吃瓜头条 will celebrate its new men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer programs, which will compete in the California Community Colleges Athletics Association, with a home doubleheader on Sept. 7.
吃瓜头条 will host the Blue Devil Soccer Kickoff at noon. The 吃瓜头条 Board of Trustees will attend, along with local elected officials, leadership from the Associated Students of 吃瓜头条, and area soccer leaders.
The women鈥檚 team faces Feather River College at 2 p.m., and the men play Feather River at 4 p.m.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a chance for us to showcase what we鈥檙e building here,鈥� men鈥檚 coach Sergio Sousa said. 鈥淧rograms that do well are well supported by their community. The community will generate money for these programs. Developing a fan base will be crucial going forward.鈥�
In 2016, based on the campaign promises of several of the trustees, a robust discussion was initiated on bringing soccer to 吃瓜头条.
鈥淭he community kept asking about it while soccer kept growing in this area,鈥� Board President Ernie Ochoa said. 鈥淪o the Board of Trustees asked President [Chris] Vitelli to conduct a feasibility study on adding men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer. Everything else fell into place after that.鈥�
Without a community college program in Merced, the area was losing players to other community colleges. Most of the best players have had to leave the area after high school to advance their careers.
The area is packed with talent. It should be a pipeline for four-year schools in the area, especially with coaches who are dialed into the local scene like Sousa and women鈥檚 coach Josh Daughdrill.
Sousa, who played at Turlock High, Modesto Junior College and CSU Stanislaus, also played in the Major Arena Soccer League with the Turlock Express, and coached at the club (Academica SC of the National Professional Soccer League) and college (UC Merced) levels for the past decade.
The Blue Devils have reached the starting line.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see regularly packed games,鈥� Sousa said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to compete. We鈥檙e building it to last.鈥�
Media Contact: James Leonard,聽[email protected], 209-681-1061