Sandburg men’s soccer kicks off season Saturday on road

The Sandburg men’s soccer team hopes to put together another impressive season in coach Gerardo Ruvalcaba’s second year at the helm.

 

In Ruvalcaba’s first season on the sideline, the Chargers compiled a 12-3-3 record, earned the No. 2 seed in the Region 4, reached No. 20 in the NJCAA Division II rankings and advanced to the semifinals of the region tournament.

 

Sandburg begins its 2024 season at 2 p.m. Saturday at Iowa Central. The Chargers host Knox in a scrimmage at 7 p.m. Monday before playing their regular season home opener at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Rock Valley. Chargers home contests can be seen live on the Sandburg YouTube channel (weather permitting).

 

KEY RETURNERS

Felipe Endo Dos Santos, sophomore D

• Selected as one of three tri-captains.

• All-Region 4 Second Team selection as a freshman last season after scoring two goals and starting all 17 matches.

 

Gabriel Barros Lima, sophomore DB

• One of three tri-captains.

• All-Region 4 First Team as a freshman.

• Scored one goal and tallied a team-high seven assists last fall.

 

Mario Segura, sophomore C

• Also selected as a tri-captain.

• Tallied two goals and two assists in 16 contests (15 starts) as a freshman.

 

KEY NEWCOMERS

Luis Garcia, freshman F

Ruvalcaba: “Luis comes with a very good background, and he’s already set the bar very high for himself.”

 

Alberto Fernandez Do Carmo, freshman D

Ruvalcaba: “Alberto is coming to make a difference in the team. He’s determined to help us achieve our goal of reaching nationals.”

 

Enrico Augusto Rola, freshman F

Ruvalcaba: “Enrico wants to score important goals for us, achieve greatness academically and help us get to the national tournament.” 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON?

Ruvalcaba: “My expectations this season are the same as last year. We want to finish in the top two of Region 4, win the Arrowhead Conference and get to nationals. I also want all of my players to graduate with a 3.0 or better!”

 

GAME TO WATCH

4 p.m. Aug. 28 vs. Rock Valley, which defeated the Chargers 1-0 in the semifinals of last year’s Region 4 tournament.

 

THIS WILL BE SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF …

Ruvalcaba: “This will be a successful season if we all can respect everyone's abilities and build up our chemistry. This is a team. I expect nothing but hunger to complete our goals. We’ll treat every game as if it was our last, game by game.”