HOUSTON – It’s no surprise that there’s another successful season underway for the Elsik boys soccer team.
Eleven games into their season, they’ve yet to taste defeat and are drawing national recognition.
The team is No. 3 nationally in the USA Today Super 25 rankings, but that’s not what they’re most proud of.
“We’re a family,” said Captain Daniel Duran. “That’s the most important thing to me. We take care of each other.”
They’ve rattled off 10 straight wins after a season-opening draw, and they hope to deliver on some pretty lofty goals.
“Expectation for us is really high since we’ve been working together since my sophomore year. So everyone expects each other to be on top of things,” said midfielder Saul Amaya.
Each time Elsik hits the field, they know they are going to get the best from their opposition, but they hope to use their national ranking to their advantage.
“If someone puts a ranking on you, you’re going to get their best every game, so you don’t get a chance to relax,” said Elsik head coach Vincenzo Cox, now in his ninth season with the Rams. “That makes you wake up and you have to respond to every challenge.”
“It’s good to be ranked up there,” said Duran. “But to be honest, we leave that aside, because every game matters. Even if it’s just a scrimmage, we take it serious.”