This winter season, our Palo Verde Boys soccer team made history and pursued victory with honor. They ended the season with a 18-2-1 record, and won the league championship. They then went on to become CIF- runner-ups for Division Five. Next season they will be playing at a higher division- Division Four. Now, it is time to celebrate their successes. On April 23rd the team, coaches, family, and friends came together at Blythe Municipal Golf Course to award outstanding players and overall celebrate how far the team has come. MVP, or Most Valuable Player, of the year was Cade Alaniz, with a career total of almost 100 points or goals scored. (For more information regarding Cade Alaniz, see attached article “Cade Alaniz – Player Spotlight”).  Graduating Seniors were honored and spotlighted, including; Madden Dowling, Manuel Milke, Joshua Perez, Julian Guerrero, Leonardo Godinez, Leandro Fernandez , Mark Barth , Gabriel Augustin, and Juan Saldana. As tradition, Head Coach Scott Peterson gave a heartfelt speech, reflecting back on his coaching experience and his connections with the boys. This season (2022-2023)  was Scott Peterson’s last year coaching the PV Boys Soccer Team.

     The scene was set with several green and gold circle tables with flower centerpieces. Banners covered the walls and streamers hung from the ceiling. Their CIF Runner-Up banner was framed with a PV backdrop along with decorative soccer balls around the room.  Goodie bags with custom hoodies and sweatpants, were handed out to the players from their previous fundraiser earlier that year. The PV Athletics backdrop was also available for families and players to take pictures with. This backdrop is reserved for College Signing events and sports banquets. Several different awards were handed and outstanding players were recognized. This included awards such as: First Team, Second Team, and individual recognition awards. Coach Peterson didn’t go without his own award, however. He was honored by receiving the Best Coach award by his assistant coaches (Raymond Cox, Manny Rios, Caesar Flores, and Robert).

     The whole team received their varsity patches and a Certificate of Congressional Recognition due to their exceptional performance on behalf of California’s 25th Congressional District. This is a very rare award that makes our community stand out. Other awards included Madden Dowling and Jesus Gutierrez receiving the All- League Goalkeeper award. Every year, the league chooses a the best set of players from all of the teams that they would have represent them as a league. From Palo Verde High School, this was our first and second team players;

     First Team:  Cade Alaniz , Joshua Perez, Miguel Duarte, Jesus Gutierrez, Landon Muyon , Mark Barth, and Anibal Santos- Gomez. 

    Second team: Matthew Figueroa,  Madden Dowling, Leonardo Godinez

    These boys worked incredibly hard and fought for their wins. They played with pride and love for the sport that you cannot fake. We would like to thank the supporting friends, family, and coaches that helped them get this far. At the end of the day, these boys proved that with hard work and dedication- you can achieve anything.  Let’s Go Jackets, Lets Go!