ABOVE: Back row, from left: Thomas Hamlet, Angel Sanchez, Brody Deuel, Bryan Ditzler, Hunter Olson, Joaquin Fuentes Eisenmenger, Vaughn Thompson, Caleb Meyer Christian Selbrade, Alex Pittman Middle row, from left: Evan Reyelts, Luis Martin, Fernando Pablo Gomez, Angel Rosario Rojas, Aldo Ortiz Ortega, Jackson Henning, Oscar Magallanes-Lopez, Luke Henry, Yoni Martin Mendez Front Row: Joshua Newville, Ernesto Ramirez, Josue Cortez, Marco Reyes, Aiden Mutschler, Jaxson Weihe, Xavier Garcia, Nathan Paris, Hector Pablo Gomez, Marco Morales Chavez, Dani Castillo, Francisco Rivera.

FAIRMONT – Fairmont Area boys soccer head coach Brady Meyer began the season not on the field, but in the banner-filled gymnasium of Fairmont High School.

Gazing at the achievements from past teams, Meyer emphasized to his roster the lack of recognition the program has received in recent history.

“It’s been a long time since we have added a year on that banner,” Meyer said when referring to the boys soccer program. “We are looking to add a year to that banner. If it’s not conference champs, it’s making it to the section final, or even to state.”

Last season wasn’t a year the program could add to that wall.

The Cardinals finished 2024 with a 3-10-3 record, falling to Southwest Minnesota Christian in Round 1 of the Section 2A playoffs.

As the 2025 season kicks off, Meyer knows defense will be an emphasis for the Cardinals to improve.

Fairmont has a handful of returning talent coming back on this side of the ball. Selected captains Angel Sanchez and Dominic Earhart have been massive drivers of the roster in the early parts of the season, having expectations to help the team both on and off the field.

Earhart has taken the role of former player Ethan Pockrus, a team captain and leader on the defensive line for Meyer in 2024.

“Those are two guys who are very certain to make this a much better team and a tighter-knit family,” Meyer said. “They have been working all summer long, and its been awesome to see how the whole team has rallied around them and just gone with their leadership.”

Rounding off the defense is Brody Deuel, a returning goalkeeper who, early on this season, has shown great promise in front of the net according to Meyer.

On offense, Meyer will be relying on several new faces at the forward position in charge of generating goals. He hopes his scoring attack can constantly stay aggressive, applying pressure with his offensive third to cause as much chaos as possible.

While Meyer wants his offense to score as many goals as possible, he believes the backbone of this roster will come from his defense based on the experience it returns.

“This season I feel like we are going to be a tough team to score against and a tough team to keep possession against, especially in our defensive third,” Meyer said. “We got a lot of good returning players, and I think they have been improving all offseason long.”

Fairmont begins the 2025 season on the road against Southwest Minnesota Christian on Monday. The game will start at 5:45 p.m. in Edgerton.