Echeverri led Storm offense

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Echeverri led Storm offense

Sports

Wednesday, 13 April 2011 13:12

News-Gazette Photo/Andrew Sullivan

Celebration’s Santiago Echeverri (2), here battling Osceola’s Allenfredo Santos (6) for the ball, was the hub of the Storm offense.

Senior midfielder guided Celebration to district title

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
Santiago Echeverri, Celebration High School’s center midfielder, was the better player on the soccer field in Osceola County this past season. Period.
For the third year in a row, he was the main cog in the Storm’s attack, leading them to both the Orange Belt Conference and district titles.
But, despite the team qualifying for the Class 4A state tournament — the first for any boys soccer team in the county — his career ended at the District 6 championship game.

Early in the second half of the title game, he retaliated against a Tavares player who had been marking him in what he thought was a rough manner.
“We were beating on each other pretty good in the first half, and there were no calls,” Echeverri said. “Early in the second half, I’m on the ground and he’s stepping on me, so I pushed him away.”
The referee on the spot determined the forearm shiver to be an act of gross misconduct and delivered a red card, which came with an automatic two-week suspension — costing Echeverri his place in the regional playoffs.
“I was devastated because even with a new coach, early in the year the team looked good,” he said.
Coach Julio Machuca said the card and suspension probably weren’t warranted.
“Anytime you lose your leading scorer, the whole team feels the blow,” Machuca said. “He drew attention so others would be open.”
Echeverri had scored earlier in the 4A-6 title game, which the Storm won, 2-1, in overtime. It was the last of his 18 goals; he added eight assists in 14 games. Those numbers, and his leadership, qualified him as the Osceola News-Gazette Boys Soccer Player of the Year for the second season in a row.
Coming of its “best season ever” campaign in 2010 at 17-5, the Storm posted a 16-2-3 mark this year — losing only to nationally-ranked Montverde Academy, an independent powerhouse, and to eventual 4A champion Cape Coral in the state semifinal — despite Echeverri’s scoring numbers being down from 23 goals and 15 assists last season.
Machuca, who came to Celebration over the summer, said he’d heard a lot about Echeverri before seeing him on the field.
“Sometimes the hype doesn’t match the reality, but in this case the hype actually came up short,” Machuca said. “He’s a threat to score whenever he has the ball.”
Echeverri always gave the Storm offense a spark, the coach said.
“He only had one or two games that he didn’t score in. That consistency was his mark. On the other side, he plays very good defense to complement it,” Machuca said.
“I tried to put him in positions to use his skills in the scoring third (of the field). He would keep the ball moving until we had a chance to attack, giving him or whoever had the ball fewer defenders to beat to get to the goal.”
Echeverri said he added another dimension to his game during the season.
“This year I wanted to be better with my left foot, because as a center midfielder you have to have ability with both feet,” he said. “I also worked on having short touches and moving the ball forward.”
He said there were early signs that this would be a special season for the team, which lost in the regional final last year, again to the eventual 4A champion (Mitchell).
“As the season went on we adjusted and became a team, a strong team. We played together, almost from memory,” he said.
Celebration’s season ended against Cape Coral, a 4-0 loss. Echeverri said he did everything he could to support his team in the playoffs, and while he was excited for his team to be playing for a state title, it was extremely hard to just sit and watch.
“When I’m in there I like to talk and fix things on the field we do wrong,” he said. “We started out great, but once they got their first goal, it went downhill fast.”
Machuca said for about a week after that game, he’d replay it in his mind, with Echeverri running the offense.
“That was one game that we sure could have used him,” he said.
“With the attention he drew, he took the pressure off other players. And, the bigger the game or situation, the better he played.”
Echeverri said he’s happy with the body of work he compiled in four varsity seasons at Celebration.
“I feel really good about it,” he said. “We won three OBCs and three district titles, including the first one for our school.”
Echeverri is considering a soccer scholarship offer from Florida Gulf Coast University. He’s playing with the St. Cloud Soccer Club U-19 squad to condition for it.
“I know I’ll have to get used to harder, stronger training. It’s a whole different step up,” he said. “I know I’m going to have to hit the weights and learn to be patient with the ball.”