The inaugural season for the Salt Lake Community College men’s soccer team was a huge success for both the program and the school.
The Bruins finished the 2016 season as regular season champions with a record of 13-2-2 overall, and 10-1-2 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference. SLCC’s only conference loss came in an overtime shootout against the Snow College Badgers in the Region 18 tournament.
The Bruins’ coaching staff and players received awards and national recognition after the team completed its first season in school history. SLCC head coach Mark Davis earned a Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) Coach of the Year honors, meanwhile the Bruins ranked nationally in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll.
SLCC athletic Director Kevin Dustin is excited about where the program’s future is headed. “One of the things Coach Davis and I talked about afterwards,” Dustin says, “was to really start to nail down the culture of the program and to make sure that not only is it a winning program on the field but it does all the other things to represent Salt Lake Community College.”
SLCC also looks to remain at the top of the conference with a loaded sophomore class. Junior Estrada, the second leading scorer with eight goals, returns for his sophomore season after being named to First Team All-Region last season.
A two-year school like SLCC must heavily rely on strong recruiting classes year in and year out in order to compete at the highest level against the rest of the conference. “I know Coach Davis is very happy with his returning players,” Dustin says, “but the key to how successful we’ll be will be the new players.”
For more information, visit slccbruins.com.
