Boys soccer preview: Can anyone challenge Coronado in 5A?
The start of the new high school sports season often brings a sense of optimism. Those feelings are a little diminished in Class 5A boys soccer.
Coronado is returning most of its team that went 28-0 last season on its way to winning a second straight 5A state title. That makes the Cougars the team to beat again in 2025.
The high school boys soccer season opens Thursday, and a handful of teams will begin play this week. Coronado will travel to Tahoe for a tournament against Northern schools that starts Friday. Other Southern teams including Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran are also participating in the event.
Coronado coach Dustin Barton said the team took plenty of time to celebrate a historic season, but the group has now turned the page to this year.
“It was a great year for us, but we start over this year,” Barton said. “We know there’s going to be a lot of great teams out there. We want to make sure we come out and we earn every minute out there. We’re not taking anything for granted, even though we have a lot of people back. We don’t want to think we can ride on our past success.”
‘Getting our minds right’
Beating Coronado seemed impossible last year. The Cougars outscored opponents 169-10 on the season.
Coronado is trying to become the first Southern Nevada team to win three straight state titles. The Cougars enter the season on a 30-game winning streak and will have a shot to break Gorman’s state record of 52 consecutive games without a loss.
“I just got to make sure that our mindset is good for every game and everything else falls into place,” Barton said. “The last few years, they have been successful and we’ll hopefully keep going on. It’s just getting our minds right and (making) sure we’re good for every game.”
Coronado returns seven first-team All-5A Southern League selections from last year in goalie Logan Pierce, forwards Gavin Flickinger and Dylan Flores, midfielders Aiden Sena and Cy Adams, and defenders Brody Breeden and Grayson Elisaldez. All seven are seniors.
Flickinger, a Fordham commit and last year’s 5A player of the year, set a new state record for most goals in a season in the top classification (60). Barton expects the striker to have another great year.
“Gavin is such a hard worker and has such a strong work ethic,” Barton said. “He’s getting better every day and he’s so humble about it. He knows that if he doesn’t keep it up, that somebody’s going to pass him. … I don’t expect goals, that’s not really the (focus). I know he’ll help us win every day.”
5A contenders
Palo Verde and Bishop Gorman will be in contention for the South’s second spot in the state tournament. The Panthers reached the state tournament last year and lost to state runner-up Hug in the semifinals. The Panthers will lean on goalie Landon Blanchard, who was a first-team All-Southern Nevada selection last year.
Gorman has a dynamic goal scorer in Chase Stewart. The senior is committed to the University of Denver and scored 40 goals last year. Gaels coach Victor Arbelaez Jr. said on a team filled with youth that can “make an impact,” Stewart will still be key to the group’s success.
“Chase Stewart will be our biggest factor,” Arbelaez said. “We have a good starting 11 and we have good players on the bench as well. Our key is going to be having Chase put the ball in the back of the net. He’s going to be the biggest X-factor. We’re going to try things up North and see where players fit.”
Eldorado upset Gorman in the first round of last year’s region playoffs before falling to Palo Verde in the region semifinals. Eldorado opens the season by hosting the Gerald Pentsil Classic on Thursday. Firehawks coach David Ostler said he’s optimistic his team can grow throughout the year.
“We are really going to focus on being aggressive,” Ostler said. “In 5A, you have to because every team is so good. There’s a couple new teams coming in this year. It’s really teaching guys to be creative and try new things and be aggressive. That’s the attitude we want to set.”
Realignment grew the 5A Southern Region from 10 to 12 teams with two leagues of six. Coronado and Eldorado are in the Desert League, while Palo Verde and Gorman are in the Mountain League. Ostler said in 5A it’s Coronado and “everybody else,” but any team could fill that second spot in the state tournament.
“All you want is a shot,” Ostler said. “We will definitely be watching games of Palo and Coronado to see how we want to play. I always say our measuring stick is Coronado, and we get to see them twice this year in the regular season. We’re definitely going to learn from what they are doing.”
Many of the top 4A programs over the last two years – Faith Lutheran, Desert Oasis, Liberty, 2023 state champion Sierra Vista and 2024 state champion Canyon Springs — have all moved up to 5A.
Cheyenne, Sunrise Mountain, Cimarron-Memorial and SLAM! Nevada, which moved up from 3A, will all be in the mix in 4A. Equipo Academy and Virgin Valley will battle in a revamped 3A.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
