After years of knocking on the door with deep postseason runs, the Mendota boys soccer team broke through last fall and qualified for the IHSA Class 1A state tournament finals.

The Trojans placed third, losing 1-0 to eventual state champion Normal U-High in the semifinals before beating Columbia 2-1 in penalty kicks in the third-place game.

With seven starters and other contributors back from last year, the Trojans have only one goal in mind this season.

“We’ve only got one goal this year and we’ve been working hard for it all summer,” coach Nick Myers said. “We’d like to return to Hoffman Estates (for state) but win the whole thing this time.”

Myers said he felt last year the Trojans made a big step in bringing home the program’s first state trophy.

“Going into last year my concern was that we had a hard time whenever we would play another really, really good team,” Myers said. “We sometimes had a hard time stepping up to the plate and coming through, but we did that last year. So now I think these boys are over that hurdle and they’re very focused.”

The Trojans bring back their top four goal scorers in Cesar Casas (32 goals), Isaac Diaz (31), Johan Cortez (28) and Sebastian Carlos (16).

Cortez, the 2024 NewsTribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year, also had 28 assists, while Casas had 12, Carlos had 10 and Diaz had nine. Casas and Diaz were NewsTribune All-Area selections and Carlos earned honorable mention.

“It’s a nice thing to have four really talented offensive players,” Myers said. “Johan, Isaac and Cesar were all over 20 goals, and Sebastian wasn’t all that far behind. Sebastian’s confidence has grown big time and he’s been very noticeable over the summer. He’s very confident on the ball this year. I’m expecting him to make a push to be the leading goal scorer this year. He’s been doing a great job. Isaac is gaining confidence, is starting to pressure the ball a little bit more and is becoming more aggressive. Cesar and Johan are both incredible to have.

“It makes it very hard for another team to stop us defensively when we don’t have one guy. We have four guys who can put the ball in the back of the net pretty easily.”

The Trojans did lose All-Area midfielder David Casas and All-Area defender Mauricio Martinez, along with starting defenders Cameron Kelly and Cameron Escatel.

Defensively, Danny Garcia returns at left back, with seniors Alex Beetz and Luis Ramirez, both four-year varsity players, stepping in at center back. Senior Angel Orosco, who rotated with Escatel last year, takes over at right back.

“We have multiple players who are fully capable of playing in the back,” Myers said. “We’re going to have some new guys in the back, but we have experienced players, and I don’t really think we’re going to miss a beat in the back with those four this year.”

Ramiro Palacios is back at center midfield, while junior Gael Garcia also will play in the midfield.

“That’s a lot of leadership there,” Myers said about Palacios, who is a two-year starter. “Gael is a very fast, very aggressive player. Gael can close down really quick. He’s a smart player. He’s got the ability to push forward and help out in the attack, too.”

Mauricio Salinas will be Mendota’s first player off the bench who can play any position, “which is going to help us,” Myers said.

The Trojans also return senior goalkeeper Mateo Goy, an All-Area pick last fall who made 103 saves and allowed 24 goals in 30 games. He recorded three playoff shutouts and did not allow more than one goal in a game in the postseason.

“Having Mateo back in goal is going to be huge,” Myers said. “Mateo did a fantastic job for us last year and came up super big for us at state in both games. This year, we’re expecting him to make the jump and become even more of a leader for us. He already has been doing that at practice. He’s been very vocal when we’re doing any type of activity that involves him working with the defense. I think his confidence has risen since last year, which is great. If you have a goalkeeper who’s playing confidently, he’s probably going to make quite a few saves.

“We’re expecting him to be that anchor for us in the back. We know when we need a big save, Mateo usually delivers.”

With their eyes on the big prize this season, Myers said Mendota’s schedule is more difficult.

“We’ve beefed up the schedule even more,” Myers said. “We’ve kept those same tough teams like Moline, Yorkville and Peoria Christian, and we’ve added Washington, Quincy Notre Dame and Rock Island to give us more bigger schools and tough 1A teams that we could come across in the playoffs just to have us as prepared as we’re going to get.”