{"id":8677,"date":"2026-08-26T12:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T18:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utrgvradio.com\/?p=8677"},"modified":"2026-08-26T12:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T18:52:09","slug":"new-conference-brings-new-expectations-for-soccer-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utrgvradio.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/26\/new-conference-brings-new-expectations-for-soccer-team\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0New Conference Brings New Expectations for Soccer Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/utrgvradio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SOCCER0826_mixdown.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\">After a season of development and sacrifice, the team now has a conference, a deeper roster and a chance to compete for something tangible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With nine players returning and 16 new players joining the roster, head coach Raheem Hancock said the experience from last season could help shape this year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cThey\u2019ve suffered for a year,\u201d Hancock said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hancock said the returning players used last season to develop despite not having a conference championship to compete for. Now, the team is focused on building chemistry and taking the season one game at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Junior Tobias Buch, an international business junior from Denmark, was with the team during the spring and said he has seen the group grow since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cI feel like we have a lot of new players coming in that I&#8217;m very confident and we\u2019ll perform on the season,\u201d Buch said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buch said the team\u2019s style also brings a different challenge compared to the soccer he is used to playing in Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Buch is focused on performing whenever he steps on the pitch, transfer junior Alexander Mink said the team has even bigger goals for the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to win it,\u201d Mink said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mink said the team wants to compete for the conference and give itself a chance to reach the national tournament. He also has individual goals, including earning first-team all-conference honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIndividually, I want to do my own accolades as first team in the conference,\u201d Mink said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the players returning from last season, this year is an opportunity to turn that experience into results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is Sebastian Espino for Vaquero Radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a season of development and sacrifice, the team now has a conference, a deeper roster and a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":8678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,34,54,14],"tags":[68,41,44,46,42,26],"class_list":["post-8677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-edinburg","category-entertainment","category-soccer","category-sports","tag-edinburg","tag-fall","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-students","tag-utrgv"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - 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