Boys soccer wins season opener against Cedar Falls

The boys soccer team won their season opener 2-0 against Cedar Falls on April 6.

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Elena Garcia Van Auken

Adam Salem ’26 beats a defender to the ball.

Brad Stiles’ squad is back. With the loss of five seniors from the starting lineup, the Trojan boys soccer team began their season at home on Ed Barker field against Cedar Falls April 6.

Senior players in the game’s starting lineup included center-backs Corentin Charles and Amre Ibrahim along with striker Ahmed Taha. Striker Michael Nelson ’23, a St. Olaf college commit, missed the game recovering from an ACL tear. Nelson will begin the season April 11 with limited playtime.

The Trojans began the first half with an early goal. Sophomore Daniel Fuentes got ahold of the ball around the eighth minute and made a shot toward the net. The Cedar Falls goalie was not able to make a clean save and Fuentes punched it home.

Trojan offense kept it up for the rest of the half with a near-goal at the 26-minute mark and sophomore winger and Regina transfer Kaleab Wendy making a shot that sailed over the goal at 32 minutes.

Three minutes into the second half, midfielder Ruichar Medina ’23 had a free kick, marking the beginning of a string of kicks by West in the half. Cedar Falls kept up their offense, with Charles, Bennett Olson ’23 and Daniel Kwak ’24 holding the back line.

The Trojans’ second goal occurred at minute 55. Off a free kick by Liam Teghanemt ’25, junior captain Nate Heenan headed the ball towards the goal. The Cedar Falls goalie had the ball then spilled it and Heenan slotted it home.

Gilliam made a save at the 60th minute, catching a direct shot from a Cedar Falls striker.

In the remaining time, West had a couple of strong offensive possessions but was unable to get the ball to the back of the net, making two corner kicks at the 62nd and 65th minute. At the 68th minute, following a crossover pass by Wendy, Ismail Mohamed ’25 tried to head it in but the Cedar Falls goalie blocked and then caught the ball. The Trojans ended their first game with a 2-0 win.

Catch the team back in action against Liberty High on Tuesday, April 11, at the Liberty fields.