As Lindbergh’s soccer players walked toward the locker rooms at Renton Memorial Stadium and their classmates lined up against the rail to exchange high-fives, senior defender DJ Fox reflected on how different things were just a few years ago.

“Freshmen year, we got no love,” he said after the Eagles’ 5-0 win against Renton in an April 15 Seamount League boys soccer match. “We barely had fans. It’s just nice to have all these fans and people actually recognizing what we are doing.”

Lindbergh (12-0 overall, 10-0 league) remained in first place with the victory. But getting to that point for the Eagles has not been easy. In 2013, Lindbergh finished winless in 15 contests under second-year coach Ryan Johnson.

“I’m just glad he didn’t give up on us,” Fox said. “Most coaches think, ‘Oh, this program is not that good.’ He made us into what we are now. He stuck with us.”

While Johnson said quitting never was a consideration, that mindset had to be overcome before he could cultivate a successful program.

“It’s just basically not quitting on them,” he said. “They were turning over coaches at Lindbergh every couple of years.”

Johnson had to quell those concerns early.

“‘Hey, I’m not going anywhere, guys,’ ” he said. “‘I’m here for the long run. We’re going to take our time. We’ll get there, but this takes a lot of hard work.’ ”

The program’s instability ensured that. While Johnson was confident his core of freshmen could change the Eagles’ trajectory, he said some of the “premier-caliber talent” at Lindbergh would turn out for different sports because of the soccer program’s poor reputation.

That meant building a program with youth.

“We just didn’t have the talent to compete against everyone else in the league,” Johnson said. “We were playing freshmen against juniors and seniors.

“They never quit. Now that they’ve matured, we’ve got some good talent and we’re building a program.”

Defender Tim Reitz, who is among seven seniors on the roster, shared similar sentiments.

“We’ve all lost big, important games,” he said. “I remember getting blown out by Hazen and Kennedy. This year, we’re playing those big guys and we’re beating them. We’re really tough mentally because we’ve (struggled) before.”

After a 5-10-1 overall record in 2014, the Eagles posted their first winning record under Johnson last year, when they finished 9-6-3. And Johnson believes that success has translated into more athletes choosing to play soccer. That includes junior forward Alex Kirtsov, who previously competed for Seattle Sounders FC Academy.

“He decided to come out and that really helped the kids get a different mentality in practice because he was at a (higher) level,” Johnson said.

But perhaps the biggest difference this season has been the squad’s defense. Fox, who missed last season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, credited sophomore Matt Evetts’ work at goalkeeper for much of the improvement on that side, where the Eagles surrendered 24 goals last year. This season, Lindbergh has allowed six goals.

“He’s our star goalkeeper … and we have our solid defense,” Fox said.

While Johnson notes that the seniors have played a significant role in the turnaround of the program, others have bought into his “ACC” tenets – Academics, Commitment and Competitiveness, as well.

Among them is junior midfielder James Farrell, who scored two goals in the Eagles’ win against Renton.

“I’ve never seen a kid work so hard,” Johnson said. “He’s out on the field every day after school. In the summer, you will see him on the field working. He’s always perfecting his craft.”

Skills aside, Johnson and his players are reluctant to look ahead to whether Lindbergh can secure its first state-playoff berth since 2002 and just the fourth in program history.

“We don’t look forward way into the future,” Fox said.

After all, the process for that conversation began after a season of futility.

“I think these seniors realize now that you can’t turn something around overnight,” Johnson said. “It takes a lot of hard work.”