2014 MANTECA BULLETIN ALL-AREA BOYS SOCCER TEAM
STRIKER OF THE YEAR
• Marcus Montano, Manteca senior: Montano gets this distinction for a third straight year after notching 27 goals and 15 assists, both career highs. His four-year career totals are astounding (80 goals, 40 assists), and he played in all 95 of Manteca’s games since 2011.
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
• Anis Guedoir, Sierra senior: His numbers (eight goals, five assists) won’t jump off the page, but the physically-imposing Guedoir started out the season as a wing defender. No matter the position or the opponent, there was no denying he was one of the most dominant players on the pitch.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
• Victor Munoz, Weston Ranch senior: Munoz stood out on the pitch with his big, curly locks, but even more so with his game. If defense wins championships then Munoz and the Cougars are proof of it. They allowed 25 goals in 29 matches en route to their first VOL and SJS Division IV titles.
FORWARDS
• Jason Maravilla, Manteca senior: Transformed his body in the offseason and his production (15 goals, 14 assists) took off.
• Hector Maldonado, Weston Ranch senior: Accumulated 19 goals and 11 assists while providing the Cougars a much-needed secondary source for scoring over the past two years.
• Gerardo Romero, East Union junior: The speedy Romero led the Lancers’ turnaround season with 14 goals and six assists.
• Travis Vander Molen, Ripon Christian junior: No one was better in the air than this 6-foot-2 multi-sport standout, whose 24 goals ranked him third in the Manteca area.
MIDFIELDERS
• Noah Lehmann, Ripon senior: After not playing his junior year, the versatile Lehmann returned to shine as the Indians’ leading scorer with 17 goals.
• Kevin Medina, Weston Ranch junior: In the most loaded midfield in the area, Medina (10 goals, nine assists) was one of the most productive.
• Kevin Rodriguez, Manteca junior: Skillful attacking midfielder had 14 goals and 10 assists in second varsity campaign.
• Danny Vander Molen, Ripon Christian senior: One of three four-year players on the all-area team, Vander Molen posted 12 goals and 17 assists, many of which went to his cousin, Travis.
DEFENDERS
• Humberto Andrade, East Union senior: The Lancers surrendered one or less goals in 11 of their 18 games, and this lanky veteran in the middle was a big reason for it.
• Kyle Colyn, Ripon Christian senior: One of three four-year players for RC, the 6-foot-3 Colyn anchored a stingy defense but was also an igniter for the offense (nine goals, five assists).
• Esteban Paramo, Weston Ranch junior: One it comes to vocal leaders Paramo may have been the best in the area, but the talented winger also walked the walk.
• Emmanuel Sanchez, Ripon senior: Fourth-year varsity starter was named Defensive MVP of the TVL and was the rock of an otherwise inexperienced back line.
GOALIES
• Jonathan Soto, Ripon junior: Arguably the area’s most improved player, Soto (4.6 saves, 1.6 goals allowed per game) showed leadership ability and impressive instincts while backing the defense.
• Lukas Vermeulen, Ripon Christian junio: A 6-foot-5 beast between the posts, Vermeulen (27 goals allowed, eight shutouts) had a knack for coming through with big saves early in games before the offense took over.
— Jonamar Jacinto
STOCKTON – His name is Joseph Mayorca, but the Weston Ranch midfielder’s grandmother calls him “Yo-Yo” and it’s easy to see why.
Mayorca dominates the soccer field – any soccer field – with a long stride and a seemingly endless store of talent.
He races back and forth, up and down, just like a yo-yo, spinning circles around the defense with his ability to dribble, create and finish with remarkable efficiency.
Mayorca led the area in scoring with 32 goals, clinched the program’s first Valley Oak League championship with a pair of scintillating second-half strikes at Manteca High, and carried Weston Ranch to its first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section team championship.
“It was a very special season. We had a lot of talent. I knew we could go undefeated and take it all,” he said. “We committed as a team to win.”
In keeping with that theme, Mayorca is the first player from Weston Ranch to earn the Manteca Bulletin’s All-Area Boys Soccer MVP.
“He’s the type of player that can make other players better when he needs to and he also has that unique ability to take over a game when he needs to,” Weston Ranch coach Francisco Cisneros said. “He gives you the best of both worlds. He always seems to find the right combination of skill and ability to make himself better and the team better, too.”
The Valley Oak League, one of the section’s super leagues, would become his stage. Mayorca tallied 22 goals in 14 matches en route to league and team MVP awards.
At one point, he had at least two goals in eight of nine matches, including two hat tricks: a four-goal performance in a 6-2 rout of Kimball on Oct. 8; and three more in a 7-1 shellacking of Lathrop on Oct. 20.
However, it was his late-game effort two days later at Manteca that defined his season.
Trailing 2-0, Mayorca sliced the deficit to one with a goal in the 58th minute. After Hector Maldonado tied the game at 2-2 with a penalty kick in the 77th minute, Mayorca notched the game-winner with less than a minute left in regulation.
With the Buffaloes in a defensive position with several players behind the ball, Mayorca knew the game-winner would have to come from distance.
But where?
And when?
The 35-yard line at Guss Schmiedt Field seemed like a good launching spot.
“It was an unbelievable finish. We had all the pressure going toward them and they couldn’t handle it,” Mayorca said. “They had all their guys back and just one forward up top. We had to take a risk from outside the box.”
Mayorca said he was brimming with confidence in the final minutes. He liked his position on the field, the way the ball was jumping off his boot that night and the pressure Weston Ranch had been creating. The Cougars outshot Manteca 17-6 in the second half.
“This year, almost every time he had a chance to put it in the back of the net, he did,” Cisneros said. “In that Manteca game he said, ‘I’m not going to accept losing,’ and he carried us on his shoulders during that stretch in a game that even I thought was out of our hands.”
The victory clinched a VOL title for the Cougars and fueled their postseason run. In 2013, Weston Ranch reached the Division IV championship game but was denied by Liberty Ranch, 3-2.
The Cougars returned to the final an overwhelming favorite. Weston Ranch outscored its playoff opponents 5-0, including a 2-0 victory over Livingston in the championship, and closed the season with an 18-game winning streak.
Mayorca recorded a point in the final with his seventh assist. He had at least one point in 22 of his team’s 29 games.
“That (victory over Manteca) gave us a lot of momentum. We knew we had the VOL clinched. After that, our mentality was just about winning,” he said. “After winning that game and winning the VOL, we wanted to get our first banner ever.
“… We wanted to make a name for ourselves.”
As for his name? His fans call him “Yo-Yo.” All-Area MVP will suffice, too.
