ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Rock Valley College men's soccer team opened the 2026 season over the weekend, beginning a new chapter for the program under first-year head coach Eddie Garza.
The Golden Eagles opened the season Friday against Patrick & Henry Community College. Rock Valley battled throughout the contest and found the back of the net in the second half when Antonio Ruiz converted the first goal of the 2026 Season for the Golden Eagles. Patrick & Henry went on to claim a 3-1 victory.
Garza said the challenging opening weekend provides an opportunity for his new team to learn quickly.
"I like that we are being tested early against some of the top junior college programs in the country," Garza said. "Patrick & Henry showed us where we currently stand as we look to establish ourselves and play a better style of soccer."
"While the final score doesn't reflect how the match actually went, our biggest takeaway is that the things we failed to do are entirely controllable," Garza added. "These are areas we can immediately fix, and from here, we can only go up."
Rock Valley returned to the field Sunday to face Western Iowa Tech in its second match of the weekend. The Golden Eagles found themselves chasing the game after conceding early and were unable to recover, with Western Iowa Tech earning a 6-0 victory.
"With the quick turnaround against Western Iowa Tech, giving up early goals really set us back and forced us to play a style we haven't been training for, which exposed us and led to a larger margin of defeat," Garza said.
Despite the results, Garza believes the level of competition will benefit the Golden Eagles as they continue to develop throughout the season.
"Full credit to Western Iowa Tech, as they are a very good team," Garza said. "However, I'd love to see both of them again later in the season once we are fully established. Playing top competition like this tests us early and prepares us well for Region 4 play."
While the opening weekend did not produce the results Rock Valley was looking for, the two matches marked the beginning of a new era for Golden Eagle men's soccer under Garza. With a new coaching staff and a new group of players, Rock Valley will continue to build and develop as the program moves forward into the 2026 campaign.
The Golden Eagles will look to carry the lessons from opening weekend into their next opportunity as they continue the early portion of the season.
