Giants men's soccer opens season seeking third consecutive playoff berth

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Abraham Campos knows the challenge ahead as he prepares to launch his first season as College of the Sequoias men's soccer coach.

And that's to keep the momentum going after the man he's replacing -- Renato Bustamante -- led the Giants to the first two Northern California Regional playoff appearances in the 15-year history of the program.

"I know (Bustamante) left big shoes to fill," said Campos, who was named Sequoias' coach in December 2022 after Bustamante stepped down to pursue professional opportunities in Southern California. "We don't want to take a step back. We want to make this program even better."

A former Sequoias player, Campos has assembled a 26-man roster featuring nine returning players from a team that went 10-7-4 overall last season and 3-5-2 in the Central Valley Conference.

The Giants open the season at home Aug. 29 against Los Angeles City College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Striker Ernesto Pacheco (Redwood High), who had five goals and two assists last season, is Sequoias' top returning scorer.

The Giants' offensive attack also returns winger Ramon Meraz (Mission Oak), winger Jesus Godinez (Tulare Western) and midfielders Felix Zarate (Farmersville) and Jonathan Vega (Granite Hills). Meraz scored four goals, Godinez had two goals and two assists while Zarate had two goals and three assists last season.

Campos said several first-year players, including strikers Ulises Lupian (Orosi), Daniel Ruiz (Granite Hills) and Jesus Martinez (El Diamante), winger Jose Fabian Sandobal (Tulare Union) and midfielder Jackson Benevedes (Tulare Western) will also contribute to a potentially high-scoring offense.

"I think we're going to score a lot of goals," Campos said. "From the midfield up, we have a lot of skilled players. I want to take advantage of that.I want to put on a show for the fans."

Sequoias has experience in the midfield in Evan Wessel (El Diamante), John Leal (Tulare Western) and Juan Samano (Granite Hills), and promising newcomers in Angel Rodriguez (Golden West), Christian Sanchez (Lemoore) and Erick Rincon (Granite Hills).

Campos said he expects to start an all-freshman defense with left back Joshua Saesee (Redwood), center backs Alejandro Morales (Redwood) and Yair Ramos (Granite Hills), and right back Ben Garcia (Redwood).

"I'm excited I get to work with them for two years," Campos said. "They are all hard workers and very coachable."

Additional defensive depth comes from freshmen Jason Valdez (Mission Oak), Jonathan Barboza (Mission Oak) and Ian Bruno (Liberty-Madera Ranchos).

The Giants have two goalkeepers in sophomore Julian Vicente Lau (Redwood) and freshman Antonio Espinoza (Orosi). Vicente Lau went 3-1-0 in four starts last season, allowing five goals in six appearances overall.

"I feel we have a good group," Campos said. "I think they have potential. I think we can do something special this season."

After graduating from Golden West, Campos played for Sequoias in 2008 and 2009. He was recruited to Incarnate Word University in San Antonio, Texas, where he played two more seasons collegiately before moving on to play professionally in a second division league in Mexico and for the Fresno Fuego.

As an alum, Campos would like to provide an opportunity for other Sequoias' student-athletes to reach four-year universities as he once did. 

"I want to win. I want to win titles. I'm very competitive," Campos said. "But I want to help them move on. My big thing is for them to transfer, and not necessarily to play. I tell them to get your degree and go into a (career) field you enjoy. At the end of the day, if they do that, I'm more than happy."

The Giants will play seven nonconference games before opening Central Valley Conference play at 4 p.m. Sept. 29 at Merced. The six-team conference also features Taft, Fresno City, Clovis and West Hills-Lemoore.