Sandburg men’s soccer set to kick off Zamora era

GALESBURG — Rodrigo Zamora, a Sandburg men’s soccer alumnus who served as assistant coach for the past three seasons, begins his head coaching career with the Chargers’ season opener at 4 p.m. today at Wright.

Zamora, a Monmouth-Roseville High School graduate who played keeper for the Chargers from 2014-15, takes over a team that saw ample success in his time as an assistant the last three years under Gerardo Ruvalcaba. The Chargers compiled a 35-9-8 overall record and went 8-0-1 in the Arrowhead Conference in that timeframe, including conference titles the last two seasons.

Sandburg is coming off a 2025 campaign in which it finished 12-3-3 overall and entered the postseason on a 12-game unbeaten streak. The Chargers, however, saw their playoff stay end abruptly with a 2-0 loss at home to Triton in the Region 4 quarterfinals.

The Chargers’ first home match is 2 p.m. Aug. 26 against Truman.

RETURNERS TO WATCH

Mateo Figueroa, sophomore forward

• Second-team All-Arrowhead Conference selection last season as a freshman.

• Scored four goals and tallied two assists in 2025.

Ramon Ponga, sophomore forward

• Second-team All-Arrowhead Conference and second-team All-Region 4 as a freshman.
• Scored two goals and had four assists last season.

Tyrese Ogbonna, sophomore defender
• Had a goal and two assists in his freshman campaign.
• Zamora: “Tyrese is a key and influential player. He can help guide the team and bring the freshmen and sophomores together while bringing a competitive mindset to each practice and game.”

NEWCOMERS TO WATCH

Alejandro Cantos Pastor, freshman midfielder

• Zamora: “ He’s a great tactical player, brings composure to our midfield and can play on both the attacking and defensive side.”

Luc Van der Kamp, sophomore defender

• Zamora: “His knowledge and expertise can be valuable to us. He’s a strong defensive player and good leader.”

Noha Mirande Davis, freshman midfielder

• Zamora: “Noha brings a lot of experience, playing in a great league back in France. He’s a solid addition to our midfield with an untiring hunger to help the team, whether defensively or offensively.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON?

Zamora: “We want to build on the success of the previous season. Learn from the mistakes we made last year and make sure we do not repeat them this season. We look forward to trying to repeat winning the conference and getting farther into the Region 4 postseason.”

MATCHES TO WATCH

• Aug. 26 at Truman
• Sept. 19 vs. Prairie State
• Sept. 6 vs. Morton (receiving votes in NJCAA Division II preseason rankings)
• Oct. 24 vs. Triton

THIS WILL BE A SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF …

Zamora: “If we do things correctly and learn from mistakes from last season. However, the most important thing will be our mindset, making sure we support each other on the field and always giving 100% whether it’s a preseason game or in the playoffs. We want to leave everything on the field to make sure the team succeeds.”

HOW TO FOLLOW THE CHARGERS
• Watch Chargers home matches live and on-demand on the Sandburg YouTube channel.
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