The GCC men’s soccer team ended the 2023 regular season on Nov. 10 at home against Canyons College. The team started the season with five wins and one draw in their first games, and a good season was expected, however, a loss against Alan Hancock on Sep. 15 led to a string of defeats, including one win, 14 losses, and three draws. They struggled until the game against Citrus College on Oct. 27 which was their last win in this season. “It is the best game of the season,” said a supporter who had watched most of the home games. “GCC was very aggressive. They knew they had to win because they lost to Citrus once last month.”

In fact, unlike other matches, this match against Citrus College was decided by the individual abilities of the players. While the opponent’s attacking style was to connect passes from the back carefully, GCC aggressively pressured from the front with a 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-3 system although it was quite risky. There were opportunities created by the opponents due to parrying Vaqueros’ heavy pressure, but Vaqueros’ defense repelled cross balls and prevented shots from occurring. They were able to steal the ball back from a high position and create chances from short counterattacks. Eventually, this risky pressing was effective. In contrast, Vaqueros’ attacking style is one of slowly invading the opponent’s area by making full use of long balls and long throws, rather than passing passes from behind. The presence of midfielder number 10 Vincente “Vince” Sanchez was necessary for their attack, and he sometimes positioned himself between the center-backs when attacking, supplying long balls to the sides or supplying high-quality through passes to the front line into space. Vaqueros, which has many players who are good at dribbling, is able to use the vast space from long balls to break through the dribble, and as a result, chances are more likely to be created. There is much more that No. 10 Vincente “Vince” Sanchez can bring to the team. Due to his high kicking accuracy, he was assigned as the set-piece kicker, and in this game, his free kick led to the second goal. He also makes long throws, even from the centerline of the field. In the end, they conceded two goals to their opponent at the end of the game but maintained a three-goal lead and won a big victory at home at Sartoris Field.

Although this game ended up being their last win of the season, it was a special victory for the players, coach, and supporters who had wanted to win for so long. It was a tough season in results or numbers, but they showed improvements, passion, and growth in each game.

Koyo Yamana can be reached at [email protected].