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 Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Lakewood boys’ soccer team has been in a window of success over the past two years, and it doesn’t feel like that window is closing anytime soon.
It’s been back-to-back years with a playoff win for the program, including a 2023 season in the rearview mirror when the Lancers were runners-up in the CIF-SS Division 4 bracket. And even after two years of recent success, the Lancers return all but one player from last year and have a junior-heavy roster that’ll look to keep that window open for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve just continued to grow together,” said Lakewood coach Alex Diaz. “It’s the same group from last year and it’s very exciting to build on our success. Now we have bigger depth, and a lot of these guys have played big minutes as freshmen and sophomores, so it’s just very exciting “
A big piece to the Lancers’ puzzle the last few years has been striker Michael Gutierrez, who has been one of the Moore League’s best since his breakout sophomore season two years ago. The senior had 22 goals in that breakout season before adding one last year to finish his junior campaign with 23.
“We just want him to be our leader and not always just our goal guy,” Diaz said of Gutierrez. “We have a lot of players this year who will fill in holes and help him out, so the biggest thing for him is being a leader on and off the field and doing a lot of defensive work. He’s going to have to create a lot of space and opportunities on the defensive side of the ball.”
But like any high school attacker of his caliber, Gutierrez still has high standards for himself in how he wants to contribute to Lakewood’s offense in his final campaign.
“I want to be the top goal scorer in the Moore League,” he said. “I want us to make it far in the playoffs again, and we all have been thinking about winning the league this season.”
Joining Gutierrez on the attack is fellow senior Irving Ventura, who adds some speed to the lineup and had a game-winning goal against Long Beach Poly last year. Brian Pioquinto and Jaden Hamilton will both be key as attacking-midfielders, along with Husani Smith and Edgar Melgarejo on the outsides.
“All of those guys have been with me since their freshman year, so these are guys that understand the culture and play the way that we want to attack,” Diaz said of the group. “Thats our strongest side of the ball and I expect those guys are going to be very dangerous for us.”
The Lancers will have some more experience at their defensive midfield, where Santiago Carreno and Angel Vazquez are set to return. Carreno started as a freshman on Lakewood’s 2023 championship bound team while Vazquez started as a freshman last season.
The backline is where Lakewood is still figuring things out with injuries and inexperience, but Diaz says he has a core pair of captains at centerback in junior Osiel Morales and sophomore William Oliveira.
“Those are the two guys that will keep us together with a lot of experience,” he said. “They were also two starters as freshmen here at Lakewood so they have a lot of experience playing against the Moore League and in the playoffs.”
Goalkeeper is the only position where the Lancers will have to replace a senior from last year, but Diaz is confident two different players will step into that spot. He’s thrilled with what he has in both senior Pol Luna and sophomore Anthony Cardoso, and the pair will be competing for the job.
Lakewood finished 5-4-2 in the Moore League last year, splitting matchups against both Long Beach Poly and Cabrillo while drawing twice with Wilson. The Lancers will open their league schedule this season at Compton on Dec. 17.
