Rays Blitz Village School – Look to Districts

The Marco Island Academy boys’ soccer team is enjoying unprecedented success this season. Friday night was their latest chapter as the Rays blitzed the Village School 8-0 Friday night at Winterberry Park. The mercy rule win is the seventh victory in a row for MIA.

First year coach Saul Sotolongo said a lot of the Rays' previous struggles can be traced to a turnover in coaching leadership.

“When you have a lot of changes in coaches over the years, it’s pretty tough,” Sotolongo reasons. "They had one coach last year, a different one the year before. Now with me coming in and implementing my system of coaching and training, it takes a while for them to get used to it.”

The Rays (9-4) started 2-4 before going on their impressive winning streak.

"It was a rough start,” Sotolongo said. "The tougher part of our schedule was at the beginning of the season. It was a test. I have six senior starters. Having that many upperclassmen returning, they have that resilience. It went back and forth a little bit at the beginning of the season. But the games you lose, you can grow from them. And we did. They came back stronger.”

The Rays are enjoying their best success as a program under Sotolongo.

"We also matched last year’s win total tonight,” he said. "We’re going to be the top seed in the district tournament. It’s been a lot of improvement, a lot of growth. That’s the rewarding part of coaching. To see them getting better every week.”

Sotolongo led the MIA baseball team to its best-ever season last year. But soccer is his real passion.

"This is definitely my thing,” he said. "I thought I was an all right baseball coach. My approach is the same. My philosophy. I just gradually keep building them up. Give them the freedom to grow. With victories, the expectations keep mounting. We’re going into the district tournament as the top seed. Our expectation is to win it. It’s been tough. It’s been a grind. It’s very competitive. We’re going to host the districts because we’re the top seed.”

Sotolongo attributes a lot of the team’s success to his three senior captains.

"Our three captains really have stepped up this year,” Sotolongo said. "Nick Vergo, great leader, great presence. You can hear him communicating, basically, the whole game. Ricardo Ramirez, the damage he can do shooting, he’s got a great leg on him. Francesco Felice is the quiet and understated one over there on the right. His leadership comes from being very stoic. Just being here every day, grinding out. Never complains about anything. Keeps the other guys motivated. When you have a bunch of guys like that, it helps things come together. It keeps the younger guys in line."