2010 Men's Soccer Preview

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – In 2009, the College of the Canyons men's soccer team had a breakthrough season to remember, and made a name for itself within the Western State Conference (WSC) and throughout the state.

After starting the season a mediocre 3-4, head coach Phil Marcellin and the Cougars stormed through the second half of the schedule â€" losing only three of their final 16 games â€" to come within a point of the WSC championship.

However, it was in the state playoffs that COC truly made its presence known, knocking off WSC conference champs Santa Barbara City College, 2-1, in the first round and outlasting second round opponent Rio Hondo College, 4-2, to advance to the state championship regional finals.

"Last year our goals were simple. Coming off a 4-16 season, we wanted to compete in our conference and qualify for the postseason as a first step," Marcellin said. "As a coach, anytime you exceed your goals it's a good thing, but now we want to build on that momentum."

With the 2010 California men's and women's soccer state championships being held at College of the Canyons Dec. 3-5, 2010, the Cougars have been working all season for the chance to compete for a championship on their home field.

"In 2007, when we were awarded the bid to host the 2010 state championship, it was part of our plan as a coaching staff to work as hard as we could to improve our program and have a chance to play in that tournament," Marcellin said.

To do so the Cougars will rely on a retooled roster of players that includes just eight members from last year's squad. Despite the apparent lack of experience, Coach Marcellin likes the way his team stacks up.

"We were anticipating a larger number of returning players, and our talent pool is very deep," Marcellin said. "This is probably the deepest team we've ever had coming into a season."

Leading the way for COC in 2010 will be NSCAA All-American forward, WSC Player of the Year and leading goal scorer, Andres Bueno, and NSCAA All-Western Region mid-fielder, Jorge Serrano.

Still expected to maintain a high-scoring attack, there will also be an emphasis on playing at an equally high level defensively. Despite returning just one defensive starter from last year's team, and introducing a new goalkeeper, Coach Marcellin is excited about his team's ability to defend the net.

"A lot of our recruiting this year was centered around our defense, which is not to say we will be defensive minded," Marcellin said. "We just want to be a little more balanced in our approach."

The Cougars will open the season with a challenging pre-season schedule that includes matches with state champion runner-up Taft College, Santa Rosa College, which lost to Taft in the Northern California regional final, and Santa Ana College, which ended the Cougar's season in last year's regional finals.

COC's conference schedule will not be any easier, as the Cougars will look to outlast traditional conference rivals Santa Barbara and Moorpark en route to a second straight post season berth.

"It's a difficult conference, and we're not looking past that," Marcellin said. "But if we can survive our conference and continue to attack, our team will do well.

"We made a name for ourselves last year so people will be motivated to beat us now," Marcellin added. "We won't get by on people second-guessing us anymore. We'll have to earn our results this year, and I'm excited about that."