Coaches optimistic despite slow starts to 2024-25 seasons
The Santa Ynez High School boys and girls soccer teams came into the 2024-25 season in similar situations: Both lost key players due to graduation.
As of Dec. 11, both teams have struggled out of the gate as they work on new lineups and test themselves against a tough pre-league schedule, but look to hit their peak when Sunset League play starts.
Boys look to mesh the old with the new
After going 11-8-1 and playing in the first-round of the CIF playoffs in 2023-24, the boys team is was still looking for it first win as of Dec. 11 starting off 0-6-1, with it’s only non-loss being a 1-1 tie at Cabrillo High on Dec. 5. The Pirates did have games against Nipomo on Dec. 12
“From my perspective, it’s a transitional year,” Garcia said after his team’s 1-1 tie at Cabrillo on Dec. 5. “We have a lot of new faces coming up from JV, and we just have to get them to mesh with the returning players.”
One player Garcia is looking to take the leadership mantle is senior Evan Eliason, who had eight assists for the Pirates last year.
“Evan’s one of my captains and I think he’s going to be a great mixing point from what we had before to what’s new, and I think he’s going to lead,” Garcia said.
One of the players that’s “new,” is freshman Fernando Roman, whose play impresses the coach.
It was Roman who had the goal to salvage a tie with Cabrillo, taking away the ball from a Conquistadore defender to force a one-on-one with the goalie and scored just after halftime.
“He’s like a machine, he scored in our game against Santa Barbara [a 2-1 SYHS loss on Dec. 2],” Garcia said. “He just doesn’t stop; doesn’t know the word ‘no.’ We’re expecting big things from him, but we’re not putting too much of a workload on him yet.”
The coach is also pleased with the play of Austin Willis, who joined the squad just after football season ended.
“He joined us as a freshman last year, but he didn’t play like a freshman — he played like an upperclassman,” Garcia said. “And this year, he came straight from football and stepped it up right away. I look for him to be one of my pillars.”
Garcia also had praise for his goalkeeper, Diego Medina, and midfielder Marcos Rivera.
The Pirates are back in the Sunset League this year, battling with Templeton, Atascadero, Lompoc, and league newcomer St. Joseph.
“I think it’s a pretty good league; I think Lompoc’s going to be tough, but I think we’ll be competitive,” said Garcia. “I’m really looking forward to the CIF playoffs, because we’re in an appropriate division [for school size], and with the competition we have beforehand; it could set us up.
Girls soccer ready to tackle new challenges
Despite an overall 10-13-2 record in 2023-24, the Santa Ynez Valley excelled in league play, going 6-2-2 for a third-place finish in the Sunset League and reaching the second round of the CIF playoffs.
This year, the Lady Pirates have started out 2-4 after a 2-0 win over Mission Prep on Dec. 11, with Ella Gotschall and Hannah Ricci scoring goals for SYHS. The other win was the season opener against Nipomo, where the Pirates beat the Titans 3-0, with Grace Vasquez, Presley Pinoli, and Val Jimenez tallying goals.
In between, SYHS went down to Newport Beach for the Back Bay Invitational, where they lost all three games there.
“It was a pretty intense tournament,” said head coach Rob Cantrell. “We played some really tough teams, but we competed.”
However, the scheduling of good opponents is something that they’ve done for the good of the team.
“It’s really no good to pick out opponents who aren’t as experienced and don’t test us,” Cantrell said. “We need those challenges to strengthen us for the league competition.”
It already seemed like a challenge for the Pirates to go into the season after losing 10 players to graduation, but the coach wasn’t worried.
“We actually had a very big roster last year,” Cantrell said. “So a lot of those people are coming back, and we are a real close-knit team in age now, when last year we had a lot of seniors and them some who were very young. There can be a gap. But this year the chemistry of the team is solid.”
Cantrell is going in with a lot of players he feels he can depend on.
“Bella Duarte and Simone Hamaoui are my captains, and they’re really solid,” he said. “And Grace Vasquez is going to do a lot of work for us. She’s really getting some quality minutes.”
The coach also had praise for freshman Mia Pulido sophomore Campbell McClurg, as well as his goalkeeping tandem of Maddie Cruickshank and Devyn Hazard.
Santa Ynez is again in the Sunset League this year along with Lompoc, and three new schools — Cabrillo, Pioneer Valley, and Santa Maria — joining them, but to Cantrell, it’s just another challenge.
“We have some new teams to face in league this year, but I think we’re up to the tesk,” Cantrell said. “We are the smallest school in the area as far as enrollment, but we are always ready to rise to the challenge.”
The Pirates have two road games this week, against Morro Bay tonight and Arroyo Grande on Friday. After Christmas break, SYHS will start league play on Jan. 7 at Lompoc.
