FULTON, Miss. – In 2023, the Itawamba Community College men's soccer team was a win away from an appearance in the NJCAA Region 23 Championship. This season, the Indians look to not only make it back to that point, but also go further.
Good Feelings About Preseason
The Indians have been in preseason for the past couple of weeks, and third-year head coach Caryl Vogel has been pleased with his team's work ethic and attention to detail so far.
"Preseason has been really good," Vogel said. "This year, it's a week longer than it has been in the past, but the boys have done a really good job of staying in tune with it and making the most of every session."
Luke Dearsley (Sydney, Australia) and Alfredo Guerra (Capaccio, Italy) are the only starters returning from last year's squad. Dearsley, who scored three goals, led the team with four assists. Despite only returning two starters, the Indians will not be lacking in experience. Elijah Belk (Oxford), William Blake (Fulton), Jorge Favela (New Albany), Osvaldo Gonzalez (Olive Branch), Crosse Lindsay (Oxford), Frank Rodriguez (Fulton), Cayden Smith (Amory) and Braden Walters (Caledonia) will expect to build on strong preseason workouts to contribute to the Indians' success this season.
Recap of Saturday's scrimmage at Blue Mountain Christian University
Last Saturday, the men's soccer team won its first preseason scrimmage at Blue Mountain Christian University, 2-1. Quint Hofstee (Eindhoven, Netherlands) scored an unassisted goal, and William Barber (Kent, England) added another off an assist from Belk.
"We have three preseason matches this year, and it's just a chance for us to see where the sophomores have come back to us and to have the freshmen get integrated into the team," said Vogel. "We're using a lot of rotations, but it's a really good opportunity for us to see what the boys comprehended, what they've learned and then what they can apply in a setting where we're going up against someone else other than ourselves."
The Indians will play two more preseason matches – a 7 p.m. scrimmage at Freed-Hardeman on Tuesday, August 13, and at East Central on Tuesday, August 20, at 4 p.m.
Schedule Breakdown
The Indians will play nine home matches this season, six MACCC matchups against East Mississippi (Sept. 20), Holmes (Sept. 24), Mississippi Gulf Coast (Oct. 4), Jones (Oct. 11), Southwest Mississippi (Oct. 15) and East Central (Oct. 22). Other home matches include nonconference matchups with Meridian (Aug. 23), Hinds (Sept. 6) and Enterprise State (Sept. 13). Conference road matches include Meridian (Sept. 17), Co-Lin (Sept. 27), Northwest (Oct. 8), Hinds (Oct. 25) and Pearl River (Oct. 29). All home matches are scheduled to be streamed on LetsGoICCTV.com – weather permitting.
