2026 Soccer Preview: PND ‘much more stronger’ while looking to get to old ways back in 2A
- Michael Savoie
- 4 hours ago
- 8 min read
PEORIA — In 2025, Peoria Notre Dame soccer saw something borderline unprecedented in its program’s history: the Irish did not come home with any postseason hardware.
The program has the most state appearances among all boys soccer programs in the state and fell short in its regional final, but the Irish were competing in Class 3A – the largest, most competitive class in IHSA boys soccer – for the first time since 2016. Now back down to Class 2A, Peoria Notre Dame looks to compete for the top of a class it is well acquainted with.
The Irish lost just three seniors from 2025, and only one had significant varsity time in leading goalscorer Declan Schuler. They return plenty of upperclassmen that will be spread around the entire field with underclassmen expected to contribute early on in certain spots.
Along with the team being older overall with seven seniors, the Irish have also spent a considerable amount of time in the weight room over the summer, getting bigger, and becoming “more like a varsity team,” according to head coach Mike Bare.
Hear from Bare, Jack Miller, Johnny Navetta, and Patrick Graham and get to know about this year’s Irish’s team in its season preview below:
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