by: Lilyanne Rosete Despite getting together just one week before the first game of the season, the men’s soccer team went eight straight games undefeated, an accomplishment never before seen in past years. With that, the team also ranked third in the National Junior College Association (NJCAA), “a huge feat given that it has never happened to our program and to any program in the athletic department,” said head coach Coach Soto.
“The competition was difficult,” said captain Jeffery Castillo, “especially after we started winning a couple games.” At one point, the team faced Camden, the one game that stood out to both Soto and Castillo. “Camden has been #1 in the region for 12 years, and we beat them convincingly,” said Soto. After beating Camden, it was then that the team realized this was something to take more seriously. “It was a stepping stone for the rest of our games,” said Castillo, “because we realized we can go far.”
The team finished the season with a record of 11-3, in addition to their seat as GSAC Champions.
Although the season is over, the grind does not stop there. “People don’t know,” said Soto, “but we have four seasons in the year: off-season, preparation season, pre-season, and the regular season.” The regular season is September to November, which is the actual performance of the sport. According to Soto, the off-season entails “reflection, goals, visions, and objectives.” Preparation season, which happens from May to June, includes “training and knowing what to implement to meet those offseason goals for the following year.” Pre-season occurs July to early September, right before the regular season where the events of the preparation season become more intense.
“It’a a full-year around thing,” said Soto. “It’s tough because I coach part-time and the players are also pretty much somewhat part-time, but we do our best to try to implement the whole-year type of thing.”
The success of this season has definitely made an impact. “Usually, it takes an athletic program years to reach top five in the nation,” said Soto, “and we did it in one year with a whole new team.” This is the new goal for every year moving forward as this team planted the roots for the future of men’s soccer.
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