The 2019 men's soccer season has reached the halfway point of the season, but it seems as if the race could go down to the wire before a champion is crowned. Cuyamaca College, Palomar College and MiraCosta College seem like the likely favorites heading to the heart of Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play.
Palomar and MiraCosta both entered PCAC play with winning records after the Comets went 4-3-2 and the Spartans 3-2-4.
Palomar registered a tie against Cypress College (1-1), a program ranked No. 8 in the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) Rankings. The Comets have scored a PCAC second-best 20 goals during the pre-conference schedule, including seven from sophomore Arturo Soltero.
MiraCosta has played a rugged schedule that includes three games against teams ranked in the top-20. The Spartans were 3-0 winners against No. 17 Antelope Valley and lost 0-1 battles against both No. 2 Mt. San Antonio College and No. 16 Orange Coast College. MiraCosta ranks amongst the stingiest defenses in the state, allowing just four goals over the first nine games of the season.
Cuyamaca is right in the mix after going 2-4-3 during the pre-conference schedule. Cuyamaca has lost three games against ranked opponents, falling to No. 1 Cerritos College (1-6), No. 2 Mt. San Antonio College (2-6) and No. 19 Fullerton College (0-1). The Coyotes are led by freshman Juan Barragan, who leads the state with 13 goals on the season.
With San Bernardino Valley College and College of the Desert exiting the conference for the newly formed Inland Empire Conference, the PCAC will have a new champion for the first time since the 2015 season when Cuyamaca captured the PCAC crown. The last time Palomar College won a PCAC men's soccer title was in 2009, while MiraCosta is still searching for a first PCAC title.