Sweet 16: These Jacksonville area boys soccer players have stood out the most
Area boys soccer teams are gearing up for the stretch run with teams such as Croatan and Jacksonville looking to contend for conference titles and others like Dixon, Northside and Swansboro trying to stay in contention. These teams and others have their fair share of standout players.
Here is a look at who has stood out the most so far:
Cam Askins, Jacksonville: The senior leads the balanced Cardinals in scoring with nine goals and two assists. He has scored a goal five times in competitive matches.
Gavin Beaupre, Croatan: The senior is taking advantage of his return to the Cougars after he missed last year because he played ECNL last year. He has nine goals and six assists, including two goals in a 2-1 victory over Swansboro last week.
Victor Campos, East Duplin: The senior has been his team's most consistent defender.
Ethan Davis, Dixon: The senior has four goals and four assists as a central attacking midfielder.
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Landon Diaz, Richlands: The senior has eight of his team’s 19 goals and he has five assists.
Tanner Farner, White Oak: The sophomore is showing that his freshman season effort with 18 goals was no fluke as he has 12 goals and five assists to help lead the improved Vikings.
Steven Floyd, Swansboro: The senior continues to lead the area in scoring with 27 goals and five assists. He had 25 goals in the first nine games, but opposing teams have begun game planning for him.
Jack Leary, Jacksonville: The senior has returned from an ACL injury to lead the Cardinals’ defense, but he also showed an ability to score when he recorded a hat trick in a 3-2 overtime win over Northside last week.
Danny Metcalf, Croatan: The senior isn’t the assist machine he was when he set a school record with 15 in the Cougars’ state championships season in the spring of 2021, but he continues to be a dangerous player with six goals.
Caleb Morton, Jacksonville Christian Academy: The junior has 25 goals and 15 assists to lead the Conquerors, who are 12-0-1, including a tie against Southwest and a win over Lejeune.
Drew Pittman, Swansboro: The senior has 51 saves in 14 matches with five shutouts and five others games allowing one goal.
Alex Ramson, White Oak: The junior compliments Farner with seven goals and eight assists.
Kaiden Smith, Northside: The junior has emerged as one of the area’s best offensive players with eight goals and nine assists.
Christopher Teachey, Southwest: The senior continues to show why he has been all-area has he has 10 goals and three assists.
Darrick Zhang, Northside: The senior is a consistent scorer with 12 goals in 14 matches.
Kyle Gileta, Dixon: The senior center back is the defensive leader for the Bulldogs, who have five shutouts, including last week’s 1-0 win over Swansboro.
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at chris.miller@jdnews.com. Follow him on twitter @jdnsports.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: 16 standout Jacksonville area boys soccer players so far in 2022
