By Chris Parker
Aurora boys soccer graduated a big nine-players senior group from last year’s six-win team, but talent does return led by a group of three seniors that earned all-conference honors last year.
Leading that returning group from last season’s six-win team is forward Lester Perez. Perez led the team with 13 goals and one assist on his way to second-team all-conference honors. No other Aurora player had more than three goals last season.
“Lester is a phenomenal player that has an unbelievable motor to go with a relentless drive to get better every day,” Aurora head coach Curtis Bishop said. “He loves to compete and he has a diverse package of weapons to choose from on the field. He will be the heartbeat of our team and I look forward to coaching him one more season before he gets an opportunity to continue his playing at the next level.”
Eric Reyes was primarily a defender last year, which helped him earn honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior. He will see more offensive opportunities this year in the midfield.
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“Eric Reyes has developed each year the confidence he needs to develop as a leader for our team. I have used him primarily as a defender for the last two years because of his aggressiveness and willingness to challenge the other team’s best players. This year Eric will be asked to be more involved offensively because as last year unfolded he showed he was more than ready to contribute to offensive attacks,” Bishop said.
Clemente Reyes rounds out the returning all-conference players. He returns at goalkeeper after posting four shutouts last year.
“Our defense goes as far as Clemente can take us. As Lester is the heartbeat for our team offensively Clemente is that for our defense,” Bishop said.
The sophomore quartet of Larson Briggs (forward/midfield), Kaden Clark (forward/midfield), Armando Alvarez (midfield) and Damian Cruz (midfield) will all be factors in the offensive attack.
“Larson has that motor you love as a coach and he got a ton of minutes last year that has prepared him to step up to be a player that will help our offensive attacks. Kaden really came on for us as the year progressed and has gotten better over the summer and we will need him to continue getting better. Armando played a lot of minutes as a freshman and will be counted on even more this year. Damian has gained more confidence and should help us at midfield,” Bishop said. “All of these young men will be asked to fill spots vacated by losing nine seniors, but they are more than capable of stepping in and playing well together which is what we expect from them.”
Defensively, Francisco Castro (senior), Arlind Osmani (junior) and Kris Bradbury (sophomore) will play in front of Reyes at defender.
“Because of injuries last year Francisco was asked to step in and contribute more than we thought he would, but he did an outstanding job for us and some games he was asked to defend the other team’s best players and he was not intimidated at all, so we look for a big year from him,” Bishop said. “Arti as we call him got a lot better last year and will be asked to give us valuable minutes on defense. Kris is another player that has improved quickly and will be asked to continue getting better.”
Aurora opens the season Sept. 1-5 at the Cassville Soccer Classic.
“I expect my team to work every day to improve as a player and as a team throughout the year. We have a mix of some good upperclassmen and younger underclassmen and they know they will have to compete for 80-plus minutes to have success,” Bishop said. “They will surprise some teams this year and by the time we get to districts I hope they are playing their best soccer. We as coaches have to put them in the best places to be successful and that is what we plan to do.”
