TJC soccer's Hugo Debenham and Noe Robles at a fall sports media day at the CHRISTUS Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute on Aug. 1. (Michel Alfaro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Tyler Junior College was so close to winning its seventh men’s soccer national championship in 2023.

The Apaches fell to Monroe (New York), 4-3, in a shootout in the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Soccer Tournament held at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas.

Sophomore Hugo Debenham and sophomore Noe Robles were at a fall sports media day at the CHRISTUS Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute on Aug. 1 to talk about the upcoming season.

“We have a lot of good recruits coming in this year,” said Debenham, who is from Christchurch, New Zealand. “We’re going to put an extra big of effort into our fitness obviously. We kind of lagged it a little bit at the end of the tournament, so that’s what we’re going to try to build on for this season.”

“I’ve learned a lot from last year,” said Robles, who was the all-time goal scorer at Tyler Legacy High School. “Our work rate is going to be really high. We have to focus on outworking teams.”

The Apaches finished with an 18-2-2 record last season.

The Apaches, under head coach Steve Clements, have won national championships in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. TJC finished runner-up in 2013, 2015 and 2023.

TJC will host Ranger College at 7 p.m. Saturday at Pat Hartley Field in the season opener.

The Apaches will begin conference play against Coastal Bend at noon on Aug. 30 at Pat Hartley Field.