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Albright honored by District 6 coaches By TIM TROWER Phoenix boys soccer coach Dennis Flenner draws a direct correlation between the Pirates' success and the presence of sweeper Al Albright. The coach's District 6 peers seem to, also, which is why they named Albright the player of the year in recent all-star voting. Asked when the last time a defender earned the coveted honor rather than a high-scoring striker, Flenner was at a loss. "I can't remember," he says. "I was hoping Al would get a look." Actually, Albright's been getting looks for three years. He's been a first-team all-star that many times and last year was placed on the all-state third team. Since Albright moved from striker to sweeper his sophomore year, the Pirates have amassed a 40-6-3 record. Nevertheless, he had staunch competition for the top-player award. The player of the year is the one who earns the most votes in first-team balloting. Albright, teammate John Hendricks and Henley's Gabriel Hernandez tied, so a vote-off ensued and Albright won. Flenner initially thought Hendricks, a scoring machine, would be the popular choice. The senior had all kinds of point statistics on his resume: 23 goals and 13 assists this year; at least partly responsible for more than 70 goals during the past two years. "Good grief," says Flenner, "some teams don't score 70 goals in two years." And, he adds, Hendricks did so from a center-midfield position that required him to play defense. In the end, however, the dominance of Albright could not be overlooked. "The important thing to him," says Flenner, "is that nobody is going to outperform Al at his job. "I think Al's ability to stay healthy and be dominant in every game dictated that he got the vote. He is, without a doubt, one of the most impactive players I've ever had. Everyone who plays against us knows who he is." Because Albright served valiantly as the last line of defense before the goalkeeper, his teammates were free to take chances. Their aggression gave the Pirates more offensive opportunities than most of their opponents. "It was kind of like the others could be ornery kids because they had big brother back there," says Flenner. Phoenix and Hidden Valley tied for the District 6 championship. Hidden Valley, led by coach-of-the-year Charlie Seal, had four first-team players: seniors Tim Vander Stoel, Trevor Nowak, Irie Spann and Mosiah Arteaga. Like Phoenix, St. Mary's had two first-teamers in seniors Peter Staver and Jordan Frankel. Henley also had two, Hernandez and Joe Salvati, both seniors. Phoenix and Hidden Valley each advanced to the state playoffs and suffered narrow losses, Hidden Valley to Marist in the first round and Phoenix to Junction City in the quarterfinals. Junction City defeated Marist for the state title Saturday, 3-2. First Team Gabriel Hernandez, sr., Henley Joe Salvati, sr., Henley Tim VanderStoel, sr., Hidden Valley Trevor Nowak, sr., Hidden Valley Irie Spann, sr., Hidden Valley Mosiah Arteaga, sr., Hidden Valley Greg Murdock, sr., Mazama Al Albright, sr., Phoenix John Hendricks, sr., Phoenix Peter Staver, sr., St. Mary's Jordan Frankel, sr., St. Mary's Second Team Stuart Ward, sr., Henley Ben Downing, sr., Hidden Valley Andy Eichmann, jr., Illinois Valley Frank Wharregard, sr., North Valley David Peterson, sr., Phoenix Gerardo Serna, sr., Phoenix Jonathan Chavez, jr., Phoenix Fred Perryman, sr., Rogue River Jason Luchterhand, sr., Rogue River Joel Frank, sr., St. Mary's Thatcher Jones, sr., St. Mary's Honorable Mention Henley - Ty Munoz, sr.; Jeff Mullis, jr.; Forrest MacIvor, sr.; Travis Brollier, jr. Hidden Valley - Dillon Borta, jr.; Torrent Saunders, so.; Rem Evert, sr. Illinois Valley - Jaspar Aaron-Burden, jr.; Greg Crowl, jr.; Levi Johnson, sr. Mazama - Mike Sanchez, sr.; Travis Huck, sr.; Chris Stine, sr. North Valley - Emery Garcia, jr.; Patrick Gentry, sr.; Brodie Phillips, sr.; Brian King, jr. Phoenix - Chris Swann, jr.; Scott Ware, sr.; Dan Kieffer, sr.; Devin Wilson, sr.; John Feeney, so. Rogue River - David Way, sr.; Tony Coma, sr.; Jesse O'Gara, sr. St. Mary's - Greg Gadwell, jr.; Matt Burt, sr.; Daniel Pires, jr.; Ryan Burt, jr. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.