Soaring Eagle midfielder named Player of the Year by National Soccer Coaches Association

Friday, Aug. 15, 2014

DRAPER — Andrew Montoya, a Juan Diego Catholic High School graduating senior, was named the 2014 Male Soccer Player of the Year for Utah by the National Soccer Coaches Association, which also named him to the national All America Team. This fall, Montoya will play for Weber State University.

Montoya played varsity level soccer all four years at Juan Diego; he was a center midfielder. 

“We knew early on that he was going to be a key player for us,” said Scott Platz, JDCHS soccer coach. “He was our leading scorer and ended the season this year with 21 goals, which led the 3A division in scoring.”

Montoya accomplished that even though he missed three games because of a concussion, which he suffered during a game against Uintah High School. Montoya was hit hard in the head during the second half of the game but thought he just had a headache, he said. “The game went into overtime and I scored the game-winning goal. The next day the headache didn’t go away and I found out I had a concussion and sat out for the next two weeks.”

In addition to being a star player, Montoya was a team captain for two years. 

“He has been more of a silent leader,” Platz said, adding that other players looked to Montoya when they needed something to happen. “In our final regular season game, Andrew buried a free kick to win the game in sudden death overtime for us. He was that steady guy that we knew would come through for us when we needed it.” 

Montoya should have a tremendous career on the field, said Platz. 

“He also has a future as a coach. He understands the game; he sees things and can help his teammates find a rhythm, find the space they are supposed to get into; he was essentially a coach on the field for us,” Platz said. “We won the Region X title and Montoya was key in scoring the game-winning goals during league play.” 

The Juan Diego Soaring Eagle soccer team was “like a family,” said Montoya. “We had a young team in previous years and everyone came back; we became close and got to know each other especially my senior year. Everyone got along so well; we were like brothers on and off the field.” 

Montoya also was named an All State soccer player for the 2014 season by the Salt Lake Tribune and an All State First Team player by the Deseret News.

Montoya grew up playing club soccer and has improved every season, said his mother, Julie Montoya. “We were thrilled with him being honored with these awards. He has put in a lot of hard work for a long time,” she said as she welled up with tears.

“I fell in love with soccer right away,” Montoya said. “I’ve had good coaches throughout my career, who have been good mentors outside of soccer. My grandmother also was a role model for me and would remind me that soccer was just a game if I was too hard on myself.”