Isaac Juarez will be remembered as one of Central Valley High School’s all-time greatest boys soccer players thanks to his latest achievement.

The senior winger/attacking midfielder has been voted Most Valuable Player of the Central California Conference.

“I set a lot of goals for myself,” Juarez said. “The MVP award was one of them. It’s definitely something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. It’s a great accomplishment. I’m proud to represent Central Valley. We have a lot of great players on our team.”

“He deserved it,” Hawks’ head coach Omar Leon said. “He’s a great example of what a student-athlete should be.”

Juarez follows in the footsteps of past Central Valley standouts to earn MVP honors, including Andres Velasquez (2017), Ozzie Ramos (2013, 2012), Daniel Ochoa (2011), Gerardo Cazares (2010), Jose Ramirez (2009) and Eddy Salinas (2006).

“I train with them (Velasquez and Ramos) whenever they come home,” Juarez said. “They inspired me to become a better player seeing them play at such a high level.”

Juarez collected seven goals and two assists for the CCC-champion Hawks.

“I trained on my days off,” he said. “I practiced my shots and dribbling. I made sure to stay in shape. I did a lot of running. I played every game like it was my last.” 

Juarez played four seasons of varsity soccer at Central Valley.

He earned second-team all-league honors his junior and sophomore years.

“It’s very special I’ll be remembered in a good way,” Juarez said. “I was a different player freshman year. The seniors helped me a lot. They made me a stronger player mentally.”

Hawk teammates Jorge Iniguez, Erick Martinez Stucchi, Jesus Yepez, Sebastian Castillo, Cesar Grajeda Burgos, Marcos Covarrubias, Alejandro Gonzalez, Leo Giovanni Ayala, Alexis Jimenez, Miguel Sanchez and Alex Garcia also garnered special recognition during the CCC’s year-end coaches’ meeting.

Iniguez was named the CCC’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Martinez Stucchi, Yepez and Castillo were all selected to the CCC First Team.

Martinez Stucchi, a senior goalkeeper, totaled 117 saves.

Yepez, a junior midfielder/striker, had 17 goals and six assists.

Castillo, a senior midfielder/fullback, had nine goals and seven assists.

Grajeda Burgos and Covarrubias both earned second-team all-conference honors.

Covarrubias, a senior sweeper, had two assists.

Grajeda Burgos, a senior, contributed at sweeper.

Gonzalez, a junior midfielder, was a CCC Sportsmanship recipient.

He was also an honorable-mention selection, along with Ayala, Jimenez, Sanchez and Garcia.

Gonzalez had one goal and one assist.

Ayala, a junior striker, had 10 goals and two assists. 

Jimenez, a junior midfielder, had three goals and two assists.

Sanchez, a junior defender, had two goals and one assist.

Garcia, a senior goalie, had one goal and three saves.

Central Valley compiled a 9-1-2 record on its way to claiming its second consecutive CCC championship.