South Tahoe’s King named player of the year
After winning a state title and defeating one of the state’s best teams in recent memory, there was little doubt the Vikings would represent on the all-league and all-state soccer teams. And that’s exactly what happened as junior Allison King headlined a slew of South Tahoe girls who received individual honors.
King, who played multiple positions and starred at each of them, was named the Ruby Mountain League Player of the Year. The junior finished with 11 goals and 8 assists.
First-year coach Jeremy Evans moved King from center mid to left back during the year, and then moved her back to center mid for during the Vikings’ state championship run, which was punctuated with a 3-2 win over two-time defending state champion Pahrump Valley.
“Ally King is the ultimate team player, and she is a coach’s dream,” said Evans, who was the program’s JV coach and varsity assistant for three years before taking over the varsity squad this season. “Not only is she capable of playing multiple positions, she willingly accepts those challenges and tried to do her best at whatever position she played. The rest of the coaches noticed that as well, so her being named player of the year was a no-brainer for a lot of them.”
King was also one of three Vikings who received all-state accolades. King was joined on the Nevada Division 1-A all-state first team by junior striker Jordyn Dion, who led South Tahoe with 20 goals and 12 assists (52 points). Dion was a unanimous choice for the league’s first team. Senior midfielder Cassidy Jackson, who was part of three state championship teams during her career at STHS, was named first-team all league and second-team all state after finishing with 7 goals and 9 assists.
Senior midfielder Jenny Burks, who scored both of the team’s goals in its 2-1 state semifinal win over Faith Lutheran, was named to the all-league second team after finishing with 11 goals and 8 assists. Jensen Smith, one of the most feared defenders in the league, was also a second-team all league selection. Senior forward Brittany Hubberts, who was second on the team with 14 goals, and senior defender Riley Chapman were both honorable mention all-league selections.
“A lot of coaches say it but I mean when it I say I’d rather have my starting 11 than any other 11 players in the league,” Evans said. “Riley and Jensen were two of the best defenders in the league period, and not many players ever got behind them. Brittany scored big goals in important games, including the first goal against Pahrump that really propelled us to victory at a moment our team was reeling a bit. These individual awards are great, it’s always great to be recognized, but they are the result of amazing team play and there wasn’t a better team in the state than us by the end of the year. We won the ultimate team award, that’s most important.”
Evans was voted the Ruby Mountain League coach of the year and the state coach of the year.
The Vikings, which ended the season on a nine-game winning streak, finished the season 17-3-3 and were No. 15 in the NSCAA Region VI Girls Soccer Rankings released on Tuesday. Region VI is comprised of teams from the western United States, including California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho and New Mexico.
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