The 2004 CCAA men’s and women’s soccer seasons ended Oct. 30 with the two Gators teams losing to Cal State Stanislaus. It was an unfortunately fitting end to a season full of disappointment, inconsistency, and one-goal defeats for the teams.

Even though the men’s team slightly improved on their 4-14-2 overall record from last year, head coach Joe Hunter was not entirely pleased about how things went this season. The men’s team ended the season 5-8-1 against CCAA teams and 6-13-1 overall.

“Statistically we improved,” said Hunter. “The talent this year was better overall than last year, but we were too streaky and inconsistent.”

This streakiness and inconsistency was reflected in the team losing five of their first six games then going on to win four of their next five. After that good string of games, Sept. 14 to Oct. 1, the team ended their season by losing eight of their last nine.

“The season ended on such a sour note that it overshadowed the positives,” said Hunter. “There was a good collection of players, but it was not a great team. We had some selfish players.”

Midfielder Chris Martinez also pointed to the lack of team togetherness as a problem this season. “When things went wrong people were quick to point fingers at others,” said Martinez. “It created a negative atmosphere that could really kill a team. We also lacked a true leader who could take over the game and give us a boost.”

With these negatives aside, the team coped with injuries and “other players picked up the slack” to offset those injuries, said Martinez.

When asked about what players stood out in his mind coach Hunter named goalkeeper Gabe Hall and midfielders Kevin Soares and Roy Phillips as the most consistent in their play. Forward Whitney Johnson, who Hunter said improved greatly this season, led the team with six goals.

As for next year, Hunter wants to try to get more freshmen onto the team and improve the team’s speed, which he said was one of the weak points this season.

“I need some players with a bit more edge who want to play dirty and get mad when they don’t win, instead of selfish players who only care about how they do personally,” said Hunter.

The story of the 2004 season for the Lady Gators was not one about selfish players but one about disappointment and frustration. The Lady Gators finished the season with a 3-8-3 CCAA record and a 4-12-3 overall record.

The Lady Gators lost seven games by one goal, including four in double overtime. This was a big source of disappointment for the team and 26-year head coach Jack Hyde.

“In those games we always seemed to be five minutes short,” said Hyde of the one-goal losses. “We either couldn’t get the final goal or we let the other team score the final goal in the last five minutes.”

Coming off last season’s comparatively successful season, 12-8 overall and 7-7 vs. CCAA teams, made these types of losses even harder to take.

Two of the players tried to put a positive spin on the otherwise heartbreaking season, though.

“The record doesn’t really show how well we played,” said midfielder Maya Patrick. “We hung with teams that are really good.”

On Oct. 22 and 24, the Lady Gators beat Sonoma State and Chico State, respectively. Chico State qualified for the CCAA championship tournament this season and held the top spot in the north division, while Sonoma State finished second.

“We did the best we could,” said goalkeeper Erin Clark. “Beating Sonoma and Chico was the highlight of the season because we proved we’re a great team.”

Midfielder Marieke Blazeski and forward Lissette Garay led the team in goals with four, while senior defender Katie Klain led the team in assists with four.

For next year, Hyde “definitely expects better.”

“I am disappointed with this year’s results after climbing the ladder and having success last year,” said Hyde. “But, we have some good players returning and I’ll do some recruiting.”

For the Lady Gators, Klain was named to the All-CCAA Second Team while Blazeski and midfielder Erin Hartman were named to the All-CCAA Honorable Mention Team. On the men’s team, Johnson was named to the All-CCAA First Team, while Hall and Soares were named to the Honorable Mention Team.