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SANTA ROSA, California – In 2023, the Sonoma Academy Coyotes lost the NCS Boys’ Varsity Soccer final in heartbreaking fashion. Last year, they led their team to a record-breaking season and title victory. This year, they’re on track for greatness.
If you ask any junior or a senior about the 2023 NCS Final, chances are they won’t be happy to tell you what happened. They would tell you about the pain felt around campus for days after the loss. They would tell you about the hand ball that the refs overlooked, which would have given our team an opportunity to win the game. The year after, however, they had a commanding victory over the Athenian soccer team. What changed?
Shock and awe are the best two words to describe that cold night in Fall 2023. Anyone there remembers the penalty kicks flying over the crossbar, the fans from Calistoga running onto the field to congratulate their winning team, the hope and belief in our team turning into despair. The worst part? The game objectively should have been ours to win.
For weeks after the loss, a screenshot of a Calistoga defender’s hand hitting our ball off of their goal line just like Maradona’s Hand of God circulated around campus. “We were robbed, but yeah, I guess it was just more motivation for everyone that was returning the next year.” Senior Gale Gearinger, recently named Athlete of the Week and team captain, provided an adept analysis of how the team shifted its mentality to do better. “It was bad. But yeah, we all worked hard. We all trained hard and just the next season, gave it our all, only lost one game that season, and we ended up winning NCS because we all, yeah, our hard work and determination.”
The Paw Print was able to interview a few members of the title-winning team to get some more insight on this change in team culture. Captain Kellen Kramer (‘25), who holds the record for most goals in a season, added his own insight on the loss in 2023. “I remember skying a penalty, and I remember us just…not having the maturity or the class to win. It seemed rushed.”
He added a bunch of positive commentary about the win in 2024, too. “I mean, yeah, my senior season, I felt like everyone was closer, more connected, making jokes, but also, there was definitely a level of seriousness. Everyone really held themselves accountable.” Kellen didn’t forget to give some shoutouts as well: “specifically [Elian Diaz-Zepeda (‘26), who was a captain last season.] He was maturing in a way and he was always like, how do I become a better captain? And then he was always leading by example and holding himself accountable…and then I feel like that kind of trickled down to all the other guys.”
Some newer members also had some positive thoughts to provide on this turnaround. Josh Ma (‘28), a freshman in last year’s title victory, said “seeing how everyone reacted to the loss…it was different than what I’ve seen on other soccer teams. The coaches, teammates…everyone just took it differently”.
The seniors we interviewed on the team also seemed to agree on this consensus. Lange Look (‘26) added that “The lads are great. I love our culture. We are together as one unit. We play together as one unit. We all hype each other up when we’re down, and I think that’s a big part of our coach’s teaching.”
Right now, the season is going pretty well. As of the time of writing, the Coyotes are ranked 7th in California and have ten wins, two losses, and a draw. All of this was achieved with an extremely rigorous strength of schedule: our only two losses were against Athenian and Head-Royce, both of which are Bay Area powerhouses of soccer.
What began as a tragic loss two years ago has become the spark behind one of the greatest seasons in Sonoma Academy history. Now, with their strong culture, unity, and relentless work, our Coyotes are looking ahead to challenge for more after a season that changed our school forever.