After being eliminated from CCS last year, the boys soccer team is ready to bring home another title. Head Coach Mark Cisneros scheduled his boys to play some of the toughest teams in both the state and in the nation– a common scheduling strategy. “I do that on purpose because we want to enter our respected league battle tested. Once the playoffs come along, we won’t be surprised by the talent that we see,” said Cisneros. He scheduled games with De La Salle, Richmond, Clovis East, Mitty, and Bellarmine– all teams who are and have been ranked top 25 in the state. Though these teams were very skilled, the Trojans beat Richmond, Clovis East, and Mitty. They finished strong with a record of 6-2 for the preseason.

Cisneros feels that the boys are looking sharp this year. “Right now we have 10 returners. We’re getting great performances from seniors, juniors, sophomores, and our only freshman on the team. We’re happy with what’s going on.” He has particularly been impressed with senior Jorge Cerna, a player who can take on any position on the field. “Jorge’s doing an incredible job as a leader by example. He has taken on the captain role even though he hasn’t been officially named captain. Cerna’s work ethic is impressive and his passion for the sport becomes infectious with the rest of the team.” However, Cerna did not magically become one the hardest working players on the team overnight. He conditioned months prior to the soccer season and even admitted his concern about not making the team. “Now that I see what I can do, I want to keep working hard to get recruited to play for a college. Another goal of mine is for us to win league and be CCS champs,” said Cerna.

. Senior Adrian Serrato is another outstanding player on the team and has had phenomenal performances throughout this preseason. “Serrato has definitely stepped up,” said Cisneros. Unlike the rest of the team, Serrato is the most experienced returner considering that he has been on the varsity team since his sophomore year. Serrato said, “One of my goals is to beat Watsonville because they’ve been ranked #1 for a while now. We need to beat them in order to win league and eventually, CCS. So I know that I need to put my heart into the game.” He plans to continue his career in college. “San Francisco State is currently looking to recruit me. They’re Division II and they have a pretty good team.”

The preseason was definitely a bloody battle. “I didn’t expect the two losses against Bellarmine and De La Salle but now we know that we need to improve on our communication skills,” Serrato said. The boys lost to Bellarmine because they did not arrive soon enough to warm up before the game. The players entered the field cold and ended up falling to a 2-0 in the first-half. Cerna also agrees that the game required a lot of team effort. “Coach told us to watch out for their throws but we didn’t listen. Even though we woke up in the second half, it was already too late into the game and we lost 3-1.”

Overall, the boys’ season has not been exactly what they expected, but they know what their mistakes are and what needs to be done for improvement. Even though the team isn’t exactly where they want to be so far, Cisneros is confident that through hard work, the boys will reach their full potential. “There are certain lows in quality but right now we have a pretty talented team. The hard thing is that they’re young so getting them to learn how to play football is something that I have to spend a lot of practice doing. Ultimately, they’re becoming better footballers.”

The opening league play on January 5th was against Alvarez. The boys were anticipating a heated match against the Eagles. “Alvarez, just because they’re Alvarez, is always a challenge. No matter how good or how bad their record is, it’s always a difficult game,” Cisneros states. The Trojans defeated the Eagles, 4-2.

However, the most epic match of the season went down on January 19th against the Wildcats. Both teams put up a good challenge but unfortunately, the game ended in a tie, 1-1.

The boys will continue their road towards CCS as they take on the remaining six games of the regular season. Currently, the boys are in a 1st place tie with Watsonville at 4-0-2.