2009 All-Valley Soccer: Flores, Campos win girls MVP honors

Harlingen South forward Sarah Flores and McAllen High sweeper Dani Campos are MVP-caliber soccer players, and they have the stats to prove it.

Flores, a junior, is the 2009 All-Valley girls offensive MVP, while Campos, a senior, is the All-Valley girls defensive MVP.

Both played for teams that advanced to the Region IV-5A Tournament in San Antonio this season.

With still another season to play for the Lady Hawks, Flores is on a record-setting pace as a goal-scorer. She has 130 career goals after scoring 44 as a freshman, 46 as a sophomore and a Rio Grande Valley-best 40 this season for District 31-5A champion South (27-4). Her current total is believed to be one of the best in the Valley, and if it's not, her final tally after her senior season should be.

"I'm just a forward, and I'm the one they work the ball to," said Flores, whose older sister, Lianah, also was a Lady Hawks standout and currently plays for the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio. "Actually, it's all the other players on the team setting me up to score the goals.

"It's exciting to win an award like this," she added. "It's an honor to be a Lady Hawk because we have a very good athletic program, and my three years there have been amazing. My expectations for my senior year will be to go to San Antonio again, and hopefully, make it farther in the playoffs."

Meanwhile, Campos made her senior season with McHi a memorable one as the District 30-5A champion Lady Bulldogs (24-7) recorded a Valley-best 20 shutouts. As the team's sweeper, Campos played a vital role in McHi achieving that mark, which included allowing only 17 goals all season. Also, the Lady Bulldogs scored a school-record 135 goals in 2009, and Campos had 19 of them.

"Being named the most valuable defensive player in the Valley is actually a very big honor to me," said Campos, who has signed to play next fall for Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. "There are lots of good players in the Valley, so it's just a great honor. We had a very good defense this year, and it was a big part of our success. Everyone played an important role. The girls worked extremely hard this season, and I think everyone was proud about how we did.

"I wasn't ready for this to be my last year of soccer, so I'm looking forward to playing in college now," she added. "Even though I'm leaving McHi, I'll always be supporting the teams they have in the future."

Along with the two MVPs, another honoree is Edinburg North freshman Sammy Gutierrez, who was chosen All-Valley girls newcomer of the year. Gutierrez played center midfielder for the 31-5A runner-up Lady Cougars (23-3).

"It was a great experience playing on the team this year with my (older) sister Paige," Gutierrez said. "Winning newcomer of the year is an unexpected honor for me. When you play soccer, you come together through the midfield and everyone blends together. That's what we did, and I felt satisfied with our season. I had a great team to work with, and they were all amazing players.

"This award is a great motivation for me," she added. "I want to work harder to get better over the coming years."

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.