Deer Valley soccer dedicates playoff run to teammate fighting leukemia
Sophomore goalkeeper Mateo Vargas made an emotional return to Glendale Deer Valley's soccer field on Monday night, after being diagnosed with leukemia earlier this season.
With his immune system compromised after a fifth round of chemotherapy, Mateo was wearing a mask. But his father, Jason, could see what his son was feeling as teammates and coaches surrounded him with love, before the 1-0 loss to Phoenix Barry Goldwater.
"I think he's turned the corner," Jason said of his son. "He was super excited to be at the game. He's wearing a mask, because his immune system is compromised. But you can see that he is smiling beneath that mask."
The next day, Mateo was back in the hospital due to an infection. But he's fighting. He's winning. And he won't be denied any chance he can get to remain a part of this Deer Valley team that is pushing for a state playoff spot at 8-5-1.
Senior forward Gibson Ulrich volunteered to move to the goalie position five games ago after 16-year-old Vargas was first diagnosed with leukemia. He also designed "Mateo Strong" T-shirts to sell at the school to give back to the family.
"You try to figure out what you can do to help him," said Ulrich, one of the team captains. "He's young. We want to help him and his family any way we can. We immediately started thinking of fund raisers, anything possible."
Vargas' journey to recovery will be long and hard, filled with ups and downs. He won't be able to play anymore this season. He's not expected to be back in school until next October.
About three weeks ago Vargas collided with a teammate in practice, and was feeling woozy, said coach Jason Schrier.
"I texted his dad, and said, 'Just a heads up, Mateo took a little shot, just keep an eye on him,'" Schrier said. "The next day he called me and said, 'Hey, Mateo woke up the next day, he was vomiting.'
"We thought he had a bad concussion. They did a CAT scan and everything looked normal. They did some blood work, and that's when they found that."
Jason Vargas called it "a blessing in disguise."
He said his son's blood work is looking better after attacking the leukemia with chemo. There is much more to do, but his spirits are improving and he's got a community supporting him.
The family is thankful for the prayers and the way the community, including the team, the school and the Deer Valley Unified District, have come together with support.
Vargas was the starting goalie as a freshman when the Skyhawks won their 4A play-in game and first round of the state playoff tournament, before losing.
"He's amazing," Schrier said. "Great bunch of kids. They're rallied around him a lot."
Junior captain Tristan Lee, along with Ulrich, play club soccer with Vargas. They would get together and practice together during the offseason.
Lee has tried to pick up the offensive slack with Ulrich moving to goalie.
"He's a great player on top," Lee said of Ulrich. "Mateo is a great player on the field, too. But he's been doing his best in goal.
"We're trying to do as much as we can for him."
What Vargas is going through makes the players realize how there are bigger things in life than soccer.
"It's bigger than just a game," Lee said. "This is his health. People are appreciating things on the field more."
Ulrich said they had a reason to play before, but "this gives us more meaning to our game."
"We use this as motivation to stay serious and focus on ourselves for our games," he said.
Ulrich and Lee talked about how expressive and outgoing Vargas is, how he was a natural leader.
"He's a great human," Lee said. "He's someone you would love to hang out with outside of this sport."
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deer Valley soccer rallies around teammate fighting leukemia
