bronco talk
The Santa Clara men's soccer team experienced tremendous success throughout this past season, finishing second in the West Coast Conference and ranking as high as 10th in the nation. Much of the team's success was a result of their high-powered offense -- which led the WCC in goals scored -- and a stingy defense which ranked first in the league in goals allowed. Among the many contributors for the Broncos was sophomore defender, Jamil Roberts. With spring season starting, sportswriter Joe Doss-Antoun spoke with Roberts about last season and the team's expectations for next season.
JD: Congratulations on all of the team's achievements last year. Would you consider last season a success?
JR: Actually, no, I wouldn't consider it a success at all. Each year we look forward to playing in the Final Four or winning a national championship. That's really our ultimate goal. There were a lot of things we did that we liked and succeeded at, but we still didn't reach our main goal.
JD: How effective do you think spring season is?
JR: Spring season is really good. It's definitely not as intense or as long as fall season, but spring is good for the walk-ons and guys coming in and trying to make the team. So, it's worth it to get out here and play.
JD: What do you think about the incoming freshman class?
JR: I think our freshman class is pretty strong. They aren't practicing with us yet, but the walk-ons have been playing with us for a little while, and I'm pretty impressed with them.
JD: Do you feel that the team is optimistic about next season?
JR: Oh yeah, definitely. Everybody is really excited and looking forward to getting to St. Louis where the Final Four will be. People are actually a lot more excited than last year. We've just been thinking about it a lot since losing in the tournament at the end of last season.
JD: What are some of your individual goals for next year?
JR: My only personal goal is to help the team get to the Final Four and win the national championship. So for me, I just want to play the best I can and lead the team.
JD: This past year you played for the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team. What did you gain from this experience, and how do you think it'll help you next season?
JR: That was so exciting. Going into that tournament, we had one game in mind, and that was Brazil. We basically played the best country in the world at soccer, so it was a really good test. We actually tied that game 1-1, too. It was a really exciting game. We also played Serbia & Montenegro and Northern Island and went on to win the Milk Cup. So, I definitely think that level of competition really helped me personally.