In 2023, not much went right for the Coronado High School boys’ soccer team. With a 1-15-3 season, 0-6-2 record in conference play, and a -48 goal differential, it was a far cry from the team who, in its two previous seasons, had collected 28 wins as a program and had reached the CIF Open Division title game in 2021.

But last season was just that—last season. Now, in 2024, the Islanders believe this year will be different, given the depth and returning talent to the program.

“My expectation is that we should be able to win the league, and I think we should be in a position to go really far into the postseason come playoff time,” said Head Coach Jeff Roe.

It’s important to note that for the 2024-2025 season, the Islanders will compete at the CIF DII level rather than at the CIF DI level, a decision Roe made that he felt was best for his team this season.

For this season, as they tried to last year, Roe will lean hard on his backline and play his defense. Anchored by Ethan Messner, Vincent Wastila, Alonso Arista, and Diego Arista, Roe feels the talent along that backline will be one of this team’s many strengths in 2024.

“I think we’re going to be really hard to score against this year,” noted Roe. “Ethan will be the leader back there and be essential to our success this year. The Arista brothers of Diego and Alonso will also be key. I think we have a ton of depth this season that we maybe didn’t have last year.”

Along with Messner returning to the team in 2024, Coronado will also key some critical help from other returning players, such as Louis Harrington and Aiden Treishman. The midfielders will give the Islanders a spark both on the attack and defensively.

“For us, Aiden is going to play at the eight or the ten, and I am going to rely on him to control the tempo of the game,” said Roe. “If he is not the one scoring the goal, he is going to be distributing the ball. His soccer IQ is really amazing.”

While Treishman will be the main focal point in the Islanders’ attack, he certainly won’t be going after the goal alone. Becket Herr, Ryan Chalepas, and Diego Villasenor will also play big on the attack on what Roe hopes will be a bounce-back year for Coronado’s offense.

“Becket Herr is going to be huge for us. He is one of our top-scoring threats heading into the season, and we hope he continues to build off his play from last year,” commented Roe. “If you look up and down our roster right now, it is depth after depth after depth, which will be big for keeping guys fresh and as we get late in the season.”

Again, the hope for 2024 is that it’s a total of 180 from last season. Playing down a division should help Coronado, but given the current talent and roster construction, it is a team that, on paper, looks poised to bounce back this year.

Coronado’s first game of the 2024-2025 season will be this Thursday night, November 21st, against Sweetwater High School. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. at Coronado High School.