grass, so like, during the whole week of practice we had potter’s soil pretty much covering half the field,” Vanni said.

The players are doing what they can to make the best out of the situation.

“All you have to do is look at (the field), it’s pretty bad,” said soccer player Andrew Chansky. “But in a way, it kind of becomes a home field advantage. Teams come in here, they’re not expecting these kinds of conditions and we’re practicing in it every day. We’re used to it.”

Others are not so forgiving.