Gomez named Centex Newcomer of the Year
Freshman scores 32 goals in stellar season, but impresses her coach more with her attitude than her finishing ability
Mia Gomez lines up with her coaches and teammates after defeating the 6A Bowie Bulldogs, 3-1, in a tune-up game played after the district season ended and before the playoffs began. Gomez scored all three goals for the Knights in the March 26 victory at House Park. Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta.
May 8, 2019
Last Thursday, freshman Mia Gomez was named the Newcomer of the Year on the Austin American-Statesman’s All-Centex girls soccer team. As a standout striker on the varsity soccer team that earned a co-district title and a bi-district championship, Gomez scored 32 goals and dished out 11 assists. Twenty of her goals came in district play, making her the Golden Boot Award winner as the most prolific scorer in the district.
If you think the goal scoring is what impresses her coach the most, then you’re wrong.
“I knew she was talented from the get go, but what surprised me is how much of a leader she would become for our team,” head coach Stephanie Watson said. “Mia practices every day like it’s game day, and she encourages her teammates to do the same, all while having a fun, energetic attitude on and off the field. … I think that’s what’s so great about Mia. She LOVES soccer, and it’s infectious.”
Her teammate, sophomore Avery Miller agrees.
“She works really, really hard,” Miller said. “I think she really deserved [the award] because she was always giving 100 percent in every single game, and she did a lot for the team.”
Prior to being named All-Centex Newcomer of the Year, Gomez was named District 25-5A Newcomer of the Year.
“You’d think with all of these accolades that Mia would have a big head, but she doesn’t,” Watson said. “Mia has never been about her own glory or scoring for the sake of her own stats. She is a team player in every way, always working hard for the good of her team. … She’s always asking me what I need from her and she always does whatever she can to do it, even if that means having to be carried off of the field after a game because she gave everything she had.”
Watson, who was named the District 25-5A Coach of the Year, concluded her remarks by saying she’s looking forward to the next three years as Mia’s high school coach: “She’s a blast!”
Photos by Anna Bausman, Risa Darlington-Horta, Arthur Gomez, Gregory James, Anna Schlett, Gabby Sherwood, Maeve Walsh, Annabel Winter and Dave Winter.
