Janae Pimentel isn
’t the biggest, the fastest or the highest-scoring player on the
field. She may very well be the smartest, though, and it was her
all-around athletic savvy that earned her the Tri-County Athletic
League’s Most Valuable Player honor in girls soccer this
season.
Janae Pimentel isn’t the biggest, the fastest or the highest-scoring player on the field.
She may very well be the smartest, though, and it was her all-around athletic savvy that earned her the Tri-County Athletic League’s Most Valuable Player honor in girls soccer this season.
According to Live Oak coach Tony Vasquez, Pimentel controlled matches from her midfield position with her uncanny ability to always be around the ball.
“Janae’s a very smart player and she knows the game,” Vasquez said. “She ran the midfield and we ran everything through her.”
Pimentel, a varsity starter since her freshman year who earned the league’s Sophomore of the Year and Junior of the Year honors, said the MVP award was a pleasant surprise but that it showed that it’s not always the big scorer who gets recognized for their play.
“I wasn’t expecting to get it but I was curious who would get it,” she said. “I think the MVP’s not who scores the most goals; it’s the person who does everything, who can do a lot of different things. I’m not the fastest girl on the team so I have to know where the ball is going.”
Pimentel was only credited wsith five goals and five assists this season but her worth clearly went far beyond mere numbers.
She was the leader in a small group of seniors that drove a youthful team full of sophomores and freshmen to another TCAL title and a Central Coast Section co-championship this season.
Live Oak (16-3-5 overall) tied Leland 1-1 in the CCS final last weekend to secure a share of the section title.
The Acorns were rewarded for their outstanding season with a slew of league postseason awards, led by Pimentel’s MVP.
Senior Bridgette Bonfiglio, another four-year varsity player who led a defense that allowed just 10 goals and chalked up 16 shutouts this season, was named the Defensive co-MVP with North Salinas’ Laisa Alcala.
“To teach these younger girls who have never been there before, she’s done an amazing job,” Vasquez said.
Bonfiglio and defenders Jamie Hickey and Allison Power were all named to the all-TCAL first team. In addtion, Hickey earned Sophomore of the Year honors and Power was named co-Freshman of the Year with North Salinas’ Tannia Hernandez.
“They’re both unbeliev-able competitors — for a freshman and sophomore to play defense like (they did) is incredible,” Vasquez said. “They pound you and if you get by them, they’re going to catch you and you won’t beat them very often.”
Midfielder Lena Marsh, a junior, was also named to the all-league first team. Vasquez called Marsh probably the team’s “most consistent player.”
“She did a lot of work in the middle working with Janae,” he said. “She did a lot of the little things and she probably didn’t get enough credit. for her play.”
Earning all-TCAL second team honors for the Acorns were seniors Allison Mutz and Catriona Adam, junior Michelle McDonald, who led the team in goals with 18,and sophomores Andrea Riolo, the TCAL’s Goal-keeper of the Year, and forward Cobbie Jones, who scored seven goals this season.
Freshmen Ashley Thomas and Shawna McKeown earned honorable mention.
In addition, Vasquez was named the TCAL’s Coach of the Year.
