The562’s high school soccer coverage for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Long Beach Poly soccer alum Kennedy Justin.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
Over the past three seasons, the Long Beach Poly boys’ soccer program has amassed five playoff wins across three playoff divisions. Included in that stretch was a trip to a CIF-SS title game and a berth in the CIF State SoCal Regional playoffs.
The Jackrabbits have been one of the top programs in the Moore League recently, a spot which has lent itself to playoff success in the competitive equity era. After tying for third in the league table a season ago, Poly knocked off the top seed in Division 4 and made a run to the CIF quarterfinals.
Every season presents a new challenge against the rest of the city’s talented squads, but those battles prepare teams for postseason competition, and expectations are always high for the green & gold.
With head coach Eric Leon taking a step back from his coaching duties this season–while still remaining heavily involved with running the program–it’s a chance for Poly alum Carlos Casillas to step into a formalized role as head coach. Casillas has spent a decade coaching in the program–including eight seasons as the freshman head coach–so he knows the culture and is familiar with the players. He also gained valuable experience as the interim head coach last season.
“I know all these kids. I coached almost all of them as freshmen, so we know each other really well and I’m excited,” said Casillas. “I just want to continue doing what Coach Eric did for us here at Poly. He’s still part of our program, but I want to continue the success he’s had. And being a Poly alum, I love this school and I love this sport.”
It will be a bit of a youth movement for the Jackrabbits this season with just a half-dozen seniors on the roster, but there’s valuable experience returning and some promising young talent looking to keep the Jackrabbits competitive now and into the future.
“We’re excited for this year,” said Casillas. “Because with this young team and the seniors that we have, after last year’s run they’ve definitely been getting ready for the season coming up.”
Two of Poly’s senior class have been four-year varsity players, going back to their CIF runner-up squad in 2022-23. One is Damian Gonzalez, who is expected to lead Poly’s front line and be the main scoring target. He’ll be joined up top by classmate Daniel Silva as they hope to form a dynamic duo to bring goals for the Jackrabbits.
“In the box, I’m confident enough to strike a ball, finish it, and I’m a good enough player to hold up the ball and get my wingers in behind. I just like to score goals,” said Gonzalez, showing classic striker’s mentality. “I think this year our chemistry is better. We know we lost talented players, but this year we’re more talented together. It’s not just one player being so good, it’s the entire team being good, touching the ball and everything. It’s more of a team effort this year.”
Junior Matthew Sanchez is back on the left wing, and the midfield will be a blend of new players looking to work together to form a strong connection and get the Jackrabbits moving forward. They may not wow you with their size, but their technical skill is there, and the hope is that having a variety of players on the ball will help diversify Poly’s attack this season.
Coach Casillas is high on the trio of Luis Quintero, Carlos Casillas, and Adan Davila stepping into bigger roles in the midfield this season.
Defensively, returner Jonah Gershenson is expected to lead the back line. They’ll work in front of returning goalkeeper Mekiah Twal, who got experience last season and Casillas says has improved over during offseason training.
Casillas also has a pair of freshmen on the varsity roster who are challenging for playing time right away. One is Xavier Delouth, who has good size and a high soccer IQ making him a potential fit at center back. The other 9th grader that could see the field is Alex Gomez, who has the speed and skill to play pretty much any position on the field, according to Casillas.
With some new players coming into important roles, the emphasis has been on preparing mentally for the rigors of the Moore League and being at or near your best every single night. And given how the roster lines up, a big focus for Poly has been on the defensive half.
“Like I told the boys, it’s gonna be the effort that we bring on defense,” Casillas explained. “Because offensively, I know what we have. So it’s the effort that we’re going to bring defensively to win those 50/50 tackles. You’ve got to win those 50/50 headers … I was trying to tell all our newcomers, it’s not club (soccer). High school soccer and the Moore League, every game is a toss up. It’s a fight. It comes down to those little battles on the field. You’ve got to win those to make a big difference.”
The Jackrabbits will have some tough games in the non-league schedule, visiting Palos Verdes (Dec. 5) and Los Alamitos (Dec. 22) while hosting Sunny Hills (Dec. 10) in preparation for league play.
Poly’s Moore League opener is scheduled for Dec. 17 when they’ll host Cabrillo before going on Winter Break.
