Eagles complete inaugural season

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Eagles have concluded their first season, finishing with a winning record of 7-5-1 under head coach Tony O’Neel. This was the Eagles first year with a soccer team ever.  

“I'm pretty competitive, so I was hoping for above .500 and that's what we got,” O’Neel said, “The guys, they finished strong. We had a lot of games where we start down, we're kind of a second-half team.” 

The Eagles saw a lot of challenges in their first year. According to O’Neel, only two players coming into the season had experience playing in a regulated league. O’Neel decided to strip the game down to the basics and start training from scratch.  

“I only had two kids that have ever played with refs, and have ever played an organized soccer game, besides, like lunch time, kicking around and stuff, so I had to start with a lot of fundamentals,” O’Neel said.  

According to O’Neel, his players watch a lot of professional soccer, like the Premier League, but he had to put a focus on the basic elements of the game before they could put together a scheme.  

He had high praise for his players being able to learn quickly and pick up the fundamentals throughout the season. Throughout the season, the Eagles would be down at the half but found a way to get back into the game in the second half.  

Since it was their first year, they were not a part of a conference and played a lot of non-conference games for other schools. Some opponents they faced were JV or C-team rosters from other schools like Okanogan and Royal.  

“We came out there, and I think my guys were still sleeping, and we're down two-zero at halftime, and then I made a little adjustment and switched our goalie to the field, and he started making plays for us on the field,” O’Neel said.  

After going down 2-0 early, the Eagles' adjustments during halftime allowed them to come back and tie the game. Once the regulation ran out, the officials opted to go into penalty kicks to decide the game. Okanogan missed their kick, and the Eagles were successful in theirs, securing the win with a final score of 3-2.   

“I think they felt like they had it won, and then at halftime, I told them, ‘It's just like any other team, you can't play down to a level. You got to play your game,” O’Neel said.  

O’Neel is 22 years old and in his first year coaching soccer. When he was growing up in Ephrata, he played a lot of soccer but went to college for football at Montana Western. He said there was a learning curve for him, too. According to O’Neel, he had to study the fundamentals, strategies, and drills that would be beneficial at practice.  

“I still had to do research, because I had four years of college football, like ingrained in my brain. So going back to soccer, I had to look up some drills and things I think the guys should be doing, but I think it was just a great all-around experience,” he said.  

O’Neel praised his players for their willingness to learn and trust his vision for the team. He said they always played hard and were excited to get on the field and play for him and the Eagles.  

Looking toward the future, O’Neel noted a key player they can build around in freshman Albedo Reyes. According to him, he has a lot of playing experience and plays in leagues outside of school. Reyes will have the opportunity to help grow into a leadership role and lay the foundation of Soap Lake soccer.  

“I would just say, just the leadership. He took over and showed up on time, left late, worked hard and was very coachable,” O’Neel said.  

O’Neel is optimistic for the future; he hopes to continue their success in their new conference, the CBL. He plans to wipe out any JV matchups and push his players into deeper waters by playing tougher competition.  

“I think they're going to hold their ground. It might not always be in the win column and loss column, but overall, it's going to get us better for the tradition we're trying to build and the team and program,” he said.