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The Ilwaco boys soccer team is ready to kick off the season.

As she did with the girls, who play in the fall, Cindy Guzman has taken over as head coach.

In the opening week of practice she welcomed a large group of players.

Guzman said four returning seniors will anchor the team. They are goalkeeper Codey Brown and outfield players Cristofer Diaz, Alex Espejo and Judah Frank. Also returning are junior Guadalupe Munoz and sophomore Jesus Medina.

“Our returning players will be an asset to the team because they will help structure each position,” said Guzman. “We also have a few players who have played now for a couple years, which is a big help because they can focus on performance. They have the background knowledge and this only makes their understanding of the sport much easier.”

Both the girls’ and boys’ programs have struggled over the past six years to put together postseason runs. But Guzman is optimistic.

“Same as the girls soccer team, we have to find the right combination and the right spot for each athlete.” she said. “We will measure our growth after we play a couple of opponents.”

She added that it will be important in building the program to groom a successor for “wonderful” goalkeeper Brown.

“We have to think about our future and start training a new goalkeeper, as Codey is a senior this year,” she said. “With this sport, we have to always have a back-up plan. Our coaches and I will be really looking into individual skills to have the perfect fit for our next goalkeeper.”

Sarah Frank, a 2023 IHS graduate, will be assistant coach with parent volunteers David Anderson and Norberto Guzman.

Interest is high. “We have 27 boys out for soccer this season, so that is a huge jump in numbers this year,” said Chris Patana, IHS athletic director. “It should be an exciting season.”

Early contests include a lengthy road trip to Forks March 20, a home game against Rochester March 24 and a trip to Elma March 26.

“Our goal for this season is to bring in player growth and hopefully have success as a team and/or individually,” said Guzman. “We are going to focus on building skills, confidence and team commitment.”

A handful of eighth graders will add youthful enthusiasm; some squad members have played in La Liga in Warrenton and indoor soccer at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Astoria.

“We also have a blend of players who are excited for this season.”

She said early practices will help ease any nervous feelings. “I know we will be fine.”

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IHS Boys Soccer

March 20 Forks (a)

March 24 Rochester (h)

March 26 Elma (a)

March 31 Hoquiam (h)

April 1 Raymond-South Bend (h)

April 3 Tenino (h)

April 8 Montesano (a)

April 16 Chief Leschi (h)

April 17 Forks (h)

April 21 Rochester (a)

April 23 Elma (h)

April 25 Hoquiam (a)

April 29 Raymond-South Bend (a)

May 1 Tenino (a)

May 6 Montesano (h)

May 8 Chief Leschi, Puyallup (a)

Post-season TBA.

Kick-offs, 6 p.m.