Missouri Military Academy soccer’s stronger team this season had several reasons why.
Eight of those reasons were recognized this week with postseason awards in Class 1 District 4 as eight …
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Missouri Military Academy soccer’s stronger team this season had several reasons why.
Eight of those reasons were recognized this week with postseason awards in Class 1 District 4 as eight Colonels made the all-district team. Jose Orozco, Carlos Ontiveros and Avin Hernandez made the first team; goalkeeper Joseph Roach, Aaron Gonzalez Rodriguez and Gabriel Rodriguez Sanchez were second team; and Eric Shellabarger and Alexander McBride were honorable mentions.
The only other team in the district to have more honorees was the champion Father Tolton and its nine players. MMA head coach Elliot Goodwin said the eight Colonels are the most all-district players MMA has had in his coaching tenure, and having this many award-worthy players was why the program won its most games since 2018 with a 13-7 record.
“Our cadets show growth as individuals on the soccer field but it's certainly a team effort that we had eight players acknowledged,” Goodwin said. “Every player on the team this year made a difference, whether they played five minutes, two games or played in every game. We set our team goal high this year, and although we didn’t advance to the state tournament, our individual efforts allowed us to overcome adversity in tough moments.”
Ontiveros and Orozco shared the team lead in goals with seven each and finished with 13 and 12 steals, respectively; defender Avin Hernandez finished with 19 steals and had a goal; Roach made 104 saves and posted a 1.73 goals against average in his first soccer season; Gonzalez Rodriguez had five goals and a team-high 32 corner kicks; Rodriguez Sanchez finished with four goals; Shellabarger had the second-most 22 steals and scored a goal; and McBride finished with four goals, nine steals and an assist.
I needed everyone in the squad to give their maximum input and the direct result of that is us gaining eight players on the all-district team as well as excelling on the field this year,” Goodwin said. “Hopefully, this turns into a consistent pattern as we carry momentum from this year into next.”
