The community college season is approaching, and four programs in the IE are ready for the 2024 season. Fortunately, all four programs are in the same conference, the Inland Empire Athletic Conference or IEAC. This group consists of five programs, four from the IE: SBVC, Chaffey, Norco, and Victor Valley College. The top two programs advance to the postseason. I do consider Victor Valley College part of the IE. You can check the IE map I use on my home page.

SBVC

Last season 

The Wolverines finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 14-4-4, 5-1-2 in the conference. This performance placed them second in the IEAC, and they clinched the playoffs. SBVC lost in the first round to Cuyamaca 2-1 at home.  

Coach

The Wolverines are led by coach Josh Brown, who has led SBVC for several years. The furthest timeline I could find of his start guiding the Boys in Blue was in 2012. With that unconfirmed information, we can assume that coach Brown has led SBVC to five postseason appearances, including the last two seasons.

Opinion

Last season was one of the best for the Wolverines. They are a hard-working and aggressive group of players. If I remember correctly, I went to that playoff game against Cuyamaca. SBVC was tied 1-1 leading to the second half; they got a golden chance with Cuyamaca down to ten men but allowed a goal in the 72′. Emotions got high at the end, and SBVC got a red card before the final whistle. SBVC lost their cool at the end of that match, but that fighting spirit is what will help them in 2024.

Poll

I polled on Instagram, asking my followers if they think some college programs will see playoffs this season. My followers are made up of players and coaches, so their votes have some weight to them.

	Votes	Percent
Yes	17	81%
No	4	19%

Chaffey

Chaffey non-conference schedule

Home/Away	Date	Opponent	Time
H	Friday August 23rd	Long Beach	4pm
A	Tuesday August 27th	Antelope Valley	4pm
A	Friday August 30th	Santa Barbara	7pm
A	Tuesday September 4th	San Diego Mesa	3pm
H	Friday September 6th	Santa Ana	4pm
A	Tuesday September 10th	Taft	4pm
H	Friday September 13th	Santa Monica	4pm
A	Tuesday September 17th	Rio Hondo	6pm
H	Friday September 20th	El Camino	4pm
A	Tuesday September 24th	LA Pierce	4pm
A	Tuesday October 1st	Canyons	6:30pm

Coach

Chris Araya played for the program from 2006 to 2007 and has been an assistant coach since 2012.

Last season 

The Panthers record last season was 6-9-5 (2-3-3 conference), which didn’t allow them in the playoffs.

Opinion

Looking at the program historically, they had a off year in 2023. Coach Chris has been with the program since 2012 and coached the women’s side for numerous years. A minor dent to the consistency. 

Poll: Playoffs?

	Votes	Percent
Yes	9	53%
No	8	47%

Norco

Norco non-conference schedule

Home/Away	Date	Opponent	Time
A	Wednesday August 21st	U of La Verne #scrimmage	12pm
A	Friday August 23rd	Rio Hondo	6pm
A	Tuesday August 27th	Cerritos	4pm
H @Silverlakes	Friday August 30th	Bakersfield	6pm
H @Silverlakes	Sunday September 1st	Fullerton	6pm
A	Tuesday September 3rd	El Camino	3:30pm
A	Friday September 6th	Antelope Valley	7pm
H	Tuesday September 10th	Santa Monica	4pm
H	Friday September 13th	Golden West	4pm
A	Friday September 20th	Saddleback	6pm
H	Monday September 23rd	Long Beach	4pm
A	Tuesday October 1st	LA City	7pm

Last season  

In 2023, Norco finished with an overall record of 14-1-6, 6-0-2 in the conference. That performance had one of the highest winning seasons in program history, winning the IEAC title. Being crowned champs, they made the postseason but fell to Long Beach in penalties in the 2nd round of SoCal regionals.       

Coach

Drew Rea has been in charge for five years now, before COVID-19. Since joining, he has led Norco to the playoffs in every season under his tenure. He is the only coach to respond to my preseason survey about his thoughts on the upcoming season, here is what he said.

What are your goals for the season?

Win state

What are some improvements that you want to implement from last season?

We had 1 loss, we had more ties than I would like so the goal is put teams away when we have the chance.

What are some positives from last season that you want to continue?

We were the only team to beat the state champions el Camino and won the league for first time in school history.

Who is one team that you’ll pay extra attention to?

El Camino , Cerritos , Fullerton college

Opinion 

Perhaps the best season for the program last year can give them motivation to repeat this year. Coach Drew winning the honor of best coach in the conference is appropriate. He also coaches youth with Legends FC, which he maybe fosters a potential pipeline from youth club to community college.

Poll: Playoffs?

	Votes	Percent
Yes	15	71%
Np	6	29%

VVC

Victor Valley College non-conference schedule

Home/Away	Date	Opponent	Time
H	Fri Aug 23rd	Antelope Valley	6pm
A	Tue Aug 27th	Pasadena City	4pm
H	Fri Aug 30th	Moorpark	6pm
A	Fri Sep 6th	Los Angeles City	2pm
H	Tue Sep 10th	Lemoore College	6pm
H	Fri Sep 13th	Imperial Valley	6pm
A	Tue Sep 17th	East Los Angeles	3pm
A	Fri Sep 20th	Canyons	6pm
H	Tue Sep 24th	Compton	4pm
H	Fri Sep 27th	Citrus	4pm
A	Tue Oct 1st	LA Pierce	7pm

Coach

New head coach Sammy Lara will lead the Rams. After being an assistant for two years, it is his first year as head coach. He has a long resume of coaching youth in the high desert and San Bernadino Valley.   

Last season 

The Rams in 2023 had a 2-15-3 overall record and 0-7-1 in the conference, placing last in the IEAC.

Opinion

The program has been awful since 2016, the Rams’ last successful season. Hopefully, this new coach can turn the program around as my high desert followers have a very pessimistic attitude about the program’s success.  

Poll: Playoffs?

	Votes	Percent
Yes	3	17%
No	15	83%

Conference Schedule