Back in 1998, Eric Solberg, Fresno City College’s men’s soccer coach, was hired to take a pretty good soccer team and turn it into one of the elite teams California. That is exactly what he has done.

His winning record at FCC speaks for itself. He has won eight conference titles, and the Rams have made the final four on six different occasions. Additionally, the Rams men soccer team has made the playoffs every year that Solberg has coached.

The Rams men soccer team starts the 2010 season with a team of mostly freshmen, and they are going to be tested because they have some tough games early in the season.  The Ram’s coach also says that a team can go a long way without being the best team if the players buy into working as a team.

Solberg said that his team’s defensive play has to be solid early in the season or they will struggle.

“If you can’t defend in this sport, you are not a very good team” said Solberg. “If a player makes a mistake on offense, he may not score; if he makes one on defense, he will usually give up a goal.”

Solberg also said that his team will have a great season if his team leaders, along with his goalie, play well and aggressively.

The men’s soccer team leaders include Tyler McCuin who plays the forward position. McCuin led the team in scoring last season. Solberg expects McCuin to lead the team to victory this year. Another leader, Victor Amarillas, is known for his aggressive play in the middle of the field. “I am expecting him [Amarillas] to lead, attack, dish the ball off, and be very creative,” said Solberg, the Rams coach.    

Another leader on the soccer team is William Hall who plays on the back line. Hall started the whole second half of last season and is one of the captains. Solberg said Hall leads by example on and off the field and that he is also a great student. 

Garret Aragon plays in the center of the backfield. His role is to be very vocal on the field because his position allows him to see practically everything, so his main job is to direct traffic, so to speak.    

Solberg said that his team’s strength is how they attack with the ball.

“I thing we are really good on the outside,” said Solberg. “I think that we have the deepest outside midfielders we ever had.”