The Rams enter this soccer season as the central valley conference champions of 2011. Head coach Eric Solberg’s team start their campaign with five games in the first eight days.

Solberg knows a challenge lies ahead of him with six of last year’s players, including All American Andrew Campbell, now attending four year universities.

“We don’t have a big nucleus of returning players,” he said. “We are less experienced than last season, the 100 dollar question is can we gain experience and win, or gain experience and lose?”

The Rams have 19 freshmen on the roster this year and Solberg picks out Juan Madrigal and Alex Culwell as the two to look out for.

Culwell feels he has a lot to prove with this being his first season playing for the team. “I feel a lot of people don’t expect much from a freshman, but that just makes me work harder,” he said.

Solberg has seen many of his more experienced players move on, he is encouraged by the return of Eligio Morales. Morales missed last season due to sustaining an injury.

“He was our leading goalscorer two years ago. Very good player,” Solberg said.

He is depending on all of his sophomores and expects them to take on more demanding roles within the team this season. Among those are co MVP Adrian Plascencia and fellow midfielder Eli Gallegos. Gallegos is eager to meet Solberg’s expectations.

“We lost our two captains so basically I’m going to have to step in and take a captain’s role,” he said.  

Gallegos believes that this team is capable of rivaling last year’s team.

“This team, without doubt, can live up to the standards of last year. It’s just a matter of how much the team wants it. We definitely have the players to do it,” he said.

Solberg knows that the Rams are the team to beat in the conference. “We’re the team that walks off the bus and through the gate with the target on our back,” he said. “There are very few teams in the state of California with a larger target than us”