Things have been complicated both on and off the field for Delta’s men’s soccer field during this season.
As the end of Big 8 play approaches, the Mustangs (5-11-5) have won two out of its last 10 games, which are the team’s victories against Santa Rosa on Oct. 8 and Modesto on Nov. 2. Delta currently registers a 2-5-2 conference record with one game left to play and sits in fifth place of the Big 8.
Apart from the results, the team has seen its squad cut short which has made competing even more challenging.
Despite these issues head coach Joshua Bradley admires the effort put in from his players throughout the season.
“I wouldn’t say they have a weakness. They’re all fighting hard, playing with heart 90 minutes. We’re just missing a deeper personnel, so we don’t have players that we had at the beginning of the season. It’s making it difficult to make tactical changes on the fly during the game” said Bradley. “You just look what you can do and make appropriate changes that will help you stay in the game.”
Midfielder Ignacio Flores also pointed out how the loss of players has turned into another obstacle during Delta’s season.
“It’s been a big factor,” said Flores. “Over the total of the season we lost about eight or nine players through injuries, covid or even personal reasons. That’s just a lack of depth, you see other colleges have substitutions and they can make a lot of changes. We’re lacking a lot of depth and that makes it bad for us during the games.”
The Mustangs sit in fifth place of the Big 8 Conference following its most recent loss to Cosumnes River College this past Tuesday.
Delta’s missing players are felt most notably on its backline.
The Mustangs have conceded 20 goals in 9 games of Big 8 play this season.
Even with all the challenges facing Delta, there are some players who’ve performed well for themselves throughout the season.
Forward Angel Lopez leads the team in goals with seven, as well as giving four assists, all this in just seven games after he was out for most of the season due to injury.
Flores has netted five goals and assisted his teammates on eight occasions.
Midfielder Mathew Salas has scored for the team four times this season and has given six assists.
Among the freshmen who have stood out the most is forward Jose Avalos, netting the ball five times for the Mustangs.
Delta will finish off its season this afternoon at 3 p.m. when the team visits Folsom Lake in its last game.