Houston Area HS Boys Team to Watch: Seven Lakes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school soccer season is back in Texas as since the middle of December, teams from the Lone Star State have been active in scrimmages and non-district matches as they prepare for the start of the matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a lot of fine-tuning to be done between now and the start of January, when district matches will begin, and we at Prep Soccer Texas are excited to follow another season of play and report on the top teams and individual standouts in our state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we prepare for the start of what should be another exciting four months of high school soccer in Texas, we'll feature some teams from the Houston area that could be poised for strong seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seven Lakes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first program to win 6A titles in back-to-back years in Texas, the Seven Lakes Spartans from Katy will be the team to beat in the upcoming season. Repeating their season record of 25-1-2 will be a challenge as Seven Lakes graduated many of their key players, namely MVP midfielder Aidan Morrison, goalkeeper Benjamin Aviles Vera, outside backs Fernando Lazo and Diego Flamengo, winger Daniel Ejerenwa and striker Noa Stasic, and compete in a strong District 19. But the Spartans continue to have a solid core, counting on junior Tomas Garcia in goal, senior [player_tooltip player_id='16578' first='Noah' last='Peterson'] and junior Josua Taylor in the backline, juniors [player_tooltip player_id='90220' first='Gael' last='Gonzalez'] and David Aguillon in midfield and senior [player_tooltip player_id='56106' first='Kortay' last='Koc'] and junior Carlos Martinez in attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Players</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["56106"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67587c7a46a8e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The dynamic forward will be the focal point of Seven Lakes' offense this season and his play will have a major impact on what the team does when in possession. Expect Koc to have full freedom to move around in the final third in his skill set gives him the ability to make the most of it as he's very dangerous around the penalty box with his ability to beat opponents off the dribble and finish from distance. Koc is very technical and quick with his actions and can cause damage in attack either by making solo runs or combining with his teammates. The Spartan's all-time leading goalscorer, Koc is also an elite finisher, who can score from anywhere inside and around the penalty box.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGXE-5LJ2E","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGXE-5LJ2E </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["16578"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67587c7a46aee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The senior center back will anchor the team's backline this season and will have a major role in leading their renovated defensive system. A physical player, Peterson is very strong in the air and can dominate the penalty box, clearing balls and winning duels efficiently. The defender also has good mobility and does a solid job of defending away from the penalty box, reading opposing attackers efficiently and taking up their space. Peterson is also very calm and efficient on the ball and his quality when in possession has been a perfect fit with the Spartans' playing style over the last few years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXDh8otgIpA","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXDh8otgIpA </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Tomas Garcia","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"100","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Seven Lakes","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Rangers","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67587c7a46bbb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Garcia will have big shoes to fill as the graduated Aviles Vera has been one of the pillars of the Spartans over his high school career and came up big for them in key moments. The junior got some playing time last season in preparation for the transition and responded well, showing interesting skills and a calm attitude between the posts. Garcia has good size, and strong reflexes and is used to playing at a high level for both his high school and club teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":162900,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/02/IMG_1636.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-162900" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cinco Ranch vs. Seven Lakes</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->