The San Diego Mesa men’s soccer team kicked off the 2022 season with a 6-1 win over Victor Valley College at home on Thursday. This is the first season opener win for the Olympians since 2017. 

The team played fast and dominated the first half scoring 4 goals before halftime. Sophomore Adam Martinez led the team with 2 goals and 1 assist. Adam Tahlawi took 3 shots, 1 shot on goal, 1 goal, and 1 assist. While Abdiel Canizalez took 2 shots, 1 shot on goal, and 1 assist. 

Head coach Ray Taila praised his team's performance and is excited about the speed of the team. Taila is deploying a new system that has the ability to have options in formations, taking advantage of their speed. “If we stay disciplined and stay within our system we should get results like today,’ states Taila. “We have some new players on the team, it’s early so we are still working on everyone getting on the same page.”

Although the team dominated against Victor Valley College, Taila stresses that the season is long and there are still many improvements that need to be made. “This was our first game and the season is very long. It’s important we learn from this game and improve on both ends. We will watch the tape and we’ll point out what we did well and what we need to fix.” 

The team will travel to Palm Desert on Tuesday, September 6 to take on College of the Desert. The Roadrunners recently dropped their season opener to Cerritos College 6-0.