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Aug. 11—GRAND FORKS — When Grand Forks Red River athletic director Tyler Nelson got a call from a community member asking for help unloading a moving truck last week, Brian Gutierrez happened to be in the room.
Gutierrez, the Roughriders' new boys soccer head coach, shot a few of his players a text.
They were quick to respond. About eight showed up to help, including senior midfielder James Schindler.
"We thought we could lead by example, so we went out there and helped," Schindler said.
For Gutierrez, it was further confirmation of the type of players returning this season.
The Riders bring back eight starters from last season, seven of whom are seniors. Fourth-seeded Red River upset first-seeded Bismarck Legacy and second-seeded West Fargo Sheyenne en route to the North Dakota state tournament championship game.
"That is who this core group is," Gutierrez said. "All of them are leaders in a way. There may be no captain's badge, but they've definitely embraced roles as leaders — making sure that guys are making it to practices, making sure that guys are aware of what needs to be done by when."
The Riders suffered a 2-0 loss to Fargo South in the title game.
The tournament run gave Red River's returners a boost of confidence and invaluable postseason experience.
"Not a lot of people believed that we would do that," Schindler said. "It gave us a lot of belief in ourselves. I think that it helps us roll into this year, because we know what we can do, especially with eight returning starters."
Schindler, who was a captain and earned All-Eastern Dakota Conference honors last season, is one of the team's key returners.
Schindler carried that momentum into the basketball season. He earned a spot on the North Dakota Division AA all-state second team after averaging 21 points and 2.7 steals per game.
"I know how much success he sees on the basketball court," Gutierrez said. "It's crazy to think that he replicates that same effort and role on the soccer field. He has an ability to read the game. He flies around at 100 miles per hour, and he's noticeable and very competitive. It's a lot of fun to coach a guy like that."
The two sports require quite different skill sets, but Schindler's physicality and confidence translate to both.
"I'm very physical, very confident and just a hard worker," Schindler said of his soccer play style. "I'm not that good skill-wise with the feet, but I'm going to run around and win headers — just being very physical."
Schindler is hoping to add soccer all-state honors to his resume. In terms of team goals, though, he's taking the same approach that Gutierrez preaches.
"I'd like to be first team all-state, and have more goals than last year," Schindler said. "For team goals, obviously win a state championship, but I think we just have to take it step by step. Not focus too much on the end goal — more on the goals that are the building blocks."
Junior forward Mory Camara is the only other All-EDC Rider returning this year, providing the offense with a major boost after his breakout sophomore year.
"Mory Camara has a unique set of skills when he's on the ball," Gutierrez said. "He has a fantastic way of finding ways to score. He creates opportunities for himself, and if you pay attention closely to the film, he's good at creating opportunities for his teammates as well."
Though this will be Gutierrez's first season in charge of the program, he's well acquainted with this group. He was an assistant under Patrick Colter last year and previously served as the boys head junior varsity coach.
Gutierrez coached many of this year's seniors on the junior varsity team.
"I watched these kids come into the program as freshmen," Gutierrez said. "Now I'm watching them grow into young men, and watching them embrace these roles that they're in, and watching them leave the program as young men — hopefully stronger, smarter and just good guys."
Gutierrez was also Red River's girls soccer head coach in 2025, guiding the program to a third-place finish at the state tournament in his first season in charge. He'll be both the girls and boys head coach this season.
Grand Forks soccer at a glance
GF Red River
Coach: Brian Gutierrez.
2025 record/finish: 10-6-5, lost to Fargo South in the North Dakota state championship game.
Key returners: Sr. D Finn Ranum; sr. D Easton Weisser; sr. D Colt Panos; sr. CM James Schindler; sr. CM Carson Peters; sr. CM Will Sickler; sr. F Zach Bures; jr. F Mory Camara.
Top newcomer: So. GK Aiden Schroeder.
Coach Gutierrez says: "The style is not to focus on the postseason. We talk about the phases, and we're entering phase two here again. The motto this year is engaging in the process and just being a part of doing the day-by-day work. It starts one practice at a time, one game at a time. But I do think, with that being said, that these guys got a taste of what that (championship) stage is, and I think they're excited and hungry for an opportunity to do it again."
GF Central
Coach: Austin Englerth.
2025 record/finish: 5-9-4
Key returners: Jr. M Bryce Korynta; sr. D Grant Harrison; sr. D Joe Kleven; sr. F Hamza Salad; sr. M Zach Alshami; sr. F Zakariya Mohamed; sr. F Matthew Hodny; So. M Lucas Weber; sr. D-M Dalvin Samuel.
Top newcomers: Sr. GK Jack Carls; sr. F Nabi Ouedraogo; jr. M-F Cole Tanabe; so. D Cyrus Boyte; fr. D Lukas Carter; eighth-grade M Aidan Malott.
Coach Englerth says: "We preach that it's not just a varsity team, it's a Central program. It's not just one team, it's two teams and one family. That's what we've been doing these last three years, building that family up and making sure everybody feels welcome and belongs on our team. ... Our work ethic from the last couple of years to where we are now has improved drastically. That's thanks in part to our veteran leadership. These guys know what we've expected the past few years, but they're finally showing it in our workouts and our game practices and all they've done this summer. It's showing in their leadership and motivation — they're getting the younger guys to buy into what we're doing. ... Our team culture and chemistry is the best it's been since I've been here."
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Gutierrez, the Roughriders' new boys soccer head coach, shot a few of his players a text.
They were quick to respond. About eight showed up to help, including senior midfielder James Schindler.
"We thought we could lead by example, so we went out there and helped," Schindler said.
For Gutierrez, it was further confirmation of the type of players returning this season.
The Riders bring back eight starters from last season, seven of whom are seniors. Fourth-seeded Red River upset first-seeded Bismarck Legacy and second-seeded West Fargo Sheyenne en route to the North Dakota state tournament championship game.
"That is who this core group is," Gutierrez said. "All of them are leaders in a way. There may be no captain's badge, but they've definitely embraced roles as leaders — making sure that guys are making it to practices, making sure that guys are aware of what needs to be done by when."
The Riders suffered a 2-0 loss to Fargo South in the title game.
The tournament run gave Red River's returners a boost of confidence and invaluable postseason experience.
"Not a lot of people believed that we would do that," Schindler said. "It gave us a lot of belief in ourselves. I think that it helps us roll into this year, because we know what we can do, especially with eight returning starters."
Schindler, who was a captain and earned All-Eastern Dakota Conference honors last season, is one of the team's key returners.
Schindler carried that momentum into the basketball season. He earned a spot on the North Dakota Division AA all-state second team after averaging 21 points and 2.7 steals per game.
"I know how much success he sees on the basketball court," Gutierrez said. "It's crazy to think that he replicates that same effort and role on the soccer field. He has an ability to read the game. He flies around at 100 miles per hour, and he's noticeable and very competitive. It's a lot of fun to coach a guy like that."
The two sports require quite different skill sets, but Schindler's physicality and confidence translate to both.
"I'm very physical, very confident and just a hard worker," Schindler said of his soccer play style. "I'm not that good skill-wise with the feet, but I'm going to run around and win headers — just being very physical."
Schindler is hoping to add soccer all-state honors to his resume. In terms of team goals, though, he's taking the same approach that Gutierrez preaches.
"I'd like to be first team all-state, and have more goals than last year," Schindler said. "For team goals, obviously win a state championship, but I think we just have to take it step by step. Not focus too much on the end goal — more on the goals that are the building blocks."
Junior forward Mory Camara is the only other All-EDC Rider returning this year, providing the offense with a major boost after his breakout sophomore year.
"Mory Camara has a unique set of skills when he's on the ball," Gutierrez said. "He has a fantastic way of finding ways to score. He creates opportunities for himself, and if you pay attention closely to the film, he's good at creating opportunities for his teammates as well."
Though this will be Gutierrez's first season in charge of the program, he's well acquainted with this group. He was an assistant under Patrick Colter last year and previously served as the boys head junior varsity coach.
Gutierrez coached many of this year's seniors on the junior varsity team.
"I watched these kids come into the program as freshmen," Gutierrez said. "Now I'm watching them grow into young men, and watching them embrace these roles that they're in, and watching them leave the program as young men — hopefully stronger, smarter and just good guys."
Gutierrez was also Red River's girls soccer head coach in 2025, guiding the program to a third-place finish at the state tournament in his first season in charge. He'll be both the girls and boys head coach this season.
Grand Forks soccer at a glance
GF Red River
Coach: Brian Gutierrez.
2025 record/finish: 10-6-5, lost to Fargo South in the North Dakota state championship game.
Key returners: Sr. D Finn Ranum; sr. D Easton Weisser; sr. D Colt Panos; sr. CM James Schindler; sr. CM Carson Peters; sr. CM Will Sickler; sr. F Zach Bures; jr. F Mory Camara.
Top newcomer: So. GK Aiden Schroeder.
Coach Gutierrez says: "The style is not to focus on the postseason. We talk about the phases, and we're entering phase two here again. The motto this year is engaging in the process and just being a part of doing the day-by-day work. It starts one practice at a time, one game at a time. But I do think, with that being said, that these guys got a taste of what that (championship) stage is, and I think they're excited and hungry for an opportunity to do it again."
GF Central
Coach: Austin Englerth.
2025 record/finish: 5-9-4
Key returners: Jr. M Bryce Korynta; sr. D Grant Harrison; sr. D Joe Kleven; sr. F Hamza Salad; sr. M Zach Alshami; sr. F Zakariya Mohamed; sr. F Matthew Hodny; So. M Lucas Weber; sr. D-M Dalvin Samuel.
Top newcomers: Sr. GK Jack Carls; sr. F Nabi Ouedraogo; jr. M-F Cole Tanabe; so. D Cyrus Boyte; fr. D Lukas Carter; eighth-grade M Aidan Malott.
Coach Englerth says: "We preach that it's not just a varsity team, it's a Central program. It's not just one team, it's two teams and one family. That's what we've been doing these last three years, building that family up and making sure everybody feels welcome and belongs on our team. ... Our work ethic from the last couple of years to where we are now has improved drastically. That's thanks in part to our veteran leadership. These guys know what we've expected the past few years, but they're finally showing it in our workouts and our game practices and all they've done this summer. It's showing in their leadership and motivation — they're getting the younger guys to buy into what we're doing. ... Our team culture and chemistry is the best it's been since I've been here."
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