Last fall, Turlock native Marcus DeCouto reminded the sports scene that UC Merced consistently brings some of the top freshmen to the California Pacific Conference.
DeCouto, now a sophomore midfielder on the Bobcats’ men’s soccer team, became the first Cal Pac player since 2015 to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season. To little surprise, he was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
Traditional UC Merced events — Homecoming, Preview Day and Family Weekend, plus the Chancellor’s Scholars recognition ceremony — came together for a first-of-its-kind bundle of activities that highlighted the campus for current and prospective students, alumni, family members and friends, and the community. Events included a women’s volleyball game, information sessions, women’s and men’s soccer games, a tailgate party and karaoke.
Long hours and hard work paid off for UC Merced’s intercollegiate athletics program last week when the California Pacific Conference’s 2014-15 awards were announced. For the first time in conference history, one school earned every departmental award.
UC Merced Director of Recreation and Athletics David Dunham was selected as the Cal Pac Athletic Director of the Year. UC Merced was also named the top institution in the categories of sportsmanship, sports medicine and sports information.
There’s no offseason for giving back, and that’s exactly how the UC Merced men’s and women’s soccer teams felt as they recently reached out to help the local community.
In its inaugural intercollegiate season, the UC Merced men’s soccer team showed plenty of promise by defeating the eventual conference champions and producing the California Pacific Conference freshman player of the year.
UC Merced 
The Cal Pac Conference has named 
There’s no offseason for giving back, and that’s exactly how the UC Merced men’s and women’s soccer teams felt as they recently reached out to help the local community.
