Coronado boys soccer seeks 3rd straight title, record undefeated streak

It was when Coronado was being introduced before the 2023 Class 5A boys soccer state championship game that coach Dustin Barton knew the Cougars were going to be contenders the following two years.

“They announced all our starters and they (were mostly) sophomores,” Barton said.

Those sophomores, now seniors, have Coronado on the verge of another record-breaking season.

The Cougars enter the 5A Southern Region playoffs at 20-0. The program as a whole is riding a 50-game winning streak. Coronado, the Desert League’s No. 1 seed, hosts Western, the Mountain League’s No. 4 seed, at 6 p.m. Monday in a region quarterfinal.

The Cougars are the two-time defending 5A state champion and are looking to become the first team from Southern Nevada and the first team in the top classification (5A/4A) to win three consecutive titles.

Coronado has outscored its opponents 157-8. Its last loss was to Palo Verde in the 2023 5A Southern League title game on Nov. 4, 2023. Barton said he expected his team to be a title contender, but this level of dominance has surprised him.

“They’re just moving the ball better than I ever imagined,” Barton said. “Really, it’s pretty amazing what they’re doing and that’s coming from chemistry. Everybody knows where the other player is going to be. They just know it automatically. It’s really nice to have them all four years to be in this position because the chemistry, it’s really unbelievable.”

Coronado had an historic 2024, going 28-0, breaking eight state records and winning the state title. It became the second team to have a perfect season with no defeats, according to known records from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

The Cougars are on the verge this season of setting the state record for most games without a defeat (52, which Bishop Gorman set with a 47-0-5 stretch from 2008 to 2010). Coronado could tie that mark by winning in the region semifinals and break it by winning the region title game.

“It feels pretty normal just because we’ve had the same team and it’s kind of expected,” senior forward Dylan Flores said. “It might look crazier on paper, but we kind of expect to win this year. We’re going into (the playoffs) with a winner’s mentality.”

‘Not to be complacent’

Flores was a part of the 2023 team as a sophomore. So were goalie Logan Pierce, defenders Brody Breeden, Grayson Elisaldez and Liam Pierce and midfielders Cy Adams, Aiden Sena and Liam Bringhurst.

That group was on the field for Coronado’s last loss. The defeat served as a reminder for the Cougars “to never take any team for granted and always come to the field with the same expectation that every team is going to give you a fight and just be ready for every game,” Flores said.

Coronado hasn’t let up since. It won both games in the 2023 state tournament to win the title and is trying to finish off its second straight undefeated season.

“Our whole message this year has been (about) complacency, not to be complacent,” Barton said. “Last year, there were some closer games and we knew if we didn’t come to play, we’ll get beat. That’s really the message that we send and they’ve taken it to heart.”

Elite goal scorers

Coronado got a boost when standout forward Gavin Flickinger joined the team for the 2024 season. He scored 60 goals as a junior last year, a new state record for a player in the top classification.

Flickinger leads the state with 54 goals this season. Flores has 40 goals to go with his state-leading 42 assists. Flickinger is second in the state with 22 assists.

“What’s happened this year is a lot of teams have seen Gavin, so they’re really targeting him,” Barton said. “They’re man-marking him, maybe two guys on him. What that does in games is it frees up Dylan completely and Dylan plays off that. When they start marking Dylan, Gavin’s there. … All the synergies are coming together with all the different players.”

‘Push ourselves’

It’s hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the Cougars, as defenders like Elisaldez and Breeden missed regular-season games with injuries. Barton said he’s been pleased with the depth Coronado has developed this year.

“We’ve had some adversity, having a lot of people injured … but we’ve faced it well and we’ve got through a lot together,” Flores said.

The Cougars seniors, almost two years after most of them were introduced at the 2023 state championship game, are five wins away from ending their high school careers with one of the most dominant runs in Nevada history.

“We just wanted to push ourselves to get better each and every game,” Adams said. “We’re always gonna have a target on our back, but I think as a team, we embrace the pressure more than we feel the pressure.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X