Saturday, November 15, 2008

Eight players from the Tiger boys team earn all-star honors for efforts

Loveless selected to first team again

John Gale News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jgale@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Coming off their first state playoff appearance since 2005, the Los Lunas boys soccer team had eight members earn All-District 5-5A honors.

Overall, Los Lunas coach Eliseo Aguirre said he is proud of his team's season, and all the selections reflect the quality of their play this season.

"As a whole, this team worked extremely hard," Aguirre said. "They stayed together through some trials and tribulations. We knew we were good, but some soccer people didn't think we could compete, and we proved them wrong. I couldn't be happier for them."

Senior defender Michael Loveless, senior midfielder Julian Flores and junior forward Zachary Jones were all named to the first team.

Jones led the Tigers during the season with seven goals, including the Tigers' lone goal in their 2-1 overtime loss to second-seeded Rio Rancho in pool play at the state playoffs, and Flores had six goals and an assist.

"Zachary Jones was kind of a surprise going into the season," Aguirre said. "He was one of our better finishers. He was in the right place at the right time a lot. He basically worked hard when he had the opportunity, and the district coaches saw that."

Loveless earned his second consecutive place on the first team, as he played through injuries to help Los Lunas shut out five opponents, all in the last half of the season.

"Michael Loveless: I can't say enough good things about him," Aguirre said. "He was our glue. He kept out defense together. His speed and his will, he works extremely hard. He doesn't back down from anything. His skill and leadership on defense has vastly improved."

In addition to his ball-handling duties, Flores scored six goals and had an assist.

"Julian's ball-handling skills were top-notch," Aguirre said. "We tried to go through him as much as possible."

Named to the second team were senior goalkeeper Spenser Waquie, junior defender Eduardo "Lalo" Munoz and senior midfielder Daniel McAda.

"The way the votes turned out, Muñoz kind of got gypped," Aguirre said. "Nobody can go on his side (get past him). Most definitely, he should have been on the first team. But he has one more year, and he'll be the leader."

Waquie ranked ninth in 5A in goals allowed average, giving up 1.74 goals per game while making 39 saves during the year. His place on the second team was an improvement over last year's honorable mention.

"Spenser played in the field his first year and a half," Aguirre said. "We needed a goalie, and he stepped in. He works extremely hard. He has a nice punt. He's always in the correct position. He's one of our team captains that knew how to lead."

McAda had four goals and two assists during the season, as Aguirre said this was the first year he really had a set position.

"McAda was kind of a man without a position," Aguirre said. "He needed to be more productive this year; he played in the middle of the field. He was aggressive, moving the ball. He had one of the prettiest goals we had this year on a volley over the keeper. He was a leader."

Muñoz helped Loveless and Waquie anchor the defense, and he even scored a goal. He was also on the 5-5A second team last year.

Junior forward Jose Jaime-Rodriguez and sophomore defender Levi Allen earned honorable mention, making Allen the third Tiger defender to be honored, along with Loveless and Muñoz.

"That speaks volumes about the defense, which also includes Larry Morales and Daniel Muñoz-De La Cruz," Aguirre said. "Without those guys, we wouldn't have only had 20 goals allowed. It was a whole team effort. Our defense played extremely well."

Jaime-Rodriguez led the team in points with 16, as he had six goals and four assists during the year.

"Jose Jaime is going to be a real good player," Aguirre said. "He was our leading scorer. He was aggressive. He put the ball on goal accurately. He started the majority of our games. He's going to be a real good player next year being a senior."

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