SFCC Lady Roadrunners soccer team excited about upcoming season

The State Fair Community College Lady Roadrunners soccer team has been busy preparing for the 2022 campaign. Lady Roadrunners Associate Head Coach Roberto Tucker believes that conditioning will be important for his team this season. 

"Practices have been very good so far," said Tucker. "We've been placing a lot of emphasis on physical training, especially early in preseason." 

SFCC will open the regular season on Wednesday, Aug. 24, on the road against Scott Community College, which will be the first of six matches on the road. The Lady Roadrunners will open the home portion of its schedule at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, with a match against St. Louis Community College on Fred E. Davis Sports Complex field. 

Coach Tucker has an idea of the style of soccer he wants his team to play. 

"We want to be very simple," said Tucker. "I don't want to complicate anything. We want to make sure that we're solid in the back and quickly transition into our offensive attack." 

SFCC will count on a group of players to provide leadership for this year's team. 

"We have several players who could be leaders, including Megan Toops, Jackie Murillo, Briscia Zuniga, and Jessica Valladares," said Tucker. 

Coach Tucker has been happy with what he has seen so far from the team in practice. 

"Everyone has been very enthusiastic," said Tucker. "We have been doing a lot of running. I believe we also have good team chemistry." 

SFCC faces a challenging Region 16 schedule and will need contributions from newcomers like Mariela Rodriguez, Valladares and others. 

"The region teams will be tough like it always has been," said Tucker. "We get into our region schedule very soon during the season." 

Lady Roadrunners have a goal that they want to accomplish this season. 

"Our goal is the same as it has been for the last three or four years," said Tucker. "We're trying to make the national tournament. That is the big goal. We want to win the region and go to nationals. 

Coach Tucker sees some keys to success for his team this season. 

"Our team has to be unified and be like a family," said Tucker. "We have to stay healthy as a team this season. We will continue to work hard during the preseason. When the games come, we'll see what adjustments we need to make. We will work very hard to continue to improve as a team and accomplish our goal." 

David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics