It was a history-making season for senior Diego Reyes and his Spanish River boys soccer team.
Reyes was a team captain for the Sharks (17-2-1) and scored a team-leading 19 goals and dished out 13 assists from his attacking center midfield position.
“When I first got to [Spanish] River, it really wasn’t known for soccer,” Reyes said. Spanish River won its only boys state title in 1997. “This was a special year for us because it showed how much our hard work paid off these last four years. We made it back to the final four for the first time in 24 years.
“It was disheartening that we lost,” added Reyes, whose team lost 3-1 to the eventual state champion, Naples Gulf Coast. “Looking back at the season, we have a lot to be proud of. We had the school, the staff, classmates…everybody was rooting for us.”
Reyes, whose career highlight was scoring five goals in one half in an 8-0 rout against John I. Leonard this season, signed to play with Wofford College in South Carolina.
“I never scored five goals in a 11v11 game ever,” grinned Ramos.
The Sharks last won a district championship in 2005. They were district runner-up last year and fought all the way back only to lose in the regional finals to Boca Raton, 2-0. This year marked the second straight season the Sharks lost to the eventual state champions.
Spanish River coach Stephen Cochran called Reyes “a fantastic player with a great attitude.”
“He was a leader for our team, bringing passion to every training and game, looking after his teammates, energizing our team when we were struggling, and leading our team with goals and assists,” Cochran said. “Diego’s respect for the game, the players, and the opponents were noticed by everyone on and off the field. He started for us every game for four years and was the key element in our rise to success.”
