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Four Sophomores, Two Freshmen Honored
After posting a 5-5-2 record and advancing to the semifinals of the Region IX Soccer Tournament, six members of the Northwest College men’s soccer team have received postseason recognition.
Sophomores Sergio Santamarina, Carlos Somolinos Bravo, Daniel Lobera and Jarrett Shrum were joined by freshmen Alejandro Fernandes and Rennan DaSilva in being named to the All-Region IX North team. Santamarina, Bravo and Fernandes were named to the first team, while Lobera, Shrum and DaSilva received second-team honors.
“Those guys played really well. They all came together at the right time and made it a successful season,” said NWC interim head coach Bobby Peters. “They put in the work — unfortunately it didn’t all work out completely at the end, but I think we did pretty well.”
Santamarina was the Trappers’ leading goal scorer this season with five, tied for fourth in Region IX North. Peters said the native of Gijon, Spain, brought leadership to the team, as well as an unrivaled work ethic.
“Sergio [Santamarina] plays a style of soccer that I like; it’s a possession-based style. He’s always looking to create opportunities off the movement of the ball,” Peters said. “He helped me incorporate that style into the team early.”
Bravo was the team’s quarterback in the midfield, according to Peters, and was instrumental in the team’s success.
“Carlos [Bravo] was the one who controlled the flow of the play throughout the games,” Peters said. “I put defensive mid at a high priority for any of my teams, and he really stepped in there and took control. He was very consistent back there, which is what we needed.”
Fernandes was a newcomer to the team this season, and Peters said the native of Granada, Spain, brought a lot of skill to the midfield.
“Alex [Fernandes] is a very skillful player. He’s a guy who could come into the game and you knew he wasn’t going to lose possession if the ball hit him on the feet, and that was a good thing to have for us,” Peters said. “He put teams under pressure just by making them not able to get the ball back easy. Offensively, he did fantastic, and it’s what I expected from him out of that role.”
Sophomore Lobera is the only returning All-Region selection from last season’s squad. Peters said the Lander native struggled at times to define his role on the team, but always played hard and with determination.
“... He was a bit of a wildcard guy — you never knew what you were going to get out of him,” the coach said of Lobera. “But when he was playing at the top of his game, he was one of the best on the team — no doubt about that. He was a fantastic player for us. He’s one of the main reasons we turned around the season.”
As for Shrum, Peters said he enjoyed watching the Gillette native develop over the course of the season. Shrum finished tied for third in assists in Region IX North with four.
“Jarrett [Shrum] has fantastic skill, but he doesn’t always believe in himself,” Peters said. “He can go at it with anyone, and if he takes that confidence wherever he goes, he’s going to see success. I was excited to see him play all the time, and overall, I think he came out there and executed very well. He was a very dynamic player.”
At center back, DaSilva was a “great ball winner back there,” according to Peters, who was surprised the Brazilian native wasn’t named to the first team.
“He [DaSilva] would have been one of my big picks to get there,” he said. “He was basically a stalwart on defense. I was very happy with his play back there. He just signed the other day to come back next year, and he’ll definitely be a leader coming into next season.”
Both DaSilva and Fernandes were also named to the Region IX All-Tournament team.