Washington-Lee senior Lucas Mendes was all smiles Tuesday, and for good reason. (Nick Eilerson / The Washington Post)
Lucas Mendes came into his first high school soccer season with supreme expectations. The D.C. United Academy midfielder wanted to help Washington-Lee lift its first state title trophy, a prize that painfully eluded the Generals in the 6A championship two years ago against T.C. Williams.
The state tournament is still a month away, but so far Mendes’s foray into high school ball has gone better than he could have imagined. The senior playmaker bagged five goals and an assist during the Generals’ last two games to help them close out a third consecutive undefeated regular season, and on Tuesday morning he learned he had been named the Gatorade Virginia Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year.
Still, that accolade took a back seat to the surprise that hit him Tuesday afternoon. Former Major League Soccer MVP Taylor Twellman surprised Mendes after school with a hefty, golden trophy, informing the diminutive midfielder that he had been named the 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year.
“They told me he was speaking to the school after school today, just like talking about concussions or something,” Mendes said. “I was just speechless when I found out.”
One of 40 players named a 2015 NSCAA Youth Boys All-American in December, Mendes decided to opt out of his D.C. United Academy team this spring so that he could join a promising Washington-Lee squad starring 2014 All-Met Player of the Year Maycol Nuñez. Mendes had last played alongside Nuñez in eighth grade, when the two attacking prodigies guided Swanson Middle School to a county championship.
Reuniting the two players has proven fruitful for top-ranked Washington-Lee (11-0-2, 5-0-2 Conference 6) this season. Entering Thursday’s Conference 6 tournament, Mendes and Nuñez have combined for 29 goals. Mendes, who dictates the Generals’ attack from central midfield, has 13 of those tallies to go with a team-high seven assists.
“He knows what we can accomplish, and he wants to be a part of that,” Washington-Lee Coach Jimmy Carrasquillo said. “Coming into it he said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to bring any attention to me. I just want to contribute to what’s already here,’ and he’s done that.”
Mendes, left, has opened up Washington-Lee’s offense with his scoring and distribution skills. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
Mendes, a Virginia commit, participated in a U.S. Soccer Under-20 Men’s National Team camp in January and was the only member of the 36-man roster who played high school soccer this year. The choice between academy and high school can be a fraught decision for soccer talents around the country. Do you continue to prepare for the next level in the rigorous cauldron of club soccer, or do you opt for the looser environment that high school competition provides?
Twellman, who played soccer, baseball, football and basketball at Saint Louis University High School, doesn’t believe there’s a right or wrong answer. He believes it’s an individual decision that needs to be weighed by a number of factors, which falls in line with Mendes having made the decision on his own.
“It’s hard to argue it’s the wrong move,” Twellman said. “You talk to his teammates. He’s a better leader. He’s doing something that makes him happy. Who are we to sit there and judge?”
Mendes joins Duke forward Luis Rendon (Cosby, 2011) as the only Virginia players to be selected for the national boys’ soccer award since its 1985 inception. Gatorade makes its selections based on academic achievement and exemplary character in addition to athletic excellence. Mendes, who carries a weighted GPA of 3.22, is a member of his school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he has volunteered locally as a youth soccer and basketball coach.
Mendes’s ultimate high school hardware remains up for grabs, weeks away from meeting its winners. In the meantime, Washington-Lee’s coveted new arrival can savor a different trophy he never saw coming.
“I just came in trying to hang a banner and win a state championship,” Mendes said. “Nothing at this level. This is beyond what I imagined.”
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