Marble Falls boys soccer has numerous all-district selections

CAPTION: Ismayl Ismaylov was superb at focusing on his responsibilities and tasks, which made him difficult to contain and stop. Photo by Stennis Shotts

After a historical season that ended with a Class 4A Division I state semifinal appearance, the Marble Falls High School boys soccer team had several of its members chosen to the all-District 26-4A teams.

Named the Midfielder of the Year was co-captain Ismayl Ismaylov.

“I asked him to move into the midfield because we had a player out at the beginning of the year that couldn’t play, so he had to move into the midfield and he did a really good job at the holding (midfielder) position,” head coach Ryan Craven said. “And then when that player came back, we were able to move him to attacking midfielder. And when we did that our midfield really was solidified with Ismayl at attacking mid. I really rotated in about three other guys at the other attacking midfield spot, but Ismayl put in probably the most minutes of anybody all year. He had assists, he had goals. He ran all over the field and was extremely aggressive for his size, and he grew as a leader throughout the year and extremely passionate and intense, which is what you need out of the captain and as a midfielder.”

Ismaylov’s value was apparent, especially when playing District 26-4A rival San Antonio Davenport for the third time this season with high stakes – the Class 4A Division I Region IV championship to earn the right to advance to the state semis. The Mustangs had already beaten the Wolves 5-2 March 3 after the two tied 1-1 Feb. 6.

“We had to make some adjustments and I threw Ismayl out there,” Craven said. “It really kind of opened up the whole field for us because of his speed and he was able to connect with Eli (Chocoj) to get the game winner (2-1 March 31).”

Named first team all-district are Joaquin Aguilar, Chocoj, Will Guzman and goalie Jett Marcum.

Chocoj scored 13 goals this season with many coming in the playoffs.

“Eli is it a tremendous weapon up top with a great skill,” the coach said. “Joaquin was our bell cow. He’s a very unselfish player. He didn’t have a lot of goals that he wanted to have with only 10, but his will to win balls gave us opportunities and put pressure on opposing defenses was huge. It took the pressure off of our defense because (opponents) had to double and triple team (Aguilar) at times because of his speed and just his aggressiveness.

“I’m extremely proud of Will’s growth, just growing up in maturity and toughness,” Craven added. “Last year he missed a lot of time for injuries and whatnot, and we had to talk at the end of the year that he’s going to have to get tougher and just fight through some pain and injuries and he did this year. He didn’t come out at all unless we were winning or he needed a break.

Soccer enthusiasts know the value of an unbreakable keeper. Marcum allowed only 10 goals to be scored from district play until the state semifinal loss to Waco La Vega.

“Jett had a ton of huge saves for us this year,” Craven said. “When you have seven (district) shutouts, that’s huge. In 27 games, we gave up less than two goals (per match). And some of those goals weren’t his fault because he was out of the game. He did a great job for us and made huge saves in the playoffs that go us to where we were at.”

CAPTION: Goalkeeper Jett Marcum was one vote away from making the Class 4A Division I all-state tournament, which illustrates what coaches think of his play throughout the state. Photo by Stennis Shotts

Second team members are Jose Campos, Noe Gonzales, Carlos Galindo Roque and Drake Taylor and honorable mention went to Demarco Davis, Aaron Luna and Raul Luna.

“If Jose hadn’t missed two games, I think he would have gotten first team as well,” the coach said. “He solidified that midfield along with Ismayl and just went at balls in the air and scored a few goals as well. He really held down that midfield. “

“The other guy at outside back and center back was Carlos Galindo Roque,” he added. “He played all the time. We couldn’t have had the success we had without him.”

Gonzales wasn’t getting a lot of playing time, so he decided to talk the coaches about what he needed to do to change that. Craven told him to “just keep working hard and when the opportunity comes, take advantage of it.”

“We were playing (New Braunfels) Long Creek, and he had to play because we had some injuries,” Craven said. “He made a couple of insane stops, just sticking his foot out with balls in the air and saving several goals. From there I was like ‘OK, this is our guy.’ He solidified that spot. I’m extremely proud of Noe.

“Drake won just about every ball in the air all year long,” he added. “Those four guys – in just about any other district, they’re first team all-district players. All those guys are very deserving.”

The coach was equally enthused about the honorable mention Mustangs.

Raul Luna “started a good chunk of the year but then got injured and missed a lot of time towards the end of it,” Craven said.

“Aaron played in the midfield and just did a great job of leading and won a lot of balls,” he said. “His highlight was shutting down the midfield against Fredericksburg. He did a great job there.

“Demarco didn’t play a ton of minutes this year, but the minutes he played were crucial,” the coach added. “He had a big goal against Davenport, and then when there’s a really physical game, he would be in there playing that wing spot when we needed more kind of a defensive presence up top to help us. So he really shut that down, and he got recognized for that. He did a great job.”

Craven noted the Mustangs, which won the district championship along with four playoff matches, was the definition of team.

“We didn’t really have just one really true standout offensive player,” he said. “I thought we had a chance to get defender or goalkeeper (of the year), but we didn’t. Our district had a lot of good players in it. Our kids (each) played a position. I think that’s why we were so good because we didn’t have to play people all over the place.”

CAPTION: Joaquin Aguilar’s commitment to the team’s goals and to winning was apparent to his teammates and coaches. Photo by Stennis Shotts