Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Aurora Mitchell is back with the Warriors this fall after an all-league campaign in 2024.
By Ray Hamill — Both Del Norte soccer teams have enjoyed some big success in recent years, including a second-ever league title for the boys two years ago and a first-ever league crown for the girls last fall.
Each is off to a fast start this year, as they continue to build momentum for the upcoming league schedule, and both squads will go into league with eyes on winning another championship.
The boys, however, will have to find a way to fill the shoes of 10 departed seniors from 2024, a group of players who left a lasting impact on the program.
But early signs are that longtime head coach David Sanyaolu might just have the players to achieve that, with a deep and talented sophomore class.
“They were good quality players we lost from last year. They won a league championship together,” Sanyaolu said. “So we know there are going to be some adjustments, but so far it’s actually been going pretty good.
“So far the returning boys have really stepped up, and the new guys are trying to find their feet. So things are looking good.”
The Del Norte girls also have impressed early in the new campaign as they look to compete in the Little 4 with St. Bernard’s, Ferndale and South Fork.
The 2025 girls team also features a sizable class of talented sophomores — seven of the 15 players on the roster are sophomores — and it’s a class that benefited tremendously from playing JV soccer together last year.
Second-year head coach Shawn Eckart has a revamped defense this fall, a unit that features three sophomores — Deanna Montanez, Alex Eckart and Calia Deater — alongside experienced senior Teexeeshe Scott.
“Because of all the work they put in last year, they’ve been able to step right in,” the head coach said of the young players.
That has allowed the influential Hollyn Wakefield to move into midfield, where she is enjoying a productive partnership with fellow team captain Aurora Mitchell, another player who played a huge role on the path to the league title last year.
“They work really well together,” Shawn Eckart said, adding of Wakefield, “When she gets the ball, she moves it to where she wants it to go.”
The 2024 Del Norte boys team featured 10 seniors.
Perhaps the biggest surprise so far this season has been the play of new goalkeeper Avery Ritter, who has filled in seamlessly for all-league selection Deja Payne, who graduated earlier this year.
“Avery Ritter is filling the big shoes of Deja Payne,” Shawn Eckart said of the 5-foot-9 junior shot-stopper. “She’s been working very hard, she’s very coachable and she’s got the height. Avery Ritter is bringing it for sure.”
So too are midfielders Elisabeth Lopez and Jaden Bennett.
“She has matured and has gotten stronger. She’s got a cannon,” Shawn Eckart said of Bennett, while adding of Lopez, “She’s always looking to pass and she’s super coachable.”
Another all-league selection from a year ago, Lillie Franklin, also is back and looks poised for another big year after netting a key goal at St. Bernard’s during an early-season matchup between two of the Little 4 frontrunners.
The boys team, meanwhile, will be led by team captains Deken Hanks, David Aguilar and Carlos Daniel Gomez.
The speedy Hanks, who holds the H-DNL record in the 100 meters, is one of the most dangerous forwards in the league, but unfortunately the senior standout will miss the next couple of weeks at least as he recovers from an injury he suffered earlier this week.
Aguilar, a junior, will anchor the team defense at center back, while Gomez, a senior, is starting in center midfield.
“David is a very good leader, always encouraging the boys,” Sanyaolu said, while adding of Gomez, “He leads by example. He’s one of the guys that’s been with us for a few years and just understands what we expect. He’s the controller of the team.”
Another player who has been impressing the coaches early in the new season is senior defender Alexis Ortiz.
“He’s one of the best defenders in the league,” the head coach said. “He’s very assured and he knows what he’s doing.”
Easing the absence of Hanks is newcomer Giovanni Lopez-Minor, a senior who transferred to Del Norte this year and a player who has hit the ground running.
“He’s very technical, very skillful, very self-assured,” Sanyaolu said. “He knows what he’s doing and we’re very lucky to have him.”
Both Del Norte rosters have been coming together nicely through the early season.
“I like that they’re really into being coached, and I think they’re really bonding as a group,” Eckart said of his players. “They just work it out on the pitch and at practice.
“They’re hungry. But it’s a different kind of hunger this year. They can see it and they want it.”
The boys also have been building some much-needed cohesion with their play.
“I like their togetherness,” Sanyaolu said. “That’s the hallmark of our team. They want to do their best.
“This group is not as experienced (as last year) but they’re looking forward. They want to match the group that just graduated. They’re hungry to excel.”
This year’s boys’ H-DNL is expected to be competitive with multiple teams in contention, most notably defending champs Fortuna, as well as Eureka and Arcata.
But Sanyaolu is hoping his team will be in the mix too.
“We’ll try to put up a fight and who knows what’s going to happen,” the longtime coach said. “We’re hoping to be amongst the teams competing for it. That’s the plan.”
Likewise with the Del Norte girls, who are eager to make it two straight league titles.
“That’s the plan. They really want it,” Shawn Eckart said. “And I know the girls are looking forward to the season, and I’m looking forward to the season.”
