Hernandez scores four as Storm Lake boys soccer routs Humboldt 9-0

Storm Lake sent a clear message on the road Tuesday, burying Humboldt 9-0 after taking a 5-0 lead into halftime and never letting the Wildcats find a way back in. Cairo Hernandez powered the attack with four goals and an assist, giving the Tornadoes the kind of finishing punch that can change how the rest of the season looks in Buena Vista County.

The win mattered beyond the score line. Humboldt entered the match unbeaten at home, but Storm Lake controlled the game from the start and finished with 13 shots on goal. Leo Sanchez added two goals and two assists, Marco Gonzalez scored once and set up two more, and Maker Kuel and David Perez each scored once. Adinson Rojas made two saves in goal as the Tornadoes kept the clean sheet.

For Hernandez, the performance marked another milestone in a season that has steadily built toward something bigger. His four-goal night pushed him to 20 goals on the year, making him the first Storm Lake player to reach that total since Fernando Reyes in 2022. That kind of production gives Storm Lake a reliable centerpiece as the postseason approaches.

Coach Roberto Martinez said the Tornadoes had a couple of players back from injury and tried some new combinations that played to their strengths, which helped the offense look sharp. He also said the team still has defensive details to clean up, a reminder that the margin for error narrows fast once tournament play begins. That next test looks significant, with Storm Lake set to face West Sioux, the defending Iowa Class 1A state champion from Hawarden. West Sioux won the 2025 Class 1A title by beating Van Meter 2-1 in overtime on June 6, 2025.

The boys’ result came against a Humboldt team Storm Lake had already beaten in the previous meeting in May 2025, and it adds to a spring in which the Tornadoes have shown they can pile up goals in a hurry. Another Storm Lake boys 9-0 win over Humboldt was also noted this spring, when Raymond Hernandez set a school record for the fastest hat trick in a game.

The girls game in Storm Lake went the other direction. Humboldt won 6-0, breaking things open with four second-half goals after a tighter opening half. Storm Lake managed only four shots on goal, with America Najera and Jezebel Ocegueda getting two each, while Stephanie Alvarado made 13 saves to keep the final from getting even more lopsided. Under head coach Katie Voortmann and assistant Brian Gomez, the Storm Lake girls will need cleaner possession and sharper finishing before the matchup with West Sioux, a benchmark game that will show how far the program still has to climb.