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Sydney Endicott

Storming the field in happiness, coach Ray Ramirez, and seniors Turner and Brayden Figuoera, celebrate winning the semi finals and advancing to the finals. ¨This team had a great deal of focus, maturity, and had also learned some hard lessons in the past,¨ Ramirez said. The past experience really provided a strong foundation for us going in the final four.¨

A Wichita-area team had not won the boys state soccer title in two decades. The Mavs put an end to that streak with a 3-0 win against Blue Valley Southwest to win the 2022 5A state soccer championship last week.

During their perfect season, the team managed to rack up a best in state 117 goals and allowed only thirteen goals by opposing teams.

Coach Rey Ramirez finally was able to grab Maize South’s first soccer state championship after losing in the Top 4 for the past several seasons.

¨It was an absolutely exhilarating feeling. Finally coming out on top was just an incredible accomplishment by our boys and the joy is just indescribable,¨ Ramirez said. 

After losing in the state championship to the same team they beat this year for the title, there were a few changes that both the players and coaches noticed.

¨There was a definite difference. The laser-focused attitude they had was impressive this season. They knew what the end goal was and they never lost sight of it,¨ Ramirez said. ¨They didn’t allow success to get in the way of them achieving their potential. I loved to see the maturity and leadership that our upperclassmen exhibited.”

Team captain Vitor Geromel now holds the Maize South boys soccer goal record with a total of 42 goals on the year. Geromel was happy with his goals record, but always had his eyes on the bigger prize.

“I was thinking that it was good having the record, but it really doesn’t matter if it doesn’t help the team accomplish the end goal of winning a state championship,” Geromel said. 

Behind every successful team there’s a supportive crew backing them up, and with this team, that’s exactly what they had at every game. 

¨The family support, school support, and all of the fans in the Maize South Soccer community made all the difference this season,¨ Ramirez said. ¨We had so many people, former players for example, that all came out to root for the team all season long. That gave us the extra bit of reason to fight on game after game.¨

Ramirez looks forward to continuing their soccer success next season and believes the Mavericks will be right back where they left off during the fall 2023 season.

“We bring back family support, brotherhood, championship experience, and a team that knows anything is possible,” Ramirez said. “Our returning squad is supremely talented and they have learned from our senior boys that with heart, dedication, and hard work we can do it again.”