Defending the championship

MEN’S SOCCER: SEASON UPDATE.

After winning the Orange Conference Championship and an elimination in the first round of the playoffs last season, the Dons plan to defend their 18-consecutive conference titles, ending a two-year state finals drought.

“It’s been a couple years that we haven’t been to the state finals,” Head Coach Jose Vasquez said.

With the state finals and the conference championship in sight, the Dons will have to overcome Cypress and Golden West to win both titles.

“Cypress is a team that you can’t beat easy and Golden West will be strong like the past three years,” Vasquez said.

The team chemistry that the Dons have on and off the field comes from the leadership of freshman Defender Manuel Gomez.

“Manu can really let you hear it when things are not going right. He leads everyone and everyone listens to him,” Vasquez said.

After an 8-0 blowout win against Norco on Sept. 25, the Dons have sent a message to its opponents.

“Every team in the conference wants to take the title from us, but we’re not going to give it up easy,” Vasquez said.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

When asked about their strengths on the field the Dons had this to say:

“We work hard so we can play hard. You can see it in the games.” – Ivan Orozco

“We play well, but I think we can do a lot more out on the field.” – Jose Virgen

“These kids really bond well, and that’s one big thing our team has this year.” – Coach Jose Vasquez

SEASON STATS:

The vaunted Dons offense combines speed and aggression, resulting in lopsided blowouts.

5 — Players scored goals in the first OEC game, with Ivan Orozco and Damien Marquez scoring two apiece.
7 — Number of games the Dons won during the pre-season. They only lost one game to San Bernardino.
8 — Goals made in their first conference game of the regular season.