Daniel Duque is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Betty Fairfax High School  for AZPreps365.com.

On a cold Thursday night, the final whistle blew at Betty Fairfax High School. The Stampede soccer team had just secured a postseason spot for the third straight year with a narrow 3-2 win over Central High School.

The moment would have felt unthinkable just a few years earlier when the soccer program at Betty Fairfax was among the weakest and had never reached the playoffs. Today, the Stampede are championship contenders.

The shift began in 2017 when coach Justin Shalongo took over a program that had no history of success, fewer expectations surrounding it and issues that went beyond wins and losses.

“There wasn’t a lot of commitment from the players in terms of practicing,” Shalongo said. “Saturday practices were like a foreign thing to them and they never did morning practices. It was really hard to coach.”

He said the biggest challenge was not the tactics but the mindset.

“I was having to make spiritual changes with these kids,” Shalongo said.

In his first season with Betty Fairfax, the Stampede finished 1-10, often conceding goals in high-scoring losses. The following seasons, however, began to show steady improvement.

“The team was more accustomed to what the expectations were in terms of practicing and being there and being there on time,” Shalongo said.

The team’s culture shifted significantly in the following years, gaining structure, discipline and belief. The rebuild took a major step in 2022 with the arrival of freshmen cousins Nathan Sackor and Kevin Sonnah.

Sackor and Sonnah impressed during varsity tryouts as freshmen and quickly earned key roles on the team. Since then, they have become the attacking pillars of a once struggling program that has evolved into a consistent playoff contender.

“Those two kids started the year on varsity, which is kind of rare for us to start freshmen,” Shalongo said. 

Sackor, a forward, quickly developed into one of the team’s scoring threats. During his freshman year, he came off the bench and scored a header despite his shorter height, a moment that helped announce his arrival.

“For him to get up that high as a freshman and win a header has stuck with me ever since I can remember coaching that kid,” Shalongo said.

Now a senior, Sackor is a statewide scoring leader and a top regional player.

Off the field, his journey kicked off long before high school.

“I would say he and soccer go together since he started walking,” his mother Cici Nagbe said. “He was 2  years old and from that moment we knew he would be somebody who loved soccer.”

Nagbe said balancing finances, time and the demand of club soccer was often difficult as Sackor grew up. Despite the sacrifices, the family remained committed to supporting his development.

“It was a sheer effort. Everybody chipped in to help him come to this level of his soccer career,” Nagbe said.

That support helped shape Sackor’s path long before arriving at Betty Fairfax. He developed his talent playing club soccer alongside his cousin, an experience he remembers fondly.

“Getting on the field, the lights are off and we will each walk down one by one and have one little beam of light shining down on us,” Sackor said. “That is a very good memory.”

After arriving at Betty Fairfax, Sackor became a varsity starter as a freshman but said the adjustment was challenging because he was one of the youngest players on the team. 

“I was the smallest kid on the field going against taller, bigger, stronger kids, so I really had to fight for my position,” Sackor said.

The experience fueled his motivation to improve and contribute to the program’s rise in the following years, becoming a key part of the Stampede’s first two trophies: the Bohdie Larson Invitational and the PXU Copa.

Sackor said his connection and chemistry with his cousin on and off the field have played a significant role in the Stampede’s recent success. They have been playing together since childhood.

“I would say we are more connected than some of the other teammates on our team,” Sackor said. “We trust each other more with the ball and we trust each other with our capabilities when we get it. We trust each other enough to know that if we pass each other the ball, we could give our team the best chance at winning.”

That chemistry is shared by Kevin Sonnah, Sackor’s cousin and longtime teammate.

Sonnah’s soccer journey began after watching his cousin play and getting fascinated by the sport. As he grew older, he realized he wanted to take soccer seriously rather than treat it as just a hobby.

“When we transitioned from small fields to the big 11-on-11 fields, that made me realize it’s more than just fun,” Sonnah said. “It is more serious if I just wanted to be at a higher level.” 

Like his cousin, Sonnah’s soccer journey came with significant sacrifices from his family, including financial commitments, frequent travel and time constraints. The effort, however, has paid off.

“I’m willing to actually keep making sacrifices,” Sonnah’s father, Sam Sonnah, said. “As long as Kevin keeps loving the game and making him happy, you have to do what you have to do.”

Upon arriving at Betty Fairfax with his cousin, he impressed Shalongo during tryouts by juggling the ball more than 100 times, an unusual achievement for a freshman and more than many of his teammates. His display indicated that he could compete at the varsity level.

As a forward, Kevin Sonnah became another pillar of the program’s success, forming a strong on-field connection with Sackor.

“I feel like we both know what we want to do and that’s to score, so every time I have the ball he knows I’m going to pass it to him and start running,” Kevin Sonnah said. “It is easy for us to have that chemistry.”

As his journey as a student and player at Betty Fairfax comes to an end, Kevin Sonnah said he is grateful to have helped the Stampede grow into a stronger team.

“It feels great because they never had a trophy before,” Sonnah said. “I feel more people will go to Fairfax because we know we brought the name up and they will be pretty good for the rest of the years.”

Betty Fairfax secured a spot in the state finals for the first time in the school’s history. For Shalongo it is not about winning or losing, it is about being there for his players.

“I’m not coaching to get paid, I coach high school soccer specifically because it is like I don’t owe anybody anything,” Shalongo said. “I want to help these young men learn life through sport.”

He continued, “To see the team playing the way they are playing right now and having success is great, but what I really love seeing is that heads don’t go down when times get tough.”

For Sonnah and Sackor, Shalongo's impact extends beyond soccer.

“He has done a lot in the past few years, not just on the field but also off the field,” Sackor said. “He connects with the players on a deeper level so you can get his trust and he gets yours.”

Sonnah said that Shalongo has helped him control his emotions when things get difficult, something he struggles with.

“He told me to control my emotions countless times because he knows that I usually get angry when things are not going my way,” Sonnah said. “He has helped me control my emotions over time so I’m not getting angry and I just play through it.”

After both cousins graduate from Betty Fairfax they plan on attending Phoenix College, the recent first-time national champions in men’s soccer, leaving behind a strong legacy to motivate future Stampede players.

“Even though we may not be the same team we are this year compared to other years, they should not keep their heads down, because at the end of the day, adversity is what everybody faces and it is not how you go about it,” Sackor said.

Despite falling to Arizona College Prep, 2-1, in overtime in the 5A state championship match on Saturday, Betty Fairfax soccer has entered a new era.

“Anything is possible when you play the game with belief and I feel like that’s what this group of guys will leave to the players that will be here next year,” Shalongo said. “Anything is possible, so now we have the belief that we can be whatever we want to be.”