With the regular season winding to a close, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams are driven by their success as they start into the playoffs.
Ending the season with a 6-1 lead, the women’s soccer team is prepared to continue the positive trend into the playoffs as they head to games which could place them in nationals. The men’s soccer team has also been dominating in the league, with a solid 11-1 league to kick them into the playoffs.
Women’s:
What was the road to the playoffs like?
Corey Rose- head coach: “I think it’s a similar year to other years. We seemed to be pretty dominant in our region, which got us to the point where we could be region champs. We’re probably the highest seated team going into the district this weekend.”
Victoria Alaniz- right-defense, Sophomore: “We played our first round of playoffs 8 to 1, and we’re just looking for more of a challenge, so hopefully the next games will be a little more challenging. But we’re hoping we can actually make it to Florida for Nationals this year.”
What was the regular season like?
Corey: “We lost one game to a team out of Wyoming. Probably shouldn’t have lost that game, but it was early, so we were still trying to figure out our formation and personnel and that sort of thing. But we’ve been ranked #2 in the country for the last four or five weeks.”
What does this season mean to you?
Corey: “This season is for us to get back on track to get a good national tournament. We’ve had two years where we didn’t meet expectations, and I think this is the year for us to meet expectations.”
Victoria: “This season means a lot to me, it means more to me than just my sophomore years and the end of my soccer career here at TJC. It means a lot, since I’ve been playing with a lot of the same girls since Freshman year, plus my new team.”
Kennedy Rose- mid-defense, Sophomore: “This season means a lot to me, especially with me being the coach’s daughter. Last year was so fun, being a Freshman. I’ve always been coached by my dad, but having him be my college coach makes it a little more serious- I had to learn to cope with that. Not going to nationals last year, and seeing how close we are now. It’s sad that I’m going to leave all these girls next year.”
Leah Fish- goal keeper, Sophomore from Manchester, England: “This season means a lot, because I have a lot of support back home, so, it’s not just the support of the girls and the coaches. If it wasn’t for the support system I have around me, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
Men’s:
What was the road to the playoffs like?
Ricardo Gomez- center-mid/captain, Sophomore: “We had our bumps early in the season, but I think we picked it up together as a team. Because we have ten or eleven guys playing from all over the world. When you bring them here, you gotta adapt to it.”
How was the regular season?
Steve Clements- head coach for 13 seasons: “It was good. Our guys really seemed to put it together and do well in the month of October, so hopefully we can keep it going.”
Ricardo: “Same thing as the playoffs, we started off a little slow, took three losses, but I actually find that a positive. In order for us to succeed, I’d rather lose early in the season than take a loss late in the season and pack our bags and head home. We learned from our losses and ran the table from then on.”
What does this season mean to you?
Ricardo: ”It means a lot, actually. Because if we were to get to national championship and win it back to back, there are only two teams who have done it. Then it would be us last year and this year.“
What were your initial expectations for this team?
Clements: “We liked our talent level. It took us a while to get together. When we finished September, it was 5 and 3, but now here in October we won 9 straight.”
Kyle Timm, assistant coach: “This is the first group I get to work with where we have unlimited international students. About half of our team is American. We have others from South Africa, Switzerland, France, Jamaica, England, Canada.”
The next game that the women’s team will play is tonight (Nov. 6th) at 5:00 P.M. against Hill College. The men’s team will be playing Hinds Community College this Sunday at 5:00 P.M.
