Advertisement

Vandegrift sweeps top awards on the 2024 All-Central Texas boys soccer team

colby gordon, austin american-statesman
·5 min read
Vandegrift midfielder Emmy Aranda capped his four-year starting career by leading the Vipers to the UIL state soccer tournament. He scored 23 goals and had nine assists.
Vandegrift midfielder Emmy Aranda capped his four-year starting career by leading the Vipers to the UIL state soccer tournament. He scored 23 goals and had nine assists.

Player of the year: Emmy Aranda, Vandegrift

A brilliant midfielder, Aranda finished with impressive numbers of 23 goals and nine assists in helping the Vipers to the District 25-6A title, the program’s first state tournament appearance and a 22-3-2 overall record. With no weaknesses, the senior was a nightmare for opponents to deal with at any point on the field. The four-year starter was voted district MVP.

Newcomer of the year: Luke Hawley, Vandegrift

Hawley burst onto the Austin-area soccer scene with 16 goals and four assists to help the Vipers to the District 25-6A title and a playoff run to the state tournament.

Coach of the year: Jonathan Winship, Vandegrift

Winship led the Vipers to the District 25-6A title and the program’s first appearance in the state tournament. Vandegrift finished with an impressive record of 22-3-2.

Vandegrift coach Jonathan Winship led the Vipers to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
Vandegrift coach Jonathan Winship led the Vipers to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

First team

F: Griffin Crawley, sr., Bowie: Led the Bulldogs’ attack with 25 goals and 12 assists and was a big reason they won District 26-6A, advanced to the regional quarterfinals and finished 22-1-2.

F: Lawrence Doe, sr., Connally: Terrorized defenses for the third straight year with 31 goals and 13 assists as the Cougars won District 23-5A and went to the second round of the playoffs. He's Connally’s career leader in goals and points.

F: Martin Valdes, sr., Georgetown: A dynamic scorer who finished with eye-popping numbers of 41 goals and 10 assists. The District 23-5A MVP scored in the Eagles’ final 17 games and finished as Georgetown’s all-time leader in goals, points and single-season scoring.

MF: Jake Ciccarello, sr., Bowie: Finished with 11 goals and an impressive 22 assists and was one of the reasons Bowie won District 26-6A, won two playoff games and had only one loss with a 22-1-2 record.

Bowie's Jake Ciccarello, dribbling against Westlake in February, had 22 assists to go with his 11 goals.
Bowie's Jake Ciccarello, dribbling against Westlake in February, had 22 assists to go with his 11 goals.

MF: Tito Don Juan, jr., Glenn: Had 25 goals and 23 assists and led the Grizzlies to the District 25-5A title, the program’s first appearance in the state tournament and a 29-1-1 record.

MF: Nuhan Mahmud, sr., Round Rock: Tallied 18 goals and eight assists to pace the Dragons’ return to the Class 6A playoffs.

MF: Emmy Aranda, sr., Vandegrift: Our boys player of the year capped his career in style with 23 goals and nine assists.

DEF: Rory Jacops, sr, Vandegrift: A tough center back who could also distribute with high quality, he led a defense that gave up only 18 goals.

DEF: Austin Bint, sr., Rouse: The District 25-5A defender of the year led the Raiders back to the playoffs as a strong center back who helped engineer 11 shutouts.

DEF: Karsten Albrecht, sr., Bowie: The District 26-6A defender of the year also contributed nine goals off set pieces.

GK: Keller Marchant, jr., Glenn: Recorded an astounding 18 shutouts and helped Glenn to the District 25-5A title, a run to the state tournament and a final record of 29-1-1.

Glenn junior Tito Don Juan, holding the District 25-5A championship trophy, had 25 goals and 23 assists to help the Grizzlies to the Class 5A state tournament.
Glenn junior Tito Don Juan, holding the District 25-5A championship trophy, had 25 goals and 23 assists to help the Grizzlies to the Class 5A state tournament.

Second team

F: J Mossholder, sr., Vista Ridge: Finished with 22 goals and four assists for the Rangers, who were second in District 25-6A and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

F: William Fagerberg, sr., Westlake: Tallied 16 goals and five assists for a team that advanced to the third round of the playoffs and finished second in District 26-6A.

F: Vince Rodriguez, sr., Glenn: Part of a brilliant offense, he scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists to help the District 25-5A champions to the state tournament.

MF: Yohannes Heineman, sr., LASA: Produced 15 goals and 13 in assists in only 14 games. Helped the Raptors to an undefeated run through District 24-5A and was its MVP.

LASA's Yohannes Heineman, firing a shot against Northeast in March, contributed 15 goals and 13 in assists in only 14 games.
LASA's Yohannes Heineman, firing a shot against Northeast in March, contributed 15 goals and 13 in assists in only 14 games.

MF: Alexis Salgado, sr., Stony Point: The District 25-6A midfielder of the year finished with 16 goals and eight assists and helped lead the Tigers back to the playoffs.

MF: Eli Walkup, sr., Weiss: The UAB-bound Walkup was clinical in the midfield and helped lead the Wolves to a second-place finish in District 12-6A and a 14-4-3 record.

MF: Orlando Frias, sr., Connally: Finished with an impressive 21 goals and 15 assists and was a big part of the Cougars going undefeated in District 23-5A.

DEF: Alexa Lozoya, sr., Weiss: District 12-6A's defender of the year paced the Wolves’ defense to 11 shutouts and a playoff appearance.

DEF: Speight Twohey, jr., McCallum: Helped the Knights return to the playoffs with seven goals and three assists and was voted District 24-5A defender of the year.

DEF: Christian Vargas, sr., Georgetown: Anchor of a defense that recorded 10 shutouts and allowed only 26 goals. Helped the Eagles go 18-3-5 and advance to the second round of the playoffs.

GK: Charlie Reed, sr., Vandegrift: Allowed only 18 goals in 27 games and had 14 shutouts. Allowed one goal in the Vipers’ first five playoff games and won a shootout in the regional semifinals.

Honorable mention: Akins — Jose Nuñez; Anderson — Jesse Lang; Bowie — Derek York; Del Valle — Octavio Estrada, Daniel Ponce-Jaramillo; Connally — Aaron Olalde; Dripping Springs — Parker Johnson; East View — Julian Barriga, Damian Cantu; Georgetown — JJ Carrillo Jr.; Glenn — Bodie Cheevers, John Gomez; Hendrickson — Yul Kim; Lake Travis — Joldy Diaz, Flynn Jordan; LASA — Owen Rooff; Liberty Hill — Marcello Bravo De Rueda; McCallum — Gus Ehlers; Northeast — Augustine Bitomwa, Roger Amador; Pflugerville — Luis Martinez, Logan Vann; Round Rock — Brody Box; Rouse — Grant Simmons; Stony Point — Karl Jeremiah Theagene; Vandegrift — Yandel Andrade, James Hehman; Vista Ridge — Arthur Santos; Westlake — Yaniv Dajman, Christian Mezas; Westwood — Jack Cox

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Vandegrift's Emmy Aranda leads our All-Central Texas boys soccer team