BOYS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Correction
A previous version of this story had a subheadline that misstated Leo Araujo's school. The error has been corrected.
LEO ARAUJO, SPRINGDALE HIGH
Leo Araujo was still 50 yards away from the goal when he received a pass from a teammate. Didn’t matter, the Springdale portion of the crowd at the state quarterfinal match against Fort Smith Northside stood up en masse, an excited murmur running through the stands.
“I just like playing one-on-one,” Araujo said. “Every time I have the ball, (the crowd) knows I’m trying to score.”
Araujo wound up scoring all three of Springdale’s goals in a 3-2 win that day as the Bulldogs beat a Northside team regarded as arguably the most talented in the state. It was the senior forward’s third hat trick of the year, accounting for three of the team-high 21 goals he scored for the 7A-West champion and eventual state runner-up.
He’d been voted the conference’s co-Most Valuable Player and honored with all-state and all-conference recognition before the state tournament, but the Northside performance only drove home his value. It also caused coaches from Springdale Har-Ber and Bentonville to mark him the next two matches, determined not to let him beat them.
That was easier said than done for most opponents, most of the year as Araujo went from scoring six goals as a junior to the most feared offensive player in the conference. He announced his arrival with a five-goal performance in Springdale’s 5-0 shutout win over Bentonville. He scored three goals in a win over Fort Smith Southside. He scored the only goal in a shutout regular-season win over Northside. And he scored the goal that clinched the conference title late in a match against Rogers High.
He was a constant driving force behind Springdale’s success.
“(Scoring) was mainly my job when I had the ball on the right side,” Araujo said. “Everyone knows, my team too. When I would take it on the right side, they would know I would never want to drop the ball. I like attacking. I don’t like calming down to play. I just like making the other team nervous about us having the ball.”
He did that plenty.
-Jimmy Carter
BOYS SOCCER NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
JOSE VEGA, SPRINGDALE HIGH
Jose Vega isn’t just any freshman. The 5-foot-6 midfielder came to Springdale High with a built-in reputation. That’s the territory that comes with being the cousin of Bulldog legend and current Valparaiso standout Nelson Landaverde, who helped lead Springdale to the 2012 state championship.
Vega played a key role in almost bringing home another title this year, as Springdale won the 7A-West Conference and made it to the state title game only to lose to Bentonville, a team it had beaten twice during the regular season. Despite his diminutive size and relative inexperience, Vega was a full-time starter and valuable contributor for the Bulldogs. He earned all-conference honors for his role, which included scoring six goals.
“I didn’t expect to get a lot of playing time,” Vega said. “Some people would talk a little bit of trash because I was a freshman and I was small, but it didn’t affect me.”
He had his share of big moments as a freshman, including scoring a key firsthalf goal that helped pave the way for a 2-1 semifinal win over crosstown rival Springdale Har-Ber and a place in the championship game. Expect more big plays and key contributions from him the next three years.
-Jimmy Carter
BOYS SOCCER COACH OF THE YEAR
CHRISTHIAN SAAVEDRA, ROGERS HERITAGE
Rogers Heritage failed to make the Class 7A state tournament in Christhian Saavedra’s initial season as boys soccer coach, but the War Eagles sure made huge changes this season.
Heritage vaulted from next to last in the 7A-West Conference to a second-place finish, including a win over state champion Bentonville.
The 25-year-old said the positive results on the field made it easier for the players to buy in to his system. He pointed to the benefit game to open the season against Harrison as a good example. Heritage edged the Goblins 2-1 a year ago, but routed them 10-0 this season.
“Little steps like that helped for them to buy in,” Saavedra said.
“When a team struggles as much as they did, they are hungry to not go through that again. They will run through a wall to not end up like we ended up last year. These kids were hungry. I never had to ask them twice to work hard. That’s why we had the season we had.”
The War Eagles finished 13-9 and lost a tough 4-3 overtime match to crosstown rival Rogers High in the state quarterfinals.
Saavedra loses just three regulars and is looking for more good things next season.
-Paul Boyd