All-Tribune First Team
Player School Yr. Pos. Comment
Riggs Lennon Brophy Sr. F Former POY a candidate again after 59 goals; Headed to Virginia after 146 goals in three years.
Samuel Gleadle Campo Verde Jr. F POY candidate after 38 goals, 17 assists for Div. II quarterfinalists
Danny Gavin Desert Vista Sr. F Big postseason augmented his 16-goal, 13-assist season for Div. I runners-up
Luis Manta Hamilton Sr. MF Chandler district offensive player of the year headed to St. Louis Univ.
Jacob Dominguez Queen Creek So. MF Lethal with room to grow even after 42 goals and 10 assist for team’s first Div. II semifinals appearance in a decade
Ryan Grotjohn Brophy Sr. MF Uber-dependable in middle for past two years; finally earned his due big postseason despite ankle injury
Carson Frost Red Mountain Sr. MF 13 goals, 8 assists only a fraction of the field-general’s value to Lions
Chris LoConti Gilbert Sr. D Co-Section II POY became shutdown defender in past two years after gruesome injuries two years ago
Cesar Cervantes Coronado Sr. D Anchor of Div. III semifinalist team with speed, leadership
Clarence Clark Brophy Sr. D Two-time All-Div. I performer; five losses, 34 goals allowed, 69 wins and two state titles in his three years
Ryan Koenig Corona del Sol Sr. D Played his best against top competition for No. 2 overall seed; integral part of CDS two-year revival
Matt Winkler Mesa Jr. GK Popular coaches pick and two-time all-Division I goalie averaged 0.93 goals against despite brand new defense
Player of Year: Clarence Clark, Brophy
Coach of Year: Mike Rabasca, Desert Vista: Got the most out of his Thunder group — especially defensively — en route to the state championship match, the first since 2008.
All-Tribune Second Team
Player School Yr. Pos. Comment
Mason Robertson Pinnacle Sr. F 34 goals and 10 assists even with new supporting cast
Luis Reynoso Williams Field Sr. F Easy choice for Div. II, Section II POY after 53 points (23 goals 7 assist)
David Lane Brophy Sr. F Unheralded feeder of chances next to Lennon but huge part of Brophy attack
Carlos Ibarra Mesa Sr. MF “Messi” was first team All-City and All-Division I despite lingering injury; dominant when healthy
Mason Krause Queen Creek Sr. MF 11 goals and 20 assist for Div. II semifinalists
Jesse Garcia Coronado Jr. MF Instigator of Dons’ big-time offense and two-year run of Div. III championship appearances
Kevin Reyes Tempe Sr. MF Quietly led Tempe back to playoffs with 15 goals, 7 assists
Rodrigo Uriarte Pinnacle Sr. D Five goals and six assists a bonus to his work on the backline
Christian Vargas Chandler Jr. D Co-defensive player of the year in district was great at containment and organizing team without the ball
Nolan Barth Hamilton Sr. D Chandler district defensive POY with Vargas signed at Metropolitan State
Dan Moe Basha Sr. D All-Division I and All-District defensive midfielder unheralded with Bears’ close losses
Keith Williamson Corona del Sol Sr. GK Helped stymie top Div. I opponents offensively and led Aztecs to No. 2 seed without much offense
Honorable mention
Basha: Kevin Beck, Jr., F; Luis Garcia, Sr., D; Michael Rozinski, Jr., D; Brophy: Michael O’Connor, Sr., GK; Oliver Shanks, Sr., F; Campo Verde: Daniel Arellano, Sr., F; Briley Guarneri, So., F; Devin Ries, Jr., D; Chandler: Jairo Castro, Jr., MF; Blake Evans, Sr., D; Alex Pena, Jr., MF; Taylor Rumsey, Sr., D; Matt Schwalenberg, Jr., MF; Sam Schwalenberg, Jr., MF; Brad Trella, Sr., GK; Corona del Sol: Aaron Flegenheimer, Sr., F; Ellis Rutili, Sr., MF; Desert Ridge: Michael Cohen, Sr., D; Colton Esterly, Sr., F; Alex Petty, Jr. D; Desert Vista: Connor Leisy, Sr., D; Nick Mangialardi, Jr., MF; Tim O’Brien, Jr., GK; Tate Schmidt, So., MF; Dobson: Marlon Bonilla, Jr., MF; Jose Rico Garibay, Sr., GK; Alejandro Garnica, Sr., MF; Jarred Merino, Jr. D; Gilbert: Kahlin Gonzalez, Sr., MF; Trevor Irion, Sr., F; Hayden Rus, Sr., GK; Gilbert Christian: Justin Hightower, Sr., D; Hamilton: Jordan Fletcher, Sr., F; Conner Follet, Jr., F; Andrew Holland, Jr., MF; Dayne Johnson, Sr., D; Gabriel Parra-Munoz, Jr., MF; Tyler Patel, Jr., MF; Daniel Wichman, Sr., D; Highland: Jaime Yepiz, Sr., F; Mesa: Jose Barrera, Sr., F; Andrew Christianson, Sr., D; Diego Godinez, Sr., D; Cristian Gonzalez, Sr., MF; Alex Gutierrez, Sr., D; Brian Perea, Jr., MF; Mountain Pointe: Danny Meyer, Jr., F; Mountain View: Pepe Alonso, David Verduzco, Sr., D; Perry: Turner Kallen, Sr., GK; Niyi Soetan, Sr., F; Queen Creek: Chris Curtis, So., MF; Alejandro Garcia, Sr., D; Derly Herrera, Sr., MF; Miguel Ibarra, Sr., D; Ryan Kottcamp, Jr., F; RJ Poirier, Sr., MF; Logan Waskiewiez, Jr., GK; Red Mountain: Justin Cheung, Jr., F; Cody Lawrence, Sr., D; AJ Poulson, Sr., GK; Seton Catholic: Pablo Castellanos, Sr., MF; Zach Blomberg, Sr., MF; Skyline: Sylvester Becerra, Jr., GK; Tempe: Johnny Aviles, Jr., D; Luis Perez, Jr., GK; Gregorio Rojas, Sr., D; Jose Luis Soto, So., F; Tempe Prep: Ryan Bush, So., MF; Niku Khatami, Sr., GK; Caleb Peckham, Sr., D; Getesamy Weise, Jr., F; Westwood: Julian Galvan, Sr., MF; Williams Field: Jessie Berner, Sr., GK; Ben Martinez, Sr., D; Jamesa McGhee, So., D; Dallin Milius, Sr., D; Heber Tenney, Jr., MF; Tyler Wilson, Sr., D
Memorable moments from the 2012-2013 season
Brophy boon: The Broncos completed one of the most dominant seasons in the past couple years by winning a second state championship in three seasons. Led by Clarence Clark, Ryan Grotjohn, Michael O’Connor and Riggs Lennon, the Broncos returned a massive amount of talent from last year’s runner-up finish to Hamilton, and a couple club players joined the fray to give Marc Kelly’s team unparalleled depth. The Broncos went national for the annual Monteverde tournament in Florida and knocked off a popular No. 1 team in the country (Boca Raton) en route to the championship match. Before and after, the Broncos cruised through most of the regular season and the state tournament. Despite the controversial suspension of four starters for the first half of the Division I title match with Desert Vista, the Broncos broke the match open with two goals in the second half to win the championship.
Close calls: Brophy may have dominated Division I, but the rest of the East Valley made plenty for plenty of pushback. Led by Danny Gavin up front and a standout defense, Desert Vista made its first championship match appearance since 2008. Queen Creek made it to the semifinals for the first time in a decade before falling to eventual-champion Salpointe Catholic in Div. II, but not before Mauricio Ramirez’s team knocked out No. 1 South Mountain in the quarterfinals. Plenty of Bulldogs are returning next season. The Div. III matchup everyone penciled in back in November came to fruition, as Cortez and Coronado met for a second consecutive championship match, and for a second time, Cortez came out the winner against the Dons.
