Another season of men’s soccer brings a renewed hope that the Hawks will be able to make a deep run in the playoffs, and ultimately bring home the championship. 

Under the Hawks’ new captains, sophomore and freshman middle forwards Julio Leal Ruiz and Bradley Moorehouse, the team has been doing their best to remain focused early on.

“We get negative on each other, give off negative vibes when we get scored on,” said freshman defender Anthony Wilson. “But we’ll find our rhythm.”

With last year’s discontent among the team members still rumbling, the pressure has been on from the start to perform well.

Although last year’s team finished with a record of 2-5-3 in conference play, Head Coach Ron Preble said this can be attributed to the Hawks playing tougher competition. With new players on the team, the season may get intense.

The men’s soccer team is mainly comprised of freshmen with only five sophomores. However, with so many new players and the pressure to perform brought on with joining the team, it opens up a spot for any player to contribute. 

“We have some guys that would like to do well,” said Preble. “It’s their second year and a couple of them want to leave here and go to the four-year level at another place. Ultimately, at the end of the day, those guys have to perform.” 

The predominantly freshman team has been busy, snatching two goals in five games this season with 1.8 shots a game. 

Preble said the first game against Evergreen Valley, which resulted in a tie, was a good start for the team. Following three tough losses though, the team will look to improve off of their five-game stint. 

“This loss is disappointing, but we found guys that we feel are going to be key parts of the puzzle,” said Preble.

Moorehouse, however, said he would like to get back to work and let these past games go. 

The Hawks have scored 0.40 goals a game, in a regulation time of ninety minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Alecxis Jacobo-Trejo has a game average of 2.00. 

“Overall, it isn’t a bad way to start the season, and we look forward to bringing home a trophy,” said Preble.