Tryouts underway for T-Duck men’s soccer team
May 2, 2023
Richland’s men’s soccer team has finished its training session for this year. Now they are preparing for the beginning of the tryouts to field a team for next season. At press time, the tryouts were scheduled to start on April 30.
“This semester the team plays many friendly games against universities in order to strengthen their competitive level, besides trying to find an option for a scholarship,”head men’s soccer coach Raul Herrera said.
Eleven players have already signed and accepted offers to their new universities. They are Gabriel Matute, Lorenzo Rovei, Diby Ulrich, Carlos Arconada, Saimon Gjeci, Jaime Salinas, Jafeth Jimenez, Rodrigo Artiga, Yahir Gallardo, Felipe García (He was named the MVP last final) and Robert Zanfir. Meanwhile, two more players have not decided which offers to accept. They are Juan Camilo Vargas and Samuele Muroni.
Muroni is a student of business administration. He was born in Sardinia, Italy. He speaks three languages: Italian, English and Spanish. “The experience was amazing because I was not expecting to play in my first year due to the high level that this college has, but I could play and win the championship,” Muroni said.
The first final was against Herkimer College from New York in 2022, and the second one was vs. Genesee in 2023. Both games were held in New York. One of the choices that the left-back player has for transference is the Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
On the other hand, Vargas is deciding whether to choose Tulsa University, Syracuse University or Memphis University to continue his studies in sports medicine. The right-back was born in Colombia but raised in Madrid, Spain. He won three championships with the T
-Ducks. In 2021 against Camden College (New Jersey), in 2022 vs. Herkimer (New York) and in 2023 vs. Genesee (New York).
“Coming from Europe you know the level is higher, but Richland has a great level, too, and this college has many international players and is very interesting because each one contributes with their culture in favor of the team. I think that is one of the keys to being the best team in the United States,” Vargas said, adding, “I think all the players from Richland College are well-intentioned people. All of us struggled to achieve our goals, and we did it,” said Vargas.
