Senior night honors nine players, the largest senior class in program history
By Jen Clancey STAFF WRITER
As the ball bounced into Billings Central Catholic High School’s penalty box in the last few minutes of the Oct. 10 boys soccer game at the Big Horn Coliseum, it seemed possible that Lone Peak High School could finally take the lead. But, in a scramble of arms, kicks and taps of the ball 6 yards from the goal, the Big Horns couldn’t get it across the line, and the Rams responded with their own attempt, this time successful.
In the 2-1 loss to Billings Central, Lone Peak boys soccer closed out its 2026 season, and also honored the nine seniors moving on from the team. Many of the seniors grew up playing soccer with each other in Big Sky, later trading carpools for Lone Peak buses for games on the road.
Senior captain Keegan Luchini and fellow seniors, Sidney Morris, captain Dudley Davis, Sidney Trulen, captain Liam Barker and Teagan Miller reflected on their time together.
“It’s fun playing with the nine seniors again for one last time,” Luchini said. Morris said that playing together a final time was a memorable part of the season.
“ I think it was a super emotional game all around,” he said. “It meant a lot to everybody here, you know, no matter the outcome.” In a separate interview, senior Miles Romney, reflected on the 2026 season.
“I think every moment during the season is special, whether it’s the team dinners, practices, preseason or hanging out with the boys. That’s what makes soccer special,” Romney said.
The seniors agreed the game was a tough one. With 15 minutes left in the first half of a windy game against Billings Central, Rams senior Vincent Long scored off a cross from freshman Holden Guenthner. However, the Big Horns returned to the field after halftime with renewed determination. The second half was also chippy—a Billings Central player was shown a red card after a foul required a Big Horn player to be helped off the field.
“I feel like the second half we really came out with a lot of energy, really wanting to have a really good half … us scoring really set the tone,” Barker said.
Lone Peak’s goal came as the game entered injury time at the end of the second half. With neither team knowing when time would be up, Romney won the ball over in the midfield and carried it up the field with urgency. At the top of the 18-yard box, a defender batted the ball away, but it was collected again by the Big Horns—this time by Davis—who took two touches and passed it to Luchini. Quickly, Luchini sent a one-touch pass through the defense, and on the receiving end was junior Ty Mittelstaedt, who effortlessly put the ball past the keeper into the right side of the net.
The remaining time felt like eternity for fans, and Lone Peak created several more opportunities at goal, with the Rams returning with their own. One of those, to Big Horns’ dismay, was successful, as Rams freshman Cal Weisen ran past the defense and scored. Soon after, the referee blew the final whistle with a 2-1 result, closing out the Big Horns’ 4-4-2 season.
“It felt like, towards the end, we were going to pull through. It felt good there for a little while,” Davis said.
“I think we worked, worked really hard out there, and having all the support really helped for sure,” Trulen noted about the result.
In the senior ceremony before the game, the Big Horn team, families and fans applauded the largest class of seniors in the program’s history: Barker, Davis, Calder Dunn, Luchini, Morris, Miller, Riley Niva, Romney and Trulen. Head coach Tony Coppola offered his thanks to the group.
“It’s been a pleasure being able to coach you, laugh with you, cry with you, but most importantly, witness you become the best versions of yourself playing this beautiful game,” Coppola said. “As you move on to your next journey … know that you have made your coach your family and your community extremely proud.”
Teammates offered their own words of advice to future players after the game.
“ Be accountable. Stay responsible. Respect each other,” Miller said. Romney noted its important to soak it in.
“I think just enjoy every moment that you have, because, you know, it’s over fast,” he said. “[The younger guys] just need to listen to Mr. Coppola, he’s a great coach. And play their hearts out.”
Romney noted that the program is in good hands, even though it will be a younger squad next year. Luchini had similar thoughts.
“I feel like some of the younger kids definitely stepped up in their roles to support the team. That definitely improved everyone’s chemistry, and they wanted to be there and wanted to work which really helped,” Luchini said. The younger players are already looking ahead, taking what they’ve learned from the seniors.
“I feel we need to build good chemistry for next year, from the beginning. We definitely need to put in the work to fill those gaps from the seniors,” sophomore Declan Mitchell said. His brother, Steen Mitchell, agreed.
“We definitely had a lot of fun this year and I couldn’t think of a better nine seniors,” Steen said.
Ryan Malinowski contributed reporting to this story. Malinowski is a senior at Lone Peak High School who works on Big Sky School District’s monthly newscast and plays basketball in the winter season. He is interested in pursuing a career in sports journalism.
