It ended too soon.
Soccer can be that way.
A strong men’s soccer team fell one match short of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Championship despite a record of 10 wins, six losses and six ties.
The Jaguars battled the San Bernardino Valley College Wolverines, who ended up claiming the 2017 PCAC title when SWC lost to College of the Desert, 4-3.
Team Captain Josue Lopez said the loss was tough to take.
“That game was just ridiculous,” said Lopez. “It was a 50/50, but overall we dominated the game.”
Southwestern played San Bernardino Valley even this year, winning the first encounter, 2-1, on goals by sophomore midfielder Marco Sanchez and sophomore forward Ronnie Beeson. SWC lost at SBVC, 4-2, in a re-match.
Josh Brown, San Bernardino’s Valley head coach, is a Jaguar alumnus. SWC Coach Cem Tont is a fan.
“He is one of my former players,” Tont said. “He played for me when he was a young kid. He is a good coach and very disciplined. San Bernardino Valley is a good rival.”
Four SWC players were named All-PCAC. Sophomore defender Fernando Aparicio, sophomore midfielder Bernardo Leyva, Sanchez and Beeson were honored. Freshman Kentaro Matsuura was named PCAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Tont said Leyva was one of the best players he has coached at SWC.
“He was probably the best player in the conference,” said Tont. “He is very highly skilled and has great anticipation. Even though he is a short guy, he has very good timing in the air. Bernardo is very disciplined and has the right temperament.”
Leyva played for Cuyamaca College in 2014. He said he enrolled at SWC because it was the closest community college to his home and he knew about the excellent reputation of the soccer program.
“Considering that I did not play competitive soccer for two years, I would say did great,” he said. “A few injuries prevented me from being 100 percent fit the whole season, but I always gave my best effort to provide for the team.”
Leyva said the season ended too soon.
“We had the squad and staffing to go a lot further, but a few hiccups and mistakes did not allow it,” he said. “Overall, we had a good run full of emotions, happy and disappointing moments.”
Matsuura started all 22 games and accumulated 990 minutes with a save percentage of .694 and four shutouts after moving here from Japan.
“This was my first season here in the United States, so it had a positive impact for me,” said Matsuura. “I feel my performance was not too good, but not too bad.”
Tont admitted he was disappointed the team fell just short of a PCAC title this year.
“We lost the championship by one game,” he said. “We always set high because every year we are contenders.”
Though the squad will be losing eight sophomores, the returning freshmen will provide the experience required for the upcoming season, Lopez said.
“We had a lot of freshmen,” he said. “They learned not to have regrets on the field and do not underestimate their opponent.”
Spring 2018 will mark the beginning of rebuilding period for the soccer program, Tont said.
“If it was a Division I program you can know because there are scholarships and you can pick,” he said. “The community college level is very inconsistent, so we need to have a very flexible formation system so the newcomers can adapt.”
And perhaps win that one elusive match.
