ST. PAULS — Alexis Mendez doesn’t put too much stock into individual awards and accolades.
The St. Pauls senior was indifferent when he was informed he was named the Three Rivers Conference boys soccer Player of the Year. He has his sights set on bigger achievements.
Mendez helped lead the Bulldogs to their best season in program history, and became the second player from the program to claim the conference’s top award, but seeing talented players ahead of him not go to the next level is what he wanted to strive to be the opposite of.
“I want to get out of (St. Pauls),” Mendez said. “I knew I had to do more to get out of here. The others were talented guys, but they are still here. I wanted to do what it took to get out of here.”
“I’ve dreamed about (playing at the next level) since I was a little kid, like 10 or 11.”
Before the season, St. Pauls head coach Brent Martin said that his team would need to work together, comparing it to a symphony, in order for it to have a successful season. The Bulldogs found the right combination to win 15 matches, a program record, and finish second in the conference to earn a home playoff game. Mendez had a certain vital role in the symphony that was the St. Pauls soccer team.
“He was the drum because he was the heartbeat of the team,” Martin said. “A lot of the play started with him. If he was having a bad night, we were having a bad night. If he was having a great night, we were having a great night.
“Mendez is not a talker. He does his talking with his game.”
As the midfield leader for the Bulldogs, Mendez finished his high school career with a 17-goal, 20-assist season. Those numbers don’t mean much to him though.
“Breaking the win record. That was one of our goals,” he said on his top accomplishment this season. “We had to play as a team and made sure we shared the ball. We had to come out every game and play our best.”
Mendez credits two fellow seniors, Bruno Ayala and Sam Flores, with aiding him as a player this season. The pair not only helped feed the ball up the spine of the formation, but also drew defenders to give Mendez room to operate, and finish off passes that led to Mendez’s large number of assists.
Coming into this season after posting 31 goals as a junior, Mendez worked on his conditioning to help him claim the conference player of the year award.
“I wasn’t really conditioned last year,” Mendez said. “This was my last year and I wanted to go out with a bang.”
Erik Perez was the other St. Pauls player to earn conference Player of the Year recognition in 2015 after he led the Bulldogs to the playoffs in the only other time they hosted a playoff match. Both guys, Perez and Mendez, are guys that Martin holds highly as two of the best to come through the program.
“The second is just as good as the first because I love it for the guys that work hard and deserve it,” Martin said. “I love that validation for them. It proves to them and those behind them that when you put in the work and time that it will be recognized and it will be rewarded.
“Mendez, at worst, is tied for the best player we have had (with Perez).”
Joining Mendez with the all-conference honor was Flores, Ayala and Allan Diaz. Lalo Velasquez, Oscar Ordonez, Christopher Canuto, Jose Perez and Roger Velaquez were named honorable mention. Red Springs’ Rafael Valencia and Alex Martinez were named all-conference, with Javier Villagomez, Luis Estrada and Diego Lazaro earning honorable mention.
