For the sixth straight year, West Valley Preps watched enough soccer to put together a credible All-Northwest Valley team. Here it is:

First team

F – Adrian Sanchez, senior, Ironwood
F – McKinley Ruiz, senior, Kellis
F – Gavin Kohner, senior, Northwest Christian
MF – Charlie Wingfield, senior, Ironwood
MF – Diego Samayoa, junior, Deer Valley
MF – Bryce Grozier, junior, Sunrise Mountain
D – Grant Gibson, junior, Northwest Christian
D – Esteban Ardon, senior, Ironwood
D – Kyle Foster, junior, Sunrise Mountain
D – John Stull, junior, Millennium
GK – Esai Branson, senior, Estrella Foothills

Second team

F – J.R. Valenzuela, senior, Glendale Prep
F – Gabriel Engwall, junior, Shadow Ridge

Player of the year

Adrian Sanchez, senior, Ironwood – Returning after two years in the developmental academy program, Sanchez sparked the Eagles’ run to the 5A final. He was a dominant offensive force, with 23 goals and seven assists. Beyond that, Sanchez showed an uncanny ability to control the ball with his dribble in traffic.

Runner up
Bryce Grozier, junior, Sunrise Mountain – The scoring midfielder broke out this year after sitting behind a veteran team last year. His 10 gols led the Mustangs, including a pair in upset of Campo Verde. He leads a strong junior class for Sunrise Mountain and new coach Erik Andersen and the team should be a force next year.

Coach of the year

Tim Beck, Ironwood – Ironwood pushed for four years prior to this, with three difficult semifinals losses. The roster was very different in 2021 and there was less time to practice and figure out wjat made this team click. But in a back half of the schedule filled with games, the Hall of Famer Beck figured out a way to unlock this potent roster. The Eagles took of, on a surprising run to their first state final in 10 years. Casteel ran roughshod over Ironwood in the state final, but the Colts did that to most of their opponents.

Runner up
David Sims, Estrella Foothills – While the Wolves just missed out on the 4A playoffs with a No. 18 ramking, the program still accomplished a major overhal in 2021. Sims’ team reached an 8-4-1 record this year after 3-10-3 in 2019-20 and 4-10-2 in 2018-19. It was a roster of mainly seniors and a rebuild may be necessary but this year’s team raised the standard