The 2025 season couldn’t have started out worse for the Auburn Mountainview Lions soccer team. The Lions fell to White River, 2-1, with just nine players on the pitch for the majority of the game after a pair of early red cards.

Their next league game was against Kent-Meridian, a talented team that won the NPSL last season and beat the Lions in their lone meeting. Auburn Mountainview, just a year removed from their first final four appearance as a school, has 11 seniors and is one of the closest teams manager Joey West has ever had.

“We picked up right where we left off last season. The chemistry has been wild (to see). We just have a great group of leaders on this squad. They are incredible,” West said.

After a scary first half with Kent-Meridian, the Lions found the back of the net twice in the second to win its first game of the season 2-0 on March 20 at French Field.

If it weren’t for Jonathan Ochoa-Felix between the pipes, the Lions would have been in a heap of trouble. He had a trio of saves in the first half that were jaw-dropping against the Royals.

“He is so overlooked, it is insane. His reaction time is unreal. That is stuff you can’t teach. He’s been incredible, he’s a leader and a captain this year, he’s really stepped up,” West said.

After receiving a red card in the first few minutes against White River, this was his debut and he made the most of it.

“He makes me feel safe and motivated to do better. He’s giving us opportunities to stay in the game,” Benji Toscano said.

The two sides went to the locker room at 0-0 with Kent-Meridian creating most of the chances.

“We’ve been doing all the right things. We just have had trouble finishing. Last game (6-0 win vs. TJ) we did really well. This game, first half, we really struggled to finish,” West said.

A new half brought new momentum and Auburn Mountainview looked like a different team.

“The way we played the first half, doesn’t matter. Come out in the second half and play how we know we can,” was the message West told his team.

Their first opportunity came from a build up with Benjamin Yitbarek, who found Lucas Cruz down the right side of the field. Cruz managed to get to the end line, sent a cross in that caromed off Shazyar Omer and into the back of the net.

“They responded. They are so competitive. They know how to play together and love playing with each other,” West said.

The goal took the wind out of the Kent-Meridian sails and seemingly turned the game on its head.

Just 15 minutes later, Cole Gonzales drew a foul, giving the Lions a golden opportunity at goal from about 24 yards away. Benji Toscano stepped up and hit a curling ball over the three person Kent-Meridian wall and it snuck into the bottom right corner of the net for the second goal of the night.

“My mentality going in was, I am scoring. When I have a free kick opportunity, I have to go in thinking I am going to score. That gives me more confidence it is going to happen,” Toscano said.

Toscano has started for the Lions since his freshman year and ever since has brought an electric aspect to the field. This year the Lions are using a new formation and Toscano, as talented as he is, has struggled to find his groove in the new system, but took strides in this game to get going.

“He struggling a little bit to find how he fits in this new formation. As long as we hit where we need to be at the end of the season, we will be okay,” West said.

The now senior Toscano was inches away from his second goal of the night three minutes later on another penalty. The second shot bounced off the left post, the opposite direction as the first.

The Lions rode the two goal momentum to get their first win of the season. West is entering his 15th season as a coach at Auburn Mountainview and with this current squad, he’s been more hands off than ever. His seniors are creating the culture he has been working them in for the past four years.

“This group of guys are getting it. All the stuff the past four years I’ve instilled in them, they are now leading. They are teaching the younger guys, it’s really cool,” West said.

After the 2-0 win, the Lions’ faces were just beaming with confidence as they were leaving the locker rooms. There is a clear connection that all the players have with each other. “We have that love for each other,” Toscano said.

Jonathan Ochoa-Felix returns to goal after a clearance. Ben Ray / The Reporter