The Newport Cubs boys soccer team travels to southern Oregon today to take on the Phoenix Pirates in the 1st round of the 4A Boys Soccer State Championship playoffs. Two players who could make a difference in the outcome are seniors Hugo Montalvo and Andrew Torres.
Montalvo plays wing for a dangerous Cubs team that marched to the state championship final last season where they beat Madras. Coach Ollie Richardson has high praise for the smallest player on the team, saying “Hugo has an excellent first touch and is a tremendous passer to compliment his stellar defensive technique. Hugo is a perfect example of what every coach wants, a player who will sacrifice anything for the betterment of the team.”
Asked earlier in the season about how his team was performing, Montalvo said “we need to improve our finishing in games. We’ve had a lot of shots at the goalkeeper. Also, I think we could improve on our passing as a team.”
Fellow senior Andrew Torres could hold the key to Newport’s success in the scoring, and possibly assisting, department in these playoffs. Described by his coach as “hard to miss on the pitch because he has a huge head of curly dark hair” Torres currently leads the Cubs in scoring this season with 20 goals. Richardson adds that “other teams will have to keep a player on him at all times unless they want to be scored on.” He is the 3rd Torres brother to play for Newport and has a younger brother who is a freshman on this year’s JV team. His family bleeds soccer 24/7 and are very passionate about playing.
When asked about how his season has been going so far, Torres says “I think my season is going good, but I feel like it’s my finishing that I need to work on”. Torres has a strong shot and is great at cleaning up anything inside the 18 yard box if his teammates miss.
The Cubs scoring ability will be put to the test today at 3:00 pm as they battle the Phoenix Pirates in the first round of the 4A Boys Soccer State Playoffs. You can catch the game live at OregonSportsBeat.com.