2026 Soccer Preview: Hungry Metamora group replenishes big senior class with many more

METAMORA — Metamora soccer showed in 2025 that it could compete in the Mid-Illini and the Redbirds are eager to do so again while carrying an underdog mentality.

Head coach Sheridan Ray says it’s an exciting time for the program, which doesn’t happen often when a dozen seniors graduate. However, that’s because the Redbirds are following it up with another large senior class of players who have been waiting for years to make their mark.

Midfielders John Jones and Ben Sondgeroth plus defenseman Lucas Alwardt all experienced several nods in the starting 11 last year, but the rest of Metamora’s top group will all be new faces. All of those Redbirds are eager to test themselves and battle hard in every game, which would continue a trend Metamora had last year where it played in 13 games decided by two goals or less. 

As Ray, who led Metamora to a boys track and field state championship in the spring and won CSM’s 2026 Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year, knows, a team is at its depth when it’s connected, has depth and everyone knows their roles. The Redbirds are focused on checking all those boxes in 2026.

Hear more from Ray and members of the Redbirds’ soccer team in their season preview below: