No. 1-ranked Men’s Soccer Has Good Company

Having the Hartnell men's and women's soccer teams both ranked in the top 20 for the nation and California is not only a source of pride, it also signals a shared excellence that may perpetuate itself.

"We want to think of it as one program with two coaching staffs," said women's Head Coach Ivan Guerrero.

The women broke into the United Soccer Coaches poll for the National Junior Colleges Division III on Sept. 21, at No. 12, and the following week they were No. 14. The Panthers also are No. 11 in the Sept. 28 statewide poll by the California Community College Sports Information Association. The Hartnell men are No. 3 in the nation for the same United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 1 in the CCCSIA.

Only five other colleges are represented in both the women's and men's national rankings, and six others have dual representation in current state polls.

"It's a remarkable accomplishment for both the men's and women's teams to be nationally ranked," said Hartnell Dean of Athletics Daniel Teresa. "But that's a credit to both coaches for building programs that are some of the best in the state. Obviously our student-athletes have also put in a lot of time."

On Sept. 28, the Panther men lost an away game against nationally and state ranked De Anza, 1-0, before convincingly defeating Evergreen Valley, which is No. 19 in the current CCCSIA poll, at home on Oct. 1. Head Coach Dan Ortega and his squad will travel on Oct. 5 to play Las Positas, No. 10 in the CCCSIA, and return home to take on Canada at 4 p.m. Oct. 8.

On Sept. 30, the Panther women held their home ground to notch a 0-0 tie against Folsom Lake, another California college with that has made current top-20 rankings for the nation and state. Hartnell will begin its conference season on the road, first at Evergreen Valley on Nov. 5 and at Canada on Nov. 8 before facing Foothill in 4 p.m. home game on Nov. 12.

The men are 8-1, on track to exceed the 11-7-3 record they achieved in 2019, reaching the second round of the CCCAA playoffs.

At 8-2-1, the Hartnell Women's Soccer team is on track to rival exceed its 2018 performance, when the Panthers reached the Elite Eight playoffs in the California Community Colleges Athletics Association (CCCAA).

 "Dan and Ivan have done a remarkable job, an unbelievable job, to be where they are right now," Teresa said. "They just work so well together, and I think that's a big reason why they're both so successful in their programs. It's nice to see, and it's even better to see our student-athletes enjoying the success."

One thing that benefits both teams are strong boys' and girls' soccer programs at high schools throughout the Hartnell district and also in nearby Watsonville and Hollister, Teresa said.

"It's just a combination of everything, and it's finally come to fruition," he said.

Teresa said Guerrero has steadily built the women's program to its current level of performance. Guerrero, in turn, said he has benefited from his partnership with the men's program, where he was first an assistant coach under Ortega before taking the helm of the women's team in 2011. In fact, Ortega's two assistants – Carlos Volpini and Frank Alvarado – both coached Guerrero in youth soccer.

Guerrero credits the experience and sheer talent of his players as the foundation of this season's exciting run, but he echoed Teresa's point about the synergy between men's and women's soccer at Hartnell.

"We've always worked very closely. We've always exchanged ideas," he said. "A lot of stuff, especially at the beginning, things that I'm doing with the women's team is stuff we did with the men's – from recruiting, from academic tracking, from all those little details that went into the success the men's teams have had in the past, we try to apply it to the women – the same expectations, all those things.

"Even from simply just running the administrative part of the program – purchasing equipment together to maximize our budget, all that stuff. We get along very well with the men's coaches."

Teresa said the biggest common denominator between the two coaches and their teams is the emphasis on guiding the student-athletes toward graduating and moving on to the four-year level, whether that includes soccer or not.

"They really care about them and where they go after Hartnell," he said, "and that's why you see the success. Because who's your best recruiters? They're the athletes who are going out to tell their buddies about Hartnell. So when that happens, you know you've got it. You've still got to recruit, but those are your best recruiters."

Making a similar point, Guerrero said, "We all look to win because we're very competitive, but I've learned to just keep focused on the what's most important – the ultimate goal, which is transferring athletes and making sure they graduate. And if we do that, we're always going to be competitive.

"The winning is a byproduct of us trying to make sure the athletes move onto the next level."