Winona High School started its boys soccer program in 1991 with 17 players and three coaches. Championships were rare in the decades that followed, but the program kept building toward a breakthrough season.
That breakthrough came in 2026, when Winona reached the state tournament for the first time in program history. Seeded No. 5 in Class AA, the Winhawks were not expected to stay long, but they won three upset games in 10 days to reach the final.
In the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 7, at U.S. Bank Stadium, sophomore Leif Overhaug scored in the first half, and senior Gonzalo Sanchez Navaion and Elijah Jonsgaard added goals as Winona built a 3-0 lead over No. 3 seed Cretin-Derham Hall.
Winona held on for a 3-2 win and finished 18-2-1. The title makes Winona the first boys soccer program from the Big 9 Conference to win a state championship since the state tournament began in 1974.
Cretin-Derham Hall, which finished 15-5-2, rallied late on two goals by senior forward Henry Stangler to pull within one. Winona activities director Casey Indra credited the team's belief and the community's support throughout the run, calling the championship a moment the program and its fans had been building toward.
