How an undefeated Sporting Wichita boys soccer team keeps changing minds
Wichita is used to being underestimated on the national soccer scene.
Sporting Wichita’s under-15 boys team is getting used to changing minds.
After rolling through the MLS NEXT Cup Kansas Regional in Kansas City last weekend, Sporting Wichita is headed to the national tournament later this month with a perfect record, a dominant resume and a chance to show that a team from Wichita can stand toe-to-toe with the best youth soccer clubs in the country.
The team won all six games at the regional by a combined margin of 20-1, closing the run with a 4-0 victory over Aspire FC in the championship match. Along the way, Sporting Wichita beat teams from St. Louis, Dallas and Houston in the knockout rounds.
“There’s definitely a lot of pride in the boys and in me about representing Wichita,” Sporting Wichita coach Tommy Fiszel said. “Sometimes we travel to these big events and people have no idea where Wichita is even at. So we take a lot of pride in being from a smaller town compared to some of these other teams we’re playing from bigger markets who might have more access and resources. We’re showing that Wichita can compete at the highest level.”
The MLS NEXT Cup is scheduled for May 23-31 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The national tournament will feature 32 teams from around the country who have qualified by winning either their league or a regional qualifier tournament.
Sporting Wichita has done both.
Since returning from their high school seasons in the fall, the group has won every game in club season. The team is 21-0 entering its final weekend of league play before turning its attention to nationals.
The winning is not new for this group, either. It’s almost the identical team that won the Kansas State Cup in the 14-under division and an ECNL Regional League title last summer, which sent them to the ECNL Regional League Final in Richmond, Virginia. Sporting Wichita reached the national semifinals there before losing in penalty kicks.
Fiszel said last summer was the breakthrough after the group had lost in multiple tournament finals the previous year. This season, the same core has taken another step.
“What makes this team very special is we don’t rely on one superstar,” Fiszel said. “There’s so much depth with this group. When we sub, the next guy in can make just as much of an impact. So we don’t rely on one player scoring all of our goals. We have really good chemistry and a good team culture where everybody on the team is very important.”
That depth has become the identity of a team made up mostly of high school freshmen with two eighth-graders. The roster includes Michael Anozie (Wichita Central Christian), Ian Campbell (Derby), Kellen Christians (Eisenhower), Brody Emes (Maize South), Russ Ferricher (Andover Central), Cruz Garcia (Derby), Bryant Garza (Maize South), Canyon Glanzer (Maize South), Noah Hernandez (Garden City), Jackson Kendrick (Derby), Paxton Marsh (Maize South), Jack Price (Maize), Kobe Raymond (Kapaun Mt. Carmel), Keanu Rosales (Dodge City), Adijah Solomon (East), Abraham Solorio-Rojas (Newton), Ethan Tofteland (Wichita Trinity) and Parker Vieyra (Maize South).
The results have been explosive, but Fiszel believes Sporting Wichita’s success begins with how committed the entire team is to defending.
Not just the back line. Not just the goalkeeper. Everyone.
The attackers are the first wave of pressure. When Sporting Wichita loses possession, the team immediately hunts to win the ball back. That keeps opponents from building attacks and allows Sporting Wichita to spend most of the game on the ball.
“Defensively, we have a very aggressive group that is also very disciplined,” Fiszel said. “Even our attackers are very adamant that they’re the first line of defense. When we lose the ball, everyone is working hard to win it right back.”
That approach has helped Sporting Wichita control games through possession, limit chances and create more opportunities for a balanced attack. It has also made the team difficult to prepare for because the danger does not come from one player or one position.
The next player off the bench can change a game. The next pass can unlock a defense. The next pressure after a turnover can lead to another chance.
“We have so much depth with this group,” Fiszel said. “When we sub, the next guy in can make just as much of an impact.”
Fiszel said the team-first culture has also been reinforced by parents, who have helped emphasize that the team is bigger than any one player. That buy-in has shown up in games, but also in practice, where Fiszel said it is common for players to ask for more time on the field when training is supposed to be winding down.
“This group knows how to be serious and intense and knows that when we’re on the field, we’re going to work hard,” Fiszel said. “But it’s also important that we have fun too. They do a good job of that and at the end of the day, this is one team with one goal and they’ve done a great job of having a team-first culture.”
The next chance to change minds comes later this month in Salt Lake City.
That is where Sporting Wichita’s perfect record will meet the best youth soccer teams in the country. It is where the team’s pressure, possession and depth will be tested again. It is where a group built around the belief that no player is bigger than the team will try to turn another tournament into another statement.
Wichita has been underestimated before.
This group is giving people fewer reasons to keep doing it.
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