After winning just eight matches a year ago, the outlook for the Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team is extremely high with several high-impact players that hit the practice field for the first time on Tuesday.
Paul Cerros, a key member of the team a year ago, is excited to see what this team brings to the field.
“I am looking forward to be playing with this team as I am excited for the season,” Cerros, of Chihuahua, Mexico, said. “We have high expectations for each other and want to win and enjoy the game.”
The first couple days of practices have been intense and Cerros said they are focusing on meshing together and staying fit.
“The first couple of practices have been really interesting,” Cerros said. “We got a lot of new people from different places so it has been fun to experience different styles of playing.”
WNCC returns 12 players from last year’s team and they have 11 newcomers to the roster. Cerros, who graduated from Rifle High School in Colorado, said the talent on this team is high.
“I think the talent level of this team is really high,” he said. “We all have the talent needed to succeed together. I think our talent also rises as a team.”
Leading the returners is Region IX freshman of the year Rodrigo Cercal. Cercal, who hails from Brazil, scored 15 goals a year ago including back-to-back hat tricks.
Also returning include four more from Brazil including Matheus Rodriguez, Paulo Henrique, Renan Souza, and Gabriel Santos.
Other returners are Jacob Collins from Moira, Northern Ireland, Tom Pelzer, of Bad Sackingen, Germany; and Luis Molina from Rifle, Colorado, Dante Rafaela from Thornton, Colorado, and Lincoln Frank and Oziel Carmarge from Scottsbluff.
Alex Alarcon, who red-shirted a year ago, also returns. Alarcon graduated from Aurora Central High in Louisville, Colorado.
Joining the team this year are two Scottsbluff graduates in Jason Escamilla and Abraham Hafner.
Other new players include Samuel Acosta and Sebastian Arenas from Colombia; and Bernardo Bender, Herman Burdles, Pablo Dominguez, Eduardo Oliveira, Pedro Roche, and Adolpho Rojas.
“I think everyone has stood out in practice in my eyes because of the different styles of plays,” Cerros said. “But I think the goalkeepers have impressed us all with their agility and footwork.”
The Cougar soccer teams opened the pre-season schedule with an alumni game on Saturday, Aug. 6. That alumni scrimmage showed a lot of positives for the team as they defeated a talented alumni team 5-2. Cercal had two goals in the win over the alumni while the other three goals came from Dominguez, Arenas, and Rodriguez.
After the alumni game, the Cougars will have two more scrimmages when they travel to Metro State on Aug. 13 and then play South Dakota School of Mines on Aug. 30.
The Cougars open the season for real on Aug. 26 when they face Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.
“I think the goals and keys for this season to be successful are to stay mentally focused and strong,” Cerros said. “We are also focusing on staying fit and getting our fundamentals to a higher level.”
The one thing that has affected the team somewhat is practicing in the heat of near record highs of 100 degrees or higher. Cerros said they are handling those high temperatures.
“The heat has been very high but I think the team has been handling that extremely well,” he said. “Our coaches also keep us reminded to stay hydrated and stretched.”
