Introducing The News-Press 2024 All-Area Boys Soccer Team sponsored by Babcock Ranch
At the end of each season, The News-Press selects All-Area teams honoring the best athletes for every sport. Coaches from area schools are sent nomination forms and are asked to nominate and rank their athletes as well as those from other teams. That data combined with The News-Press' research led to the selection of the All-Area teams.
FIRST TEAM
Mario Acosta
School: Oasis
Year: Senior
Highlights: Acosta has often been the reason why the Sharks win games, as a 22-goal, 7-assist season helped Oasis finish 5-8-4. The senior had a hand in 29 of the team's 47 goals (61.7%), helping them advance to the Class 3A-District 8 title game.
Anthony Becker
School: Bishop Verot
Year: Junior
Highlights: The junior defender often was a presence on both the attacking and defensive end for the Vikings, as Becker finished with 10 goals and 6 assists to help Verot advance to the Class 3A-Region 2 semifinals.
Sami Bedoya
School: Mariner
Year: Senior
Highlights: A near-consensus first-team selection for the third straight year, Bedoya's backline play resulted in a goals-per-game average of 1.33, including nine shutouts. Offensively Bedoya was involved, scoring 6 goals while adding 8 assists as the Tritons won the district and made a regional quarterfinal appearance.
Raul Blandon
School: Bishop Verot
Year: Junior
Highlights: Blandon was a key piece in the midfield for the Vikings, who won their sixth consecutive district title while winning the Private 8 for the first time in program history. The junior ended with 8 goals and 11 assists, as Verot finished with an 11-6-1 record.
Thomas Castano
School: Mariner
Year: Junior
Highlights: Castano was an impressive facilitator in the midfield for Mariner, scoring 5 goals while adding 2 assists to help the Tritons finish 17-7-3. The junior's goals came against quality competition, which included Naples, Immokalee, North Fort Myers, and Palmetto Ridge.
Elliot DeCosta
School: Fort Myers
Year: Senior
Highlights: DeCosta's backline play was a big reason why the Green Wave's defense was elite, as the program allowed less than a goal per game on the year with nine shutouts. The senior added 1 goal and 1 assist as Fort Myers made it to the regional finals in Class 6A.
Dusty Dwyer
School: Canterbury
Year: Junior
Highlights: The junior was an integral part of Canterbury's success in the midfield, finishing with 2 goals and 7 assists as the Cougars advanced to the Class 2A-Region 3 final for the fourth straight season.
Jack Krzeminski
School: Fort Myers
Year: Junior
Highlights: The play in net for the Green Wave was beyond impressive as the junior allowed nine goals with eight shutouts. His goals allowed average per game of .809 was the fewest of any goalkeeper in Southwest Florida this season.
Erwin Navarro
School: Fort Myers
Year: Senior
Highlights: If Navarro isn't up top for the Green Wave this season, they don't make it to the regional finals. His play at forward was critical, as he scored goals against Ida Baker and Immokalee in districts, along with game-winning goals against Wharton and Sunlake in the regional playoffs to send Fort Myers to a regional final. He finished with 16 goals and 3 assists this season.
Issac Sandoval
School: Mariner
Year: Senior
Highlights: The defender helped anchor a backline that allowed just north of 1.3 goals per game against a solid schedule, adding 4 goals and 2 assists as Mariner ended with another district championship and a playoff appearance.
Ryan Thompson
School: Gateway
Year: Senior
Highlights: The speedy and dynamic forward played a big role in Gateway's 11-5-2 finish, as Thompson scored 19 goals while adding 6 assists. The Eagles made the postseason for the second consecutive season, as the senior accounted for over half of Gateway's offensive attack.
Reed Verblaauw
School: Ida Baker
Year: Junior
Highlights: Verblaauw carried an Ida Baker team that was competitive in all but one game this season, as the junior posted 14 goals while adding 6 assists as the Bulldogs made it to the Class 6A-District 12 semifinals with an 8-5-6 record.
SECOND TEAM
Johnny Garcia, Dunbar
Maximo Gorosito, Mariner
Uriyah Harness, Canterbury
Daniel Jonuskis, Fort Myers
Lukas Jonuskis, Fort Myers
Elvis Medina, LaBelle
Andres Monge, Bishop Verot
Dylan Padilla, Ida Baker
Kaya Peterson, North Fort Myers
Arlan Romero-Gomez, Lehigh
Nicholas Scalise, North Fort Myers
Josh Wiese, Canterbury
HONORABLE MENTION
Bishop Verot: Ty Kolaczynski, Von Schwierking, Brody Wilson
Cape Coral: Christian Hernandez, Juan Limpias, Adel Zammar
Canterbury: Diego Bazan, Zach Bevington, Will Hall
Cypress Lake: Saidjamol Goyzjel, Jacob Miburn, Caua Morais
East Lee County: Jeshua De Jesus, Thiago Italia, Benito Nehemias
Estero: Dominic Discenza, Anthony Pando, Walberto Perez
Evangelical Christian: Charles Beutler, Nicholas Fleming, Talon Magner
Fort Myers: Brandon Gomez, Gabriel Palijan, Alex Tabarez
Gateway: Santiago Facio, Connor Rees, Brandon Toscano
Ida Baker: Bryce Bruni, Santiago Gonzalez, Cooper Siefert
Island Coast: Rahiem Buckley, Nick Orelus, Diego Quiroz
LaBelle: Diego Avila, Zachary Campbell, Ferlandy Montejo
Lehigh: Robert Cocom, Lens Dorlys, Marc Rovens Pierre
Mariner: Hugo Cruz, Justin Medero, Lucas Tarra
North Fort Myers: Santiago Carcamo, Lucas Castillo, Meyer Erickson
Oasis: Caden Bly, Vitor Marcolino, Nicholas Odar
Riverdale: Brycen Childers, Sebastian Gonzales-Perales, Nicolas Rodriguez
South Fort Myers: Enzo Elias, Donovan Perez-Cornel, Ibraell Silva Tanure
SFCA: Forrest McDaniel, Grant Stauffer, Nick Yianoukos
COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Reid
School: Fort Myers
Highlights: Despite losing a total of 15 seniors off of last year's roster, the results often stayed the same for Reid and the Greenies. Fort Myers finished with a 13-2-4 record, a regional final appearance in Class 6A-Region 3, and allowed the fewest goals of anyone in the area despite having a top-10 strength of schedule in Southwest Florida.
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: The News-Press 2024 All-Area Boys Soccer Team sponsored by Babcock Ranch
