Sonoma Academy's senior night was nine minutes old when one of the seniors broke the deadlock. Teo Foehl played a give-and-go with sophomore Cole Cantrell and finished from about 25 yards, and the Coyotes went on to beat Anderson Valley 6-1 on Friday.
Sonoma Academy coach Roy Vega called the opener the turning point. "That goal gave us confidence, and we controlled the game from there," he said. By his estimate, the Coyotes had 60 percent of the ball in each half, and they turned it into six goals from five different scorers, with five different players providing assists.
How the goals came
Sophomore Ben McCauley scored twice, finishing one passing move and following up a rebound for the other. Sophomore Jack Ellis finished another combination, sophomore Carter McGinty scored from a cross, and junior Sean Stroud added one on his own.
Vega said Foehl "deserves the recognition" and called the win "truly a team effort. Everyone got to play and contribute."
Junior Marcel Nsizoa Ndi, who leads the Division II Golden Boot race with 28 goals and 12 assists, was not among the scorers. He scored three and set up three when the sides first met this fall, an 8-0 win at Anderson Valley on Sept. 22.
Anderson Valley did get one back. It was their first goal against the Coyotes since the same date a year ago, when Sonoma Academy won 3-1 at Anderson Valley. They fall to 8-11-1, and 6-8-1 in the league, after coming into the game off an 8-3 win at Geyserville New Tech Academy on Tuesday.
The sophomores Vega told us to watch
Four of the six goals came from sophomores. When we asked Vega this month which prospects to look out for, his answer was "our whole sophomore class." "It's a talented, hardworking group, and they're going to be a big part of this program's future," he said.
McCauley is the highest scorer in that group. He came into Friday with 11 goals and 10 assists, up from seven goals and three assists as a freshman.
A senior night for three captains
Foehl is one of three seniors among the team's four captains. He came into the game with 10 goals and nine assists, and Vega describes him as "mature, smart, and unselfish," a player who "makes everyone around him better."
The other two senior captains, Liam Kramer and Luis Sotelo, anchor a back line that has conceded 12 goals in 17 games and kept nine clean sheets. Kramer is "relentless and one of the main pieces of our defense," Vega said, and "a threat on set pieces." Sotelo "leads our defense. Composed and intelligent on the ball."
Seventeen and counting
The win takes Sonoma Academy to 17-0-0, and 15-0-0 in the North Central League II. They are the only unbeaten team in NCS boys Division 2 and first in our Division 2 rankings, with 103 goals this fall. Only four of their wins have come by a single goal, and Calistoga's three in a 4-3 game on Oct. 13 are still the most anyone has scored against them.
What's next
Sonoma Academy visit Tomales on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. The Coyotes beat Tomales 7-2 at home on Sept. 25, and a win would complete their schedule without a defeat. Anderson Valley host Calistoga on the same day.
Editor's note: Inside The Ninety wants to tell more stories like this one. Records and results only go so far, and the best stories come from the people closest to the game. We thank Coach Vega for sharing his thoughts on this season's Sonoma Academy team.
If you coach a team with a story worth telling, we want to hear from you. There might be a breakout player, a season that turned around, or a group doing more with less. Email us at insidetheninety@gmail.com or send us a DM.