RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It's that time of the year again as The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's soccer team is set for the 2024 season. 
 
It's a time where records revert back to zero's and a time where the excitement level is back at the top. 
 
"It's a new team. New faces," UTRGV Head Coach Bryheem Hancock said. "Our record is 0-0, so for us it's about concentrating on Lindenwood and preparing for that match. Our excitement is where it needs to be. The focus and energy from the guys has been great every single day. I know that when the regular season starts, everyone is going to pick it up a notch."
 
The season gets started on Sunday at Lindenwood. The Vaqueros know that every single matchup up is going to be a battle, especially on the road.
 
Last year, the Vaqueros won four of six home matches and want to find that kind of success on the road as well. In order to find that kind of success, the Vaqueros will have to be mentally tough.
 
"It's about mentality," Hancock said. "It's a new group. We have 11 new players. The guys that we had come back from the spring have done a great job of preparing for how we start the season well and end it well. In the middle, you want to be consistent. You need to have that continuity, which is something you can't always predict. Overall, we need to make sure that we are all consistent and focused."
 
The Vaqueros will have eight home matches this season, including three out of their first five matches of the season, as they welcome Texas A&M-San Antonio, Incarnate Word, Jacksonville, Grand Canyon, Utah Valley, Air Force, San Diego State, and California Baptist to the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex. 
 
UTRGV welcomes back 16 from last season's squad that is led by the likes of Kgodiso Sukati, Jason Robles, Cade Erickson, and Keaviano Francis, who was named to the WAC All-Freshman Team in 2023. 
 
That group of returners not only brings experience to 2024 but also bring leadership, which has helped make the team's chemistry one of its strengths heading into the season, 
 
"I think that will be a big thing this year," Hancock said. "The guys that came back bring leadership. We have a large number of guys show up in that leadership role and have taken it on and embraced the new guys. We have gotten them comfortable with the new guys. That family feel has been a big thing for us. Just making them feel comfortable so now when they go on the field they can concentrate and have fun."
 
One of the team's mottos this season is to win, however that may look like. They have been working on that mindset throughout the off preseason.
 
In order to win though, you have to be able to score. The Vaqueros will be looking to take those chances this season. 
 
"We just want to create more chances out there," Hancock said. "Every game, except for one, we dominated in possession at least 60-40. We have a lot of the ball. Now it's about when we get to the final third. A lot of teams sat on top of the box against us. We have done a lot of work since last spring and this preseason on breaking down numbers. Also we have to take our chances when we need to. We have to let our attacking players be creative and giving them the green light to take those opportunities."
 
The Vaqueros were picked to finish ninth in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) this season but know that everything is up in the air due to the WAC being tough from top to bottom.
 
After adding San Diego State back into the fold, the WAC is even deeper than last year. What makes the WAC so good is its parity.  
 
"The WAC is one of the best mid-majors in the country, outside the P-4's," Hancock said. "We have, in the last two years, two teams go to the NCAA Tournament. That's speaks volumes of the league from top to bottom. There hasn't been one team that has dominated and there hasn't been one team that has been at the bottom. There has been a lot of parity and a lot of good competition. We are all playing quality opponents in non-conference play which helps the conference overall."
 
The WAC has been so good the last couple of years having two teams in the NCAA Tournament that last couple of seasons. The Vaqueros would love an opportunity to play in their first-ever NCAA Tournament.
 
The Vaqueros have some lofty goals in mind for 2024 and none are out of the realm of possibility.  
 
"The team has set some goals," Hancock said. "For us, we want to be top two in the league. Traditionally the top two teams, if you don't win the conference tournament, you get an at-large bid to the tournament, so that's the goal, to get there. For us, we need to make sure we take care of our home and fixing the road games by having more clean sheets. Allowing less goals gives you a better opportunity to create more chances to score more."
 
At the end of the day, it's about winning. Sometimes it may look good, sometimes it won't but if the Vaqueros can continuously put themselves in the win column, good things will happen. 
 
That kind of winning mentality will definitely make 2024 that much more interesting to see. 
 
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