The Mesa Olympian men’s soccer team kicked off their season at the Allan Hancock Tournament in Santa Maria. The Olympians won two out of their three games and came away with high expectations for the upcoming season.

The team got off to a great start and shut out West Valley in a convincing 3-0 victory. The Olympians found themselves trailing 2-0 in their second game against Compton but bounced back to tie the game at 2-2. The last goal of the game was scored within the last five minutes of the game and the Olympians lost 2-3.

One of the team captains, Jeff Praino-Miller, praised the team for their mental toughness in the close game. “When we were down we were good at coming back from adversity,” said Praino-Miller.

The Olympians finished the tournament on a high note defeating Colleges of the Desert 5-3. The tournament left coach Abdelghani Toumi very optimistic about the season, even with only three returning players and a brand new squad, he is very pleased with the team chemistry that was displayed. Coach Toumi saw that the team believed in themselves and also believed in each other.

“We feel we have enough talent to challenge any team on the field,” said Toumi, who is entering his eighth season as the head coach. “Team chemistry was our objective and we succeeded.”

Team captain Lucas Carlsson commended his team on their ability to play on both sides of the ball. “We have a lot of guys that are hungry for goals,” says Carlsson. The Olympians hope to keep their intensity going throughout the season and into the playoffs.

“This is probably the best team in the last couple of years,” said Praino-Miller, “We just have an overall solid team this year. On defense and offense.”

The Mesa Olympian women are looking to defend their Pacific Coast Conference title this year. The team is aiming to keep their tradition of competing in the playoffs, they have made the playoffs nine of the last 10 years.

The Olympians have their work cut out for them as they have only seven returning players from last season. Three of which were their leading goal scorers, accounting for 50 goals combined last season.

“The biggest thing we need to find is some offensive firepower. Defensively, we have a very solid core in the back,” said head coach Todd Curran.

The Olympians recently went on a trip to see the Stanford women’s soccer team play. Team captains Emily Jenkins and Luauna Brinkley saw immediate changes in the team after their experience. “It was really inspirational. It opened our eyes,” said Brinkley. “We took the experience of seeing that speed of play and ability to play, and we used it in our next game.” The Stanford Cardinals are currently ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA National Rankings.

The Olympians competed in the Ventura Tournament and came away victorious. They started off with a 1-1 tie against Ventura College and spent the rest of the tournament delivering shut out victories. The team found their offensive groove beating Orange Coast in a 2-0 win and ended the tournament in a decisive 3-0 victory over Long Beach.

The women Olympians will head to Imperial Valley College on Sep. 17 before taking on Grossmont College on Sep.19 and Miramar College on Sep. 24. The Olympian men will head to Santa Ana College on Sep. 24 and then host Chaffey College on Sep. 26.