For the past decade and a half, Laney boys soccer has been close.
Close to beating its biggest conference rivals. Close to capturing a league title. Close, even, to playing for a state championship.
In 2026, the Buccaneers are tired of being close.
A senior-heavy Laney squad has raced to a 10-0 start this fall, outscoring opponents 32-5 and climbing to No. 6 in the MaxPreps state rankings. The unbeaten start has reinforced the confidence of a group that returned much of the roster responsible for last season's deep playoff run.
For all Laney accomplished in 2025, the Bucs ultimately fell one win short of their first state championship appearance.
Weeks after battling city and conference rival Hoggard to a 4-4 tie in the penultimate game of the regular
season, Laney met the Vikings again in the NCHSAA 8A East regional championship in Wilmington.
The Bucs watched a first-half deadlock turn into a stinging 3-0 defeat against a Vikings team Laney hasn't beaten since 2022.
Hoggard went on to win the 8A state championship.
Laney stayed home.
The remnants of that night still sit with some players. For others, like senior defender Landon Reese, last fall's highs and lows have only raised the standard for what Laney expects from itself this season.
“Our chem is the highest it's been in a while, so I feel like it's just easier to play,” Reese said after Laney’s 4-0 win over Croatan Sept. 8.
Through 10 games, that chemistry has translated into Laney's best start in years. The Bucs have scored at least three goals seven times, allowed more than one goal just once and have had nothing but control through the first half of 2026.
Laney's string of nonconference games is virtually complete as league play opens against Topsail (4-3-1) on Friday, Sept. 11.
Conference play should begin answering the question that has followed Laney boys soccer for years: Is it finally our turn?
The Bucs know they have the talent to win their first conference championship since 2011 and just the second in program history. Leading scorer Alvaro Hernandez Rodriguez (six goals, five assists) headlines an attack that also features seniors Bishop Babcock-Giles, Conner Wall and Torres Romero.
Those seniors have already helped move Laney closer than most teams in program history. Now, they're trying to finish what previous Bucs teams couldn't.
That means navigating one of the state’s toughest conferences, one that still includes the Hoggard program Laney is hungrier than ever to dethrone.
But even with history, and perhaps the odds, stacked against them, the Bucs believe 2026 is their time.
“It’s this team’s turn; it’s this (group of) seniors' turn,” Laney coach John Mitrisciano said. “If (we) want to go further than last year, we have to be pretty close to perfect.”
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Why unbeaten Laney soccer believes 2026 is finally its year
