Men’s soccer team struggles, misses upcoming regional playoff match

A promising beginning to the Hill College men’s soccer season will soon come to an end as the Rebels have officially been eliminated from postseason play.

Although first-year head coach Ivan Franco had high hopes for this year’s team (after coming off a District Championship appearance last season), he has really been proud of the way his student-athletes have maintained their composure and willingness to never give up throughout the course of the season.

“The team has fought hard all season – even after the tough schedule and through all the injuries,” Franco said. “Being in a lot of tough games and being in the right positions to get results, sometimes things don’t go your way...and you must learn from them. Moving forward, we will have to be better and improve in every aspect.”

Franco also said that despite the team’s overall record, Hill College has pretty much been in every game this season. In fact, of the nine losses so far this year, seven of those were by two goals or fewer.

“It’s very frustrating knowing a lot of the games were up for grabs and could’ve gone our way,” Franco said. “Being in close games with nationally ranked teams like Tyler Junior College, Miami Dade College, Coastal Bend, and Ranger College showed us glimpses of what could’ve come from this season.”

“Every little detail matters and going forward I challenge the men to not allow another set piece to close the season,” he added, “as we have conceded over 10 goals this year from corner kicks. Going forward, a lot of things must change, and we must improve in all aspects to improve the program and record.”

The Rebels (1-9-2) began the season with ties against Blinn College and Jacksonville College, and then lost a competitive game to No. 7-ranked Miami Dade College in Brenham.

So far, Hill College’s lone win of the season has been a 5-1 victory over non-conference opponent Dallas College Mountain View. However, there are still three games remaining on the schedule – Dallas College Richland (Oct. 12), Jacksonville College (Oct. 15) and National Park College (Oct. 18). Jacksonville College is the only home game left on the schedule.

For more information on the Hill College men’s soccer program, please visit https://hillcollegeathletics.com.