Men’s Soccer Team Opens Season with ‘Fantastic’ Mentality and Attitude

The Eagle men's soccer team opened the 2025 season with a strong group of returning sophomores and some talented first-year players.

They didn't give up any goals during scrimmages on back-to-back days Aug. 16 and 17, at Southwest Oregon and at home against Klamath Community College. But the Eagles lost their first three games, 2-1 at Foothill in Los Altos Hills, 5-0 at Ohlone in Fremont, and 2-1 at Las Positas.

This year's team captains connected to score the Eagles' first goal of the season at Foothill. Sophomore Joe Collen-Dindar from Reading in the United Kingdom scored on an assist by sophomore Harrison Frewin of Berkshire, UK.

Freshman goalkeeper Julian Martinez from Oakley in the San Francisco Bay Area had 5 saves against Foothill and 6 saves against Ohlone.

"Their mentality and attitude have been fantastic," head coach Ed Kephart said of the team's 9 sophomores and 10 freshmen.

Collen-Dindar and Frewin are two of nine international students on the roster. Another sophomore defender, Devonn Glasford, also from Reading, UK, made 1st Team All-Golden Valley Conference last year.

Sophomore forward Kaden Burch from Seaside, OR, was one of the team's top scorers a year ago and earned 2nd Team All-GVC honors.

The Eagles finished fourth in conference last year with a 4-6 record and went 8-11 overall, the most wins in a season for a Siskiyous men's soccer team since the program began in 2016.

Also returning from the 2024 team are forwards Elliott De La Haye Friend from Jersey, UK, and Evan Stienike from Johnstown, CO; midfielder Kian Herdman from Ystalyfera, UK; and defenders Mason Doran from Mount Shasta and Gabriel Pottecher Kelly from Stone, UK.

Three freshmen, "all quality players," according to Kephart, come from Smith River and Del Norte High School in Crescent City: midfielder Adrian Contreras-Sanchez, defender Edwin Alanis, and forward Mario Ledezma-Olmedo. Kephart said the connection between the Eagles and Del Norte HS started with Yahir Alanis, who was a 2nd Team All-GVC midfielder last year and is now a junior on the men's soccer team at Bushnell University in Eugene, OR.

Other freshmen from California high schools are goalkeeper Martinez, forwards Andy Garcia from McKinleyville and River Roman from Etna and defender Logan Michaels from Yreka.

Three other first-year players are international students: center midfielder David Kong from Miramont de Guyenne, France, forward Oliver Henry from Newcastle, UK, and Zachariah Lukezic from Stoney Creek in Canada.

Kephart said the Eagles were unable to bring on some other international recruits who could have helped the team due to visa issues.

The Eagle men will be on the road for the preseason and their GVC opener at Feather River Sept. 26. They'll face Redwoods in the first of five conference home matches Sept. 30, and they'll finish the regular season with four of their final five at home, including three in a row in late October and early November.

Kephart said not much separates the top teams in the GVC, and he expects the Eagles to be competitive. Feather River won the conference title last year, but Butte went further in the postseason, all the way to the state championship game. Lake Tahoe, with a large incoming class of players, is expected to be tough, while Redwoods has improved with some new players from the Fresno area.

Most of the sophomores played a lot last year, and Kephart said it's a solid returning group.

Of the first-year players, Kephart said Julian Martinez is "a solid goalkeeper," and Mario Ledezma-Olmedo is a good attacking player. David Kong and Zachariah Lukezic "both have motors that go forever," and Oliver Henry is a "super-talented player who is getting used to the pace of the game."

The Eagles played well in their two 2-1 losses against good teams but struggled after the five-hour drive to Ohlone, a team that has started its season with three straight wins.

After the loss at Ohlone, "The kids were upset and came back and put in good practices," Kephart said. "There's no easy teams on our schedule this year."

This week the Eagles are scheduled to play another 3-0 team, San Joaquin Delta, before facing two teams in the Bay Area next week, Chabot and Merritt.

Kephart, a full time faculty member in College of the Siskiyous' Kinesiology department, has been the head men's and women's soccer coach since the program began in 2016.

Returning assistant coach Jake Leiffer helped start the soccer program at Weed High School with his family while he was a student there in 2005 and later played at both Shasta College and Simpson University.

Also assisting this year are Dave Schmidt, a teacher and coach from Mount Shasta, and former Eagle goalkeeper Nyjel Buchanon, who also played at Simpson University and was one of the first two Siskiyous soccer players to transfer to a four-year school in 2017. He is helping this year's goalkeepers while working on his teaching credential.

By Steve Gerace