Star-Banner all-county boys soccer: West Port defender Anibal Munoz is player of the year

In soccer, the players who often get the most attention are usually the forwards and attacking midfielders; the players who put up the goals, assists and flashy numbers.

While scoring is an incredibly important part of the game, it means that, oftentimes, the players who keep those numbers off the scoreboard are left out of the conversation. And when you’ve got a player that keeps as many goals out of the back of his team’s net as West Port defender Anibal Munoz, that player deserves all of the credit he can get.

He is the Star-Banner all-county boys soccer player of the year.

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Munoz, a team captain and the top defender for West Port, led his team to a 12-3-1 record this past season, including the team’s second consecutive county championship and consecutive undefeated seasons against county competition.

Over the past two years, the Wolf Pack have outscored Marion County opponents 94-14 while going 19-0 against those teams. Munoz has been a huge part of that success.

“It’s a blessing,” West Port soccer coach Robert Boland said. “It really is. To know that you have a defender who has the capability to effectively shut down a team's attack. ... Having someone like an Anibal, with the tactical awareness of what to do, when to do it. You can’t quantitate that.

“His ability to just read a game, read a situation. When teams play us and they know you have that caliber of a defender, they’re already thinking ‘what am I gonna have to do differently’, which means they’re already off of their game plan a little bit.”

Defense isn't even Anibal Munoz's best position, his coach says

While Munoz may be a great defender now, he admits it didn’t happen overnight. Munoz says that his growth as a defender has been a four-year journey.

“I’ve developed a lot. The first year I was a JV player, I wasn’t varsity my whole four years,” said Munoz, who also added two goals and an assist to his resume this season. “Coming into West Port, I was not going to be a defender. But my 9th-grade coach, he told me he wanted me to play defender because he saw something in me. Ever since then, it’s stuck with me and I’ve been a defender ever since.”

According to Boland, defender isn’t even Munoz’s best position; it’s attacking midfielder. That only speaks more to his ability and his willingness to play wherever he’s most needed to help his team win.

Anibal Munoz looks up to Sergio Ramos and Antonio Rudiger

One way Munoz has worked to improve is by studying the pros. He likes to watch some of the top soccer players around the world and model his own game off them.

“I watch a lot of professional film and I like to observe how they play, how they move, how they open up, and how they play the long balls and everything,” Munoz said. “I look up to players such as Sergio Ramos or Antonio Rudiger, professional players who are actually super good. I just look at them and take out the little pieces in their game and try to put it in my game.”

While Munoz has worked to improve his own game, soccer is a team sport, and you can’t win on your own. One of the most underrated aspects of Munoz’s game is his ability to communicate with and improve the other players around him.

“I like to communicate with my players and tell them where to be,” Munoz said. “So, once (the other team) is coming down the field, we’re already set up perfectly. Our coaches provide the formation and how they want us to defend, so I communicate with my players and give them tips on where to move on the field. I’ve had a really good team during my four years at West Port and I’ve just been really grateful for them.”

“He’s the one player who almost the entire team looks up to,” Boland said. “They look up to him for his leadership on the field because they know he has the ability that he brings. I think that alone forces everyone to want to raise their game.”

As one of the team captains, Munoz says he tries to impart some of the tips and knowledge that he’s gained during his four years at West Port to the younger players so that they can continue the team’s success.

With Munoz set to graduate soon, he’s hoping to take his skills to the next level. While he hasn’t made a decision yet, he says that he and a couple of schools have mutual interest.

“I definitely wanna play at the next level, at college or at the USL League Two division,” Munoz said. “Any semi-pro or professional team, that’s where I want to be at.”

All-county boys soccer team

F: Gustavo Maldonado, West Port: 10 goals, 8 assists

F: Max Maysonet, West Port: 14 goals, 4 assists, 8 game-winning goals

F: Lucas Butler, Trinity Catholic: 28 goals in 15 games for POTY finalist

F: Tanner Putzeys, Vanguard: leading player on county runner-up, no stats provided

M: Pablo Reza, North Marion: 9 goals, 7 assists, 4 clean sheets

M: Brantley Wigginton, Forest: 23 goals, 26 assists for POTY finalist

M: Collin Scroggie, Forest: 13 goals, 15 assists

M: Anthony Minami, Trinity Catholic: 8 assists, goal, strong 1-on-1 player

M: Pascal Bouillaud, Trinity Catholic: 18 assists, 6 goals

D: Dimitrios Mikedis, West Port: 7 goals, 2 assists, 2 game-winning goals

D: Anibal Munoz, West Port: POTY led team to 19-0 record vs. county last two years

D: Alec Cebel, Forest: 3 goals, 2 assists

D: Carlos Leon, Forest: 4 goals, 4 assists

G: Jake Goebel, West Port: 44 saves in 845 minutes, 10 wins, 3 shutouts

Honorable mention

Aiden Kaczmarski (Belleview), Seth Griffin (Belleview), Joel Magwood (Belleview), Selvin Banegas Rodas (Belleview), Michael Andres-Juarez (Belleview), Brandon Lopez (Belleview), Ismael Hernandez (Belleview), Ali Okab (Forest), Jonathan Smith (Forest), Adrian Droese (Forest), Jahdiel Rodriguez (Forest), Tariq Williams (Forest), Blaise Kemerson (Forest), Finley Eck (Forest), Ryan Gorman (Forest), Bode Wigginton (Forest), Jack Gorman (Forest), Paul Lee (Forest), Sullivan Switzer (North Marion), Adrian Ascencio (North Marion), Brayden Hawk (North Marion), Serguey Garcia (North Marion), Nicholas Bustillo (Trinity Catholic), Bennett Stringfellow (Trinity Catholic), Isaiah Ratliff (Trinity Catholic), Antoine Bouillaud (Trinity Catholic), Austin Hilty (Trinity Catholic), Daniel Andrade (Trinity Catholic), Kyle Cortes (Vanguard), David Rosales-Munoz (Vanguard), Iran Faria (West Port), Gadiel Cortes (West Port), Ericson Figueroa (West Port), Justin Garay (West Port), Dylan Lozito (West Port), Benjamin Brewster (West Port), Samuel Jimenez (West Port), Solomen Al-Failakawi (West Port), Nelson Dicks (West Port), Jonathan Jurado (West Port), Sanjay Jaipaul (West Port), Tareq Jaber (West Port).

The boys soccer all-county team was selected by John Patton with assistance from local coaches and Star-Banner correspondent Mark Pinson. Five schools responded to nomination requests, and four included statistics. Other selections were chosen from statistics provided at MaxPreps. In some cases players from teams whose coach did not respond to multiple requests seeking nominees and did not put stats on MaxPreps were nominated by opposing coaches.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school soccer: Meet the Ocala all-county boys soccer team