The Storm Lake Tornado Boys Soccer Team Fell in the Class 3A Substate 1 Final to the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs 4-1
The first half saw the Monarchs strike just 10 minutes into the first half when Richard Gonzalez found the back of the net to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. The Monarchs would find one more tally in the first half when Jesus Espinoza found an opening near the PK spot to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead. The teams would go to the half with the Monarchs up 2-0.
The second half saw the Tornadoes hold the Monarchs off the scoreboard in the first 11 minutes. The Tornadoes cut the Monarchs lead to 2-1 when David Montejano scored. The Monarchs answered just two minutes and twenty seconds when Jackson Saravia gave the Monarchs a 3-1 lead. The Tornadoes would give the Monarchs all they could handle but could not find the back of the net. The Monarchs would add one more tally and go on to win 4-1.
For the Monarchs they advance to the State Tournament for the first time since 2007, they also defeat the Tornadoes for the first time since April 29th of 2011. The Tornadoes wrap up the season with a record of 8-9.
The Tornadoes say goodbye to 10 seniors (Luiz Mendoza, Deryk Hernandez, Mauricio Zavala-Leon, Shawn Yang, Julian Cortes Oropeza, Daniel Ramirez-Sanchez, Alberto Gomez-Miramontes, Andrew Chavez, Pablo Godoy, and Luiz Martinez) and Head Coach Ben Schekirke
During Head Coach Ben Schekirke’s time at Storm Lake he lead the Tornadoes to 5 state tournament appearances (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), three state runner-ups (2013, 2016, 2018), and went 6-5 in the state tournament. He also lead the Tornadoes to Substate Finals in five of the last six seasons (Wins in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with losses in 2021 and 2023).
