Ramona High’s Andy Garcia selected for all-CIF first team

By Joe Naiman

The panel of media members and coaches who selected the all-CIF boys soccer teams placed Ramona High School senior Andy Garcia on the all-CIF first team.

“It’s an incredible honor for him and an incredible honor for the program and the school,” said coach Michael Jordan. “He’s a fantastic player who just matured so much this year, and he deserves all the accolades that he gets.”

Garcia was previously selected by unanimous vote as the Valley League’s Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.

During the 2012-13 season, Garcia saw action as a forward, a midfielder, and a defender. He had 14 goals and eight assists with most of his goals being scored while he was playing midfield. During the 2011-12 season, Garcia was a forward and had 16 goals with five assists.

The all-league first team also included striker Alex Medina, who scored 22 goals and added seven assists, and midfielder Morgen Schmidt, whose statistics included 11 goals and 14 assists. The all-CIF selection committee recognized that the decrease in Garcia’s goals’ statistic was due to a more balanced scoring offense rather than to a decline in Garcia’s performance.

“Andy finally had the weight of the team off his shoulders and he could just contribute in other ways,” Jordan said.

The scoring system giving 2 points for a goal and 1 for an assist would equate to Garcia scoring 36 points in 2012-13, 37 in 2011-12, and 35 in 2010-11. He scored a total of 52 goals for the Bulldogs.

Garcia, who desires to remain in San Diego County, has been accepted to Cal State University San Marcos and has also received interest from the San Diego Christian College soccer coaches.

“He finally has had some looks from schools,” Jordan said. “I hope that he’s able to continue playing at the next level.”