The El Camino men’s soccer team is currently the number one team in their division according to the latest United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division III ranking numbers.
The Warriors started the season strong, opening with a 10-1 record and have not lost since Sept. 5. Following wins against Mt. San Antonio College on Oct. 3 and Cerritos College on Oct. 6, the team is on an eight-game win streak.
The team built its momentum over the semester as the Warriors were ranked No. 2 in the nation during the Sept. 19 and Sept. 26 rankings, officially earning the top spot on Oct. 3.
Men’s soccer coach Mike Jacobson said there is satisfaction knowing the team is taking the top spot of a poll voted on by other coaches.
“It is a really good honor to have and [it] being the first time [we’re] ranked No. 1 in my tenure, it’s nice to feel the team level up and having that acknowledgment from your peers,” Jacobson said.
The Warriors have shut out their opponents in the last five out of six games and have a combined score of 43-3 versus their opponents on their eight-game win streak.
Jacobson has credited the team’s ability to play as one, not individually, for this year’s success.
“This year we have had our best playing group… we have had really good teams these last three years, but this year playing together collectively has been the reason we’ve been able to have success,” Jacobson said.
Team Captain Nicholas Baltazar reiterated the same feelings as Jacobson when speaking to The Union earlier in the season, attributing their winning streak to having a team mentality instead of focusing on “individualism.”
Goalkeeper Donovon Palomares has been dominant in protecting the goal for the Warriors, winning the United Soccer Coaches’ National Junior College Men’s Player of the Week. It’s his second time winning this award in his El Camino career.
Palomares has played 981 minutes of the total possible 990 minutes on the season.
Since the Sept. 8 game versus Moorpark College, he has only let one goal get past him and has 41 total saves this season.
“Our defense leads to offense… Big defensive stops can lead to the offense push and come back to gain momentum,” Palomares said.
Jacobson acknowledges the toughest part of the season is being consistent and doing the work every day despite having all types of success.
“The hardest part is coming in every day,” Jacobson said. “It’s a tough spot to be in the rankings and having the team’s motivation to beat us because of the high ranking, so it puts us out there in a tough spot to keep ourselves and to keep our motivation.”
The Warriors started their South Coast Conference play on Oct. 3 and are undefeated after two games.
“It feels good going into our conference with [a streak],” Baltazar told The Union earlier in the season. “We have to keep expanding.”
Jacobson acknowledged a higher level of play will be needed against conference opponents.
“We are playing in the South Conference now, so all the games are going to be tough,” Jacobson said. “It is only the start of what we need to keep [doing] as a team to achieve our goals deep into the season.”
The Warriors have two important matchups coming up against Rio Hondo on Oct. 10 and East Los Angeles on Oct. 13.
Update: The El Camino College men’s soccer team won the Oct. 10 home game against Rio Hondo College increasing their winning streak to nine and the team is now 10-1 overall in the season. They are still the number one ranked team in the Junior College Division III Soccer Coach Rankings as of Oct.11.
Union reporter Emily Gomez contributed to this report.
