With the boys soccer season getting underway this week, here’s a look at La Salle-Peru, DePue-Hall, Princeton and Earlville entering the 2025 season.

La Salle-Peru

Coach: David Spudic

Last year’s record: 7-11-2, 2-8 Interstate 8

Top returning players: Ismael Mejia, jr.; Adrian Gonzalez, sr.; Adan Pantoja, so.; Alex Rax, so.

Top new players: Shuarlin Cucul Cal, fr.; Damian Cortes, so.

Worth noting: The Cavaliers have a junior-heavy roster but do return a strong core of players. “They have a lot of experience playing together over the years,” Spudic said. Mejia has been a solid varsity performer since his freshman season, with 14 goals and 17 assists in his career. He was NewsTribune All-Area last fall. Pantoja and Rax each made a big impact as freshmen last fall, as Pantoja scored 10 goals and had two assists, and Rax contributed four goals and four assists. Gonzalez earned NewsTribune All-Area as a defender last season. Cucul Cal and Cortes are newcomers who will make an impact on defense. “(Our goals are) to win the War on 34 Tournament during the first weekend of the season and to play for and win a regional title,” Spudic said.

DePue-Hall

Coach: Martin Moreno

Last year’s record: 10-15-1, 1-8-1 Little Ten

Top returning players: Grabiel Cano, sr.; Bobby Rios, jr.; Fernando Morales, sr.

Top new players: Jose Ovalles, fr.; Juan David Aldana, fr.; Aaron Lopez, jr.

Worth noting: Cano headlines a strong group of returning players for the Little Giants after scoring 21 goals and notching seven assists last season to earn all-conference and NewsTribune All-Area honors. Rios and Morales were “the heart of the defense” for DePue-Hall last season and combined for 10 assists. “We are returning a lot of the team from last year, so I think our chemistry will be our biggest strength,” Moreno said. Cano is expected to once again be the team’s top offensive weapon. Ovalles, David Aldana and Lopez are newcomers who should make an impact. “Our main goal for the season is to be better than last year’s team and have a better overall record,” Moreno said.

Princeton

Coach: David Gray

Last year’s record: 4-12-5, 2-5 Three Rivers

Top returners: Levi Boggs, sr., D; Braylon Clevenger, so., MF; Landon Davis, sr., GK; Landan Fairbanks, sr., MF; Parker Nink, jr., MF; Jakoby Smallwood, sr., MF; Tyler VanDeventer, jr., MF

Key newcomers: Jackson DeRose, fr. Jonah Taylor, fr.; Erfaan Yousufy, fr.

Worthy of note: The numbers are up in the Tiger camp along with the optimism. “We are optimistic this year. Our numbers are up from last season, and that has helped in training. Last season we finished 4-12-5, and we believe we will improve on that this year,” Gray said. “We have a big freshman group, and they have all come in with great attitudes and as a whole are going to be a good group. Many of them have played soccer, and a couple of them have played club soccer and have received a good amount of training. Our seniors have been terrific leaders throughout the summer and into the fall season. We will miss last year’s seniors and what they were able to do for our team, but we seem to have a little more depth this season. It will take us some time to develop, but we feel that we will be a competitive team this season.” Davis will play a key role returning as the starting goalkeeper. Gray said Boggs and VandeVenter will have to step up and lead the defense, with Smallwood, Fairbanks and Nink providing some offense from the midfield. Taylor, DeRose and Yousufy should all get some significant varsity time.

Earlville

Coach: Mike Gast

Last year’s record: 4-14-2, 0-4-2 Little Ten

Top returning players: Landen Tirevold, sr.; Scott Brandt, sr.; Colton Fruit, jr.; Jeff Peterson, jr.; Alvin Hernandez, jr.

Top new players: Brayden Leppert, fr.; Darik Farley, fr.; Bryce Marks, fr.

Worth noting: Gast takes over the Red Raider program that has a young roster with only two seniors back with significant varsity experience. “We will be quick and hard to defend,” Gast said. “We are young, but work well together,” Gast said, Tirevold, Brandt and Isaac Vazquez to be leaders for the Red Raiders, whose goal is to improve on last year’s record. “We need to work on finishing to the goal,” Gast said about what the team needs to improve to reach its goal.