Dressed in blue jeans and a short sleeve button-down shirt, the man would have looked out of place on most soccer fields.

But this is not a real soccer field, not even close to one, and the scene doesn’t seem so bizarre.

No white lines are drawn to mark boundaries. Placed in the outfield of a softball field are two rusting brown metal goals without nets, situated almost caddy-cornered to one another.

It’s past midnight at City Park, and mosquitoes flock to the lights above the field.

Below, the men playing provide proof that soccer truly is a global sport. They are a melting pot of nationalities, and shouts of encouragement in Spanish are more often heard than English.

About 15 men played Monday night. Many of them work together at restaurants and head to the field after getting off work around 10 or 10:30. The game usually begins between 11:30 and midnight. Sometimes a group of restaurant workers travels from Jackson for a full game of 11-on-11.

&#8220It’s just for fun, to be more friendly together,” said 31-year-old Sergio Perez, a waiter at El Sombrero who is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. &#8220It’s a chance to spend time together out of the job and have a good time.”

Some of the men wear T-shirts and shorts. Others wear clothes more often seen in church than on a playing field.

And their playing abilities are just as diverse.

One of the players rarely touches the ball and has trouble staying on his feet on the wet grass.

Then there’s Michael Cooper, the 2005 and 2006 Vicksburg Post Player of the Year who often shows up along with Josh Dixon, his former Vicksburg High teammate.

Cooper will play for Hinds Community College in the fall, while Dixon will play at Mars Hill College, a Division II school in North Carolina.

&#8220There’s pretty much no restrictions and you can work on whatever you want to work on out here,” Dixon said. &#8220I work on my dribbling, my touch and my vision on the field. You can’t really do that in a real game because then you get stuck.”

For advanced players like Cooper and Dixon, this is the only place to play in Vicksburg. The nearest soccer fields are in Bovina, but those are owned by the Vicksburg Soccer Organization and are mostly used for youth practices and games.

Jason Hopkins, 31, has been playing in the late-night games for the past four years because he said no other options exist for adult soccer players in Vicksburg. Besides playing on a softball field, he said city officials will only allow soccer to be played there after 10 p.m.

&#8220This is the only place to play in town,” said Hopkins, the former St. Aloysius boys soccer coach. &#8220That’s why we’re here.”

On Monday night, the game wrapped up around 1:30 a.m., a little earlier than usual. Players helped carry the goals off the field and turned off the lights before heading home.

As long as there are adult players searching for a game in Vicksburg, midnight soccer is likely to continue on the softball field at City Park, players here say.

It’s one of the few places where diehards can be found playing alongside a man wearing blue jeans and a button-down shirt.

&#8220I used to play baseball, I played football, I played basketball, but nothing is as fluid like this game,” Dixon said. &#8220I love it. Even if I broke both my legs, I’d still try to find a way to be involved with soccer.”