Men’s soccer season so far

Men's soccer players celebrate after a goal (Courtesy of Miko Jaworski)

By Sloane Crocker, Co Executive-Editor

Missing the thrill of Maria Carrillo High School’s football team and wanting another team to cheer on to victory this winter? Look no further than Carrillo’s men’s soccer team, which already had a solid preseason run and is sure to only improve as they head into league competition.

The team’s first preseason opponent was Healdsburg, a season opener that took place Nov. 29, 2025. The result of this first competition was a 1-1 tie, followed by losses in the next two games against Vintage and Elsie Allen and a tie against American Canyon. The team’s first preseason win came on Dec. 9 against Sonoma Valley, and they kept the success rolling with a second win against Santa Rosa three days later. The rest of preseason wrapped up with two ties against Analy and Piner and a win against Roseland University Prep.

Coach Trevor Brady accurately summed up the preseason results, saying that the team ended with “more ties than anything,” which he feels is an overall positive outcome. And according to Athletic Director Jerry Deakins, who has been able to watch several games so far this season, the team has been “very organized” and “working very well as a unit.” However, Brady is always striving for improvement and did note that some of the results were “a little disappointing" in that the team did not win against teams that they have found success against in previous years. However, Brady is confident in the fact that the team is still “growing” and “figuring stuff out,” with their best soccer still ahead of them. And, continuing with this positive outlook, he said that if he were to have the option of being really successful early in the season versus successful later, he would gladly take the second option. 

So, with preseason over and the league rapidly approaching, Brady said that a goal he and his team have is to finish 500 or above, meaning with more wins than losses overall; this would allow the Pumas to qualify for playoffs, which is certainly a long-term “outcome goal” for the team. He also said that he would like to improve upon the team’s fifth-place finish in the league from last year and even get a league title, something that he thinks the team can “absolutely challenge for.” In terms of “process goals,” he said he hopes for his team to “get better every practice and every game.” He wants to simply take things “one game at a time” and hopefully “string together enough positive results” to eventually put themselves in a position to win the league and find playoff success.

To be more specific about the league competition that the Pumas will face, Brady said that Windsor has set themselves up to be a standout team in the North Bay League, and he also named Rancho Cotati and Ukiah as other top contenders. Deakins echoed this sentiment, stating that the NBL has always been a tough league on both the boys and girls side; however, Deakins still believes that the Carrillo team will “have success.” Of course, with such tough competition, Brady said that they will definitely prioritize defense as the main focus, yet “once we get our defense down,” he will also push the team to focus on offense as well. Although they will certainly keep an eye on the best players on some of these teams and adjust to account for these players, he also said the overall aim is to play their “style of game, what [they] are capable of;” if they do this, he feels that the opponent doesn’t matter.

Brady also named a few of Carrillo’s own top players that will be sure to make a difference throughout league competition. One of these players is senior captain Micah Hoese, a “kind of coach on the field” for the team. Brady also mentioned senior captain Nathan Arendt, who he feels is the “best keeper in the league;” these two in particular are the “guys that the team will lean on.” Brady also mentioned senior Justin Luis and junior Oliver Gomez Murray as some of the team’s best goal scorers; with so many juniors and seniors on the team, Brady is confident in their experience and ability to step up in big moments. 

Looking forward to a post season playoff run, Brady said that the team has qualified for playoffs ever since he took over as varsity coach, and he feels that to make the playoffs is always a goal- as he said, “the atmosphere is different” and “once you get in, anything can happen.” However, with the postseason still weeks away, Brady stressed the importance of staying in the moment for now –  “we have to perform in league to earn that.”