As the 2012 season begins, the SRJC men’s soccer team looks to improve upon last year’s performance.
At the end of the 2011 season, five SRJC players transferred to four- year colleges across the nation, including Big 8 All- Conference first team MVP Christian Reyes. Reyes earned a scholarship to play at Cal State LA, leaving a big role to fill for this year’s team.
Coach Marty Kinahan expects returning sophomores Justin Fowler, Octavio Estupian, Cody Martin and goalie Christopher Kelley to lead.
The freshmen have high hopes for the season after training all summer. Forward Jean Leon enjoyed the summer training session and looks forward to the season. “It was a tough summer but good. You have to do what it takes and I actually enjoyed it,” Leon said.
Despite having more freshmen than sophomore players, Kinahan expects a great season. “We have a lot of freshman who will be starting games this year, but they are ready for the challenge,” he said.
With the amount of change occuring this year, a leadership role will need to be filled, but the players do not feel pressure. “Right now we’re still fighting for positions. It depends on what you give at practice,” Vasquez said.
As far as filling in the roles of last year, Leon said, “It’s a new year; we start everything fresh. We all have the same goal in mind: win, so there won’t be too much head butting over team leaders.”
At practice, the team shows chemistry and a lot of energy. This team is full of energy and communication between players and coach is astounding. Kinahan constantly tells players if they are taking too many touches with the ball before passing or if they are not taking enough. Warm-ups and drills are fluid and the constant chatter shows a high regard for Kinahan’s system. With many past teams nationally ranked, this year’s team is no exception.
During the preseason the team lost both scrimmages against Sonoma State and San Francisco State and have used it as a learning experience. “Though not official season games,” Kinahan said. “The games were great for giving our young players experience and getting them confident to play at this level.”
The team had a couple games that count for state and NorCal rankings but no conference games thus far. These includes Cabrillo, Skyline and last year’s CCCAA state champions, Mt. San
Antonio College (Mt. Sac). The Bear Cubs lost to Mt. Sac 4-nil Aug. 27.
“I gave them too much respect and switched our formation from a 4-5-1 to 4-4- 2 because of their success last year and our guys were nervous and did not start out of the gate with a lot of confidence. In the second half we switched back to a 4-5-1 and were able to play with them better,” Kinahan said.
Early on Mt. Sac earned two penalties and converted both. Mt. Sac scored twice more, once off a volley and another on a penalty kick.
SRJC played Mt. Sac in Los Angeles in the blazing heat. On top of that one of the SRJC team vans broke down on the Grapevine. Half the team went to start the game and the substitutes showed up once the van was repaired. This threw off the team’s concentration and made for a hectic day in L.A.
The games against Cabrillo and Skyline were both 1-nil victories. With a 2-1 record the SRJC men’s soccer team looks to excel into the rest of the season.
