Soccer: Balderas steps up for Mounties

ROGERS -- Ruben Balderas has come up with a lot of big stops for Rogers High this season.

But opponents also have to keep an eye on Balderas' offensive skills as well.

Profile

Ruben Balderas

School: Rogers High

Class: Senior

Position: Keeper

Notable: The senior recently recorded an assist while playing keeper in a 2-1 win against Springdale. … Became the Mounties keeper midway through last season.

In the Mounties' 2-1 win against Springdale High last week, Balderas, the team's keeper, came up with save after save as Rogers took another step toward competing for a 7A-West Conference championship. But the senior also had a hand in one of the Mounties' goals.

After coming up with a save, Balderas noticed that all but one of the Springdale players were deep in the Mounties' end of the field. So, he boomed a kick down field that Jorge Zamarron took in for a score and gave the Mounties' keeper a rare assist.

"I was surprised about it," Balderas said. "I didn't think the kick was going to make it that far. It is probably one of the longer assists you can have in high school. There was only one defender in the back so I just decided to go for it. The kick was probably about 80 yards. That was my first assist, and probably my last."

Mounties coach Stephen Peck said a strong leg is just one of Balderas' strengths. He had two key stops in penalty kicks as Rogers defeated Fayetteville in a conference game earlier this season.

"Ruben is very good at communicating with the players out on the field," Peck said. "He does a good job of cutting angles off, and he is always mentally in the game. He is never out of it. He is also very, very quick. Ruben has stepped up and played very well for us.

"Ruben is a very talented keeper for us."

Balderas took over in goal midway through last season and helped the Mounties to the Class 7A State Tournament where they advanced to the quarterfinals. Balderas then had to win the job again this season, and said that competition has made him a better keeper.

"I was kind of nervous last year because it was my first time playing varsity," Balderas said. "But after we started winning and I got the experience back there, I was a lot more comfortable. I knew what I was doing. This year, the challenge has made me try hard in every practice. I just want to impress the coaches and my teammates."

Balderas' younger brother, Alex, is usually on the field at the same time as a center midfielder. In fact, Rogers usually has three sets of brothers on the field at the same time as Alex and Wilson Valdez and Jorge and Jacob Zamarron are also starters.

"It's neat how it is a family situation out on the field," Peck said. "It makes the team that much closer. As a team, we are starting to click and the players never get down."

Balderas didn't play as a sophomore in order to concentrate on his academic work, and he said being part of the team has helped him become a better student.

"School is first now," Balderas said. "Playing soccer has helped me motivate me to do well in school."

And that is good news for the Mounties.

Paul Nielsen can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @nwapaul

Sports on 04/05/2015

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