Led by midfielder Rueben Marquez, the Celebration Storm went undefeated in the regular season, won both district and Orange Belt Conference titles and advanced to regional play.
Marquez scored two goals and five assists this season but more importantly dominated the midfield defensively, as the Storm recorded an 11-1-4 season. It is the latest in a long list of accolades for the senior, who was named to FACA All-State team and earned MVP Honors in the FACA All-Star game.
For these reasons, he is the Osceola News-Gazette Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“Rueben represents Celebration and high school soccer the way it should be represented,” his coach Chad Boudreaux said. “In addition to being a great player, he has an outstanding GPA and does volunteer work both at school and in the community. He has had offers from several colleges and the school that signs him is getting a great player and outstanding individual.”
Marquez is joined on our All-County team by Storm players Nicholas Arce, Julio D’Lima, and his younger brother Edgar Martinez. Arce, a senior goalkeeper, recorded seven clean sheets this season as the Storm allowed just 11 goals in 16 games. A sophomore, D’Lima tied for the team lead with eight goals. Edgar Marquez, a junior, had seven goals and eight assists – leading the Storm with 22 points.
Harmony, 12-7-2, lost in its district championship game but advanced to regionals as an at-large team. They placed four on the All-ONG team, including Conner Cecil, Elijah Delgado, Kevin Lavigne, and Alex Tuyo. All are seniors, except Tuyo – a junior that will return next season.
Gateway midfielder Nikolas Restrepo makes the All-ONG Team as a freshman. The Panthers, who finished the season with a 7-6-3 record, also placed senior striker Anthony Polanco on the team. He finished the season with four goals and four assists.
The Panthers had an up-and-down season, but caught fire in the post-season with wins over Lake Wales and New Smyrna Beach in the district tournament before dropping a 2-2 decision on penalty kicks to Lake Minneola in the district championship. Gateway would give undefeated Gainesville all they would want in a regional quarterfinal game, falling 2-1. The season led to both the Orange Belt Conference and the Osceola News-Gazette to name Sagar Patel as its “Coach of the Year.”
St. Cloud and Tohopekaliga had two players each named to the All-ONG team as Jacob Pare and Yarrel Rodriguez represent the Bulldogs and Sebastian Quijano and Gustavo Casanova were named from the Tigers. Although they saw their seasons end in district tournament play, both St. Cloud (8-5-3) and Tohopekaliga (8-7-2) enjoyed winning seasons.
Rounding out the All-ONG team is Osceola goalie Geranimo Rosero, Poinciana’s Blake Hunt and Liberty’s Davi Das Santos. A senior, Das Santos led the Chargers in scoring with five goals and seven assists.
This year, the All-ONG mirrored the All-OBC team selected by the coaches. “The overall talent level this year in the conference was outstanding,” Boudreaux said. “I would love to coach this team and I would be scared to coach against them.”
