Men’s soccer coach sets expectations
The UTRGV men’s 2022 soccer season will be one for the record books. The team will face off Thursday against its first regular season opponent, Bryant University.
The team started off strong by winning its first exhibition match 2-1 against St. Mary’s University on Aug. 13.
“They all want to win,” head coach Bryheem Hancock said about his team, which was 5-5 in conference and reached the quarterfinals in the conference tournament last season. “It’s not a selfish thing. It’s being unselfish as a team, commitment to doing everything you can do and your powers you can control.”
He said his team has been focusing on their tactics and teamwork to be “locked and ready to go from the first minute to the 90th minute.”
Hancock has three goals for the team: winning its regular season, getting as far as it can in its conference tournament and competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
“It’s super, super simple for the guys,” he said. “Instead of putting 100 other things on it, or thinking about a lot, you just have three purposes. That group has been focused since day one on those.”
Captain and defender Jan Engels has set his own goals for the team.
“I want all my teammates to give their best effort,” Engels said. “We push each other. We don’t have individuals who just think about themselves. So, as a new team, we’re growing into a family right now.”
This year, the men’s team is slated to play 17 games in the regular season.
The Western Athletic Conference tournament begins Nov. 9, followed by the NCAA tournament Nov. 18.
Thursday’s game will take place at 4 p.m. at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus.
To view the full soccer schedule, visit https://goutrgv.com/sports/mens-soccer/schedule.
