West All-America roster led by trio of national recruits
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Two Indiana commits and a player bound for NCAA College Cup participant Clemson highlight a star-studded West roster in this year’s High School Boys Soccer All-America Game, which will be played Saturday in Charleston, S.C. Game time is 1 p.m.…
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Continue ReadingTwo Indiana commits and a player bound for NCAA College Cup participant Clemson highlight a star-studded West roster in this year’s High School Boys Soccer All-America Game, which will be played Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
Game time is 1 p.m. and the live stream will be available on PrepSoccer.com. The boys game starts after the completion of the girls match, which is slated for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Here’s a look at the West roster:
The Clemson-bound Geromel scored a state-record 56 goals to lead Maize South to the Class 5A state title in 2023. As a junior, Geromel netted 42 goals in another state title run. Overall, he ended his career with 130 goals and 44 assists.
The Illinois Boys Soccer Player of the Year for 2023 is headed to perennial power Indiana, which reached the NCAA quarterfinals this past season. Bogard was a three-time all-state honoree following a career where he scored 91 goals and added 45 assists.
Gaydosh, who has committed to Indiana, is a two-time GWOC and District Player of the Year and two-time all-state selection. The defender ended with 23 goals and 10 assists for his career.
Highlights
Anelson Azard
Anelson Azard
Azard netted 73 goals and had 20 assists during a four-year varsity career. He is a two-time all-state selection, earning first-team honors in 2023. He helped Pike to back-to-back section titles in 2022 and 2023.
Dominic Bartoni
Dominic Bartoni
Bartoni earned the honor as Missouri Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. The 2023 awards have yet to be announced. He finished with 48 goals and 10 assists while playing in the ultra competitive St. Louis Metro Conference.
Berhauer has named the Wisconsin Player of the Year after helped Brookfield East to the state final. The Wisconsin-Milwaukee commit is a two-time all-state selection. He ended his career with 13 goals and 19 assists.
Emmett Brown
Emmett Brown
Brown earned Minnesota Class AAA Mr. Soccer honors for 2023. The two-time all-state honoree also was named the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year for 2023.He scored 38 goals and had 23 assists for his career.
Esube Byoke
Esube Byoke
Byoke is a two-time Class 3 all-state selection, and this past fall he guided KC East to a state title. In 2022, the team finished as the state runner-up.
Cooper was a key part in a defense that rolled off 24 straight shutouts, which ended in a state final, shootout loss to St. Ignatius. The Xavier commit was a first-team all-state selection. He also played for the 2022 US Youth Soccer national title-winning club team.
Highlights
Ryker Corstange
Ryker Corstange
Corstange is a two-time all-state honoree for perennial state title contender Gull Lake. A career highlight was scoring the game-winning goal in the 2022 state title game. During his four years on varsity, Gull Lake won two titles and finished once as the runner-up. He ended his career with 56 goals and 71 assists.
The Drake commit was named the Sunflower League Defensive Player of the Year. He is a two-time all-league first-team selection, and he played for Olthe West’s 2021 state title team and its 2022 state runner-up squad. He was named to ECNL All-American this past summer.
Alex Drexler
Alex Drexler
Drexler posted 32 career shutouts in high school. He was the Class 4 all-state goalkeeper of the year. The 2023 honors have yet to be announced. He is a three-time all-conference selection holds school records for most wins, shutouts and saves.
Teddy Franke
Teddy Franke
A two-time all-state honoree, Franke was a key part of Rockhurst Jesuit’s perfect 25-0 season. He led the team to its third straight state title. He plays club soccer for Sporting Blue Valley Academy and has been the team captain the past six years. In addition, Sporting Blue Valley has won the state cup title the past two years.
Grant Locker
Grant Locker
Locker is a two-time all-state honoree and three-time All-Metro pick at SLUH, a perennial Missouri power. He was named the state’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. He ended his career with 60 goals and 22 assists.
Aron Martinez Melendez
Aron Martinez Melendez
Melendez scored 85 goals and added 43 assists during a stellar four-year varsity career. He was an honorable mention all-state pick in 2021 and first-team selection the past two years. He holds the school record for career goals.
Jack Maust
Jack Maust
Maust was a two-time all-state selection in Ohio’s Division I. He also was a three-time all-conference pick and two-time all-district selection. He ended his career with 27 goals and 18 assists.
Ethan Otto
Ethan Otto
Otto netted 29 goals as a junior to help Faith Lutheran to a state title. He ended his career with 61 goals and 21 assists. Nevada’s 2023 awards have yet to be announced, but Otto figures to be a repeat all-state selection.
Poppell, who has committed to Air Force, led Archbishop Moeller to a dominating season. After breaking the school record with 21 goals in 2022, Poppell upped the mark to 23 in the 2023 campaign. He was named the Ohio Division I Player of the Year. He is a four-time all-conference selection and two-time first-team all-state pick, which is rare in the highly competitive Ohio Division I ranks.
Highlights
The Loyola-Chicago commit was named the Sunflower League Midfielder of the Year in 2023. He is a three-time all-state pick and helped Shawnee Mission East to back-to-back regional titles in 2022 and 2023. He had 38 career goals and 30 assists.
The Western Michigan commit scored 98 career goals and added 38 assists. Smith was selected to the Michigan Dream Team for 2023 and was named the Division 1 Offensive Player of the Year. After earning second-team all-state honors in 2021, he has been a back-to-back first-team pick in 2022 and 2023. He set school records for goals (98), goals in a season (37), assists in a season (15) and career assists (37).
Cole Thompson
Cole Thompson
Thompson was named the Indiana Player of the Year for 2023, a rare honor for a goalkeeper. He was part of three straight state titles for Noblesville’s powerhouse program. He recorded 23 career shutouts.
Caden Wait
Caden Wait
Wait was named the Class 5A Defender of the Year in 2023 after helping Maize South to a second straight state title. He is a two-time all-metro performer.