Jay Daubenberger
Liberal, Kansas – After completing their inaugural season in 2023, the Seward County Saints men’s soccer team had six players named as All-Conference selections in the Jayhawk Conference as picked by the KJCCC on November 20th.
Leading the way for the Saints on the All-Conference teams was freshman goalkeeper Bruno Mestres who managed to form a human wall at the goal every night for Seward County. In his first year for the Green and Silver, Mestres recorded 122 total saves through 14 games played which ranked first in the KJCCC and third in the NJCAA. Out of all goalkeepers in the country who recorded over 100 saves, Mestres led everyone in save percentage with a .813 percent save rate. He recorded ten or more saves in four games in the 2023 season with 10 saves in the season opener against Kansas City Kansas, 11 against Garden City on the road, and a career high of 12 saves against both #7 Barton and Garden City at home.
Making the KJCCC men’s soccer all-conference honorable mention list was freshman forward Javier Ruchelli Alvarez. In his first year as a Saint, Alvarez led Seward County in total goals with 5 on 16 shot on goal attempts to go with 1 assist for a total of 11 points onnhis freshman campaign. He appeared in 18 games through the 2023 season, starting 14 while scoring two game winning goals to help hand the Saints wins against Lamar and Coffeyville.
Also making the honorable mention list is freshman midfielder Alexander Stevens-Lee who started all 19 games for Seward County in 2023. Stevens-Lee recorded 8 points during his freshman campaign that saw him scoring 3 goals and dishing out 2 assists. Two of his three goals on the season were game winning goals that helped secure victory for the Saints against Garden City and at Lamar.
The third Seward County representative on the honorable mention list is freshman defender Francisco Nava Gomez who started in 13 of his 15 games played in 2023. He tallied 8 points on his freshman season with the Saints, scoring 3 goals on 5 shot on goal attempts and recorded 2 assists. Two of his three goals on the season were game winning goals that help Seward County secure wins against Metropolitan and KJCCC rival Dodge City.
Joining the list of Saints named to the honorable mention list is freshman midfielder Juan Pablo Murillo who started 14 of 15 games played for Seward County and was a dynamic playmaker for the Green and White on the field, finding ways to initiate the offense for the Saints and lead his teammates to victory.
The final name on the honorable mention list for Seward County was freshman defender Matheus Ambrozio who started all 17 games he appeared in and was a lock down presence on the back line for the Saints during their inaugural 2023 season as a vocal captain who helped get his teammates in the right spots to make successful plays.
“I’m proud of the work all our guys put in this season, and especially these guys receiving a little bit of recognition” says Jaime Beltran. I believe some of them deserved even more, but this type of thing will come with time as we continue to establish our program.
Congratulations go out to Bruno on being 1st team GK for the conference, and to the others for earning a place on the overall list”.