Seniors Austin Castilla, Pablo Ponce and Logan Wilson not only are team captains for the Riverside Brookfield High School boys soccer team but they’re among the few returnees from last year’s Upstate Eight Conference East Division champions.
Senior goalie Eros Valadez and junior midfielder Luis Alvarez also return as full- or part-time starters. The Bulldogs finished 10-8-1 and lost their Class 3A Argo Regional opener 6-3 to the host Argonauts,
“Patience will be a big factor [this season]. Also I think discipline’s going to play a big factor,” Ponce said. “We’re going to be down some games. We have to have the discipline to be up and continue playing at the highest level instead of putting our heads down.”
Other team members are seniors Santiago Medelin, Jacob Gonzalez and Nick Ortiz, juniors Max Kaplan, Jack Luethje, Michinobu Scheuermann, Jackson Serge, Jackson Streeter, Liam Wallace, Owen Wilson and goalie Tomas Medina-Colon and sophomores Caleb Adame, Aaron Acevedo, Diego Briceno, Aaron Garcia and Michael Panduro.
The Bulldogs so far are 1-2 in their opening games at the Windy City Classic after losing to Shepard 4-3 on penalty kicks Saturday at Reavis to decide a scoreless tie.
Riverside-Brookfield’s Aaron Acevedo (20) sends a pass upfield against Sandburg during a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game at Lemont Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 in Lemont. (Steve Johnston) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Luis Alvarez (8) defends Sandburg’s Michael Zieba (19) during a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game at Lemont Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 in Lemont. (Steve Johnston) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s Diego Briceno (7) tries to work past Sandburg’s Abduallah Ramadan (21) during a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game at Lemont Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 in Lemont. (Steve Johnston) 
Riverside-Brookfield’s goalie Eros Valadez (0) puts the ball back into play against Sandburg during a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game at Lemont Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 in Lemont. (Steve Johnston)
“We have a young team, (five) sophomores, (eight) juniors. Everybody’s a role player,” RBHS coach Ivek Halic said after Thursday’s victory. “Everybody’s playing extremely well. I’m very pleased with how the dynamic of the team is. They’re working hard, every ball was fought for. That’s what I was pleased with.”
The Bulldogs boast experience defensively. As outside defenders, Castilla was a full-time starter and Ponce a part-time starter in 2024. With Valadez in goal, the Bulldogs allowed just 26 goals in 14 games.
“I feel like I have a lot of experience so I can push this team and let them know what they will expect at the varsity level,” Castilla said. “[We want] just to be the best version of ourselves. Also communication and more positivity.”
Most of the scorers graduated. Alvarez had one goal last season and Logan Wilson one assist in 2024. Acevedo and Wallace scored against Washington with assists by Briceno and Panduro, respectively. Alvarez scored against Sandburg with Panduro assisting. Wallace, Panduro and Castilla converted penalty kicks Saturday.
Logan Wilson should contribute more this season after being a part-time starting forward and wing midfielder. Wallace was promoted to varsity for invitational play.
“It’s extremely exciting,” Wilson said. “I was facing injuries last year but I was able to watch the whole team and how they succeeded and it was an awesome experience. I just want to forward that for this year and carry that on.”
RBHS hopes to achieve its first regional title since 2019. In the 2024 UEC East, the Bulldogs took first with a 5-0-1 record, winning and losing one game each on penalty kicks. The Bulldogs lost to West Aurora 2-0 in the crossover match of UEC division champions.
“This is a new group. Just playing well, building that chemistry,” Halic said. “It’s always been about winning games but also playing well, working for each other, the discipline, being accountable and that work ethic. That’s always a goal, repeating first place [in conference] and being champions. Just the little details will make a big difference in the long run.”