Super utility role suits Garza

Junior Garza is willing and able to play wherever the Siloam Springs boys soccer team needs him.

The senior captain has been spotted all over the field this year for the Panthers, starting the season in the goal while Jedi Hunter was still in basketball.

Garza was penciled in as a starter on the Panthers' defensive back line, but the emergence of other personnel has allowed head coach Luke Shoemaker the flexibility to move Garza around.

"The guy's kind of like a utility player in baseball in that he can play every position," Shoemaker said of Garza. "Jason Bowen, when he coached here, he had a saying that he had for every kid. 'Your position is soccer. You are a soccer player. All the roles can be interchangeable.' (Garza) buys into that 100 percent."

It's a role and mindset that Garza has accepted.

"I feel like in soccer you don't just play one position," Garza said. "You play every position as a soccer player."

As the Panthers (15-3) head into this week's Class 5A state tournament at Siloam Springs, Garza will likely be seeing most of his minutes on the right wing in the midfield.

It's a spot he's been productive at with six goals scored and two assists on the season.

"It kind of morphed," Shoemaker said of Garza's position. "The plan was we were going to put him on the back line. Yanni (Trinidad) came along greater than we ever had expected, and kudos to him for that, and we thought we were solid there. We could use Junior's speed in the attack, and I think you've seen in the last couple of weeks, Junior's ended up putting balls in the back of the net."

Shoemaker again mentioned Garza's speed as being a factor.

"I mean he is so lightning fast on that line, and he understands when to play Franklin (Cortez) down the line, when he needs to run down the line," Shoemaker said. "And the kid's so coachable, he's gotten so much better at his runs from a winger position that I expect state tournament time he's going to produce in some way for us."

The Panthers earned the No. 3 seed from the 5A-West Conference after a close battle all season with Russellville and Van Buren. They'll face South No. 2 seed El Dorado at noon on Thursday in Panther Stadium.

Siloam Springs lost a 1-0 decision at home to Van Buren last Friday with the No. 1 seed on the line. Van Buren took the No. 1 seed with Russellville claiming the second spot.

But the last time Siloam Springs played in the state tournament in 2019, the Panthers were a No. 3 seed and advanced all the way to the state finals, where they lost to Russellville 1-0.

Garza was a sophomore on that team, having rejoined soccer after quitting his freshman year in 2018.

When Shoemaker arrived as coach for the 2019 season, every player was given a clean slate.

"I gave everyone a chance," Shoemaker said. "I had to get after them a little bit, but he's one of the kids I brag about most now and how much he's grown up as a man."

Garza took advantage and played a contributing role on the 2019 state runner-up team.

"Everyone makes mistakes but everyone deserves grace and everyone has the ability to grow and mature and become a leader that he's become," Shoemaker said. "He talks about having a voice. He knows the expectations for everything around here."

By the 2020 season, Garza was named a team captain by the coaching staff before the season was cut short by the covid-19 pandemic.

The disappointment of not finishing the 2020 season has made the 2021 season that much more important, Garza said.

"We've been working since September ready for this day," Garza said.

Garza's also ready for all scenarios, and part of that can be traced to his film study.

"He's a student of the game," Shoemaker said. "If I look at film-watch time, because Hudl will show me those numbers, he's always at the top for each week in the amount of film watched. It's not like some kids will play it and then set their phone down, he can tell me the notes I've put on it for different minutes and different parts, and he finds opponent film on YouTube and watches different minutes and different parts. That shows his commitment to the team."