Steady as he goes
Valencia provided senior leadership for Mount Carmel
Senior goalkeeper Sergio Valencia came into the season knowing a young Mount Carmel team would lean on him more than ever to lead the way to success.
Valencia was ready to step up after the Caravan graduated several key pieces of last season’s offense, including current Division I players Josiah Ash and Cesar Cosio, who combined to score 68 goals in 2017.
“There was a little bit more pressure onmy shoulders, but I think I handled it well,” Valencia said. “I just wanted to help the guys aroundme. Iwanted to talk to them all the time, try to make them not be nervous.”
Mount Carmel made the transition from a team built around a high-powered offense to a team where everything started with defense, and thrived in the process.
Valencia, the 2018 Daily Southtown Boys Soccer Player of the Year, had 13 shutouts and posted a goals-against average of 0.62 en route to leading Mount Carmel (18-5-2) to a Class 3A sectional title.
Caravan coach Antonio Godinez said the presence of Valencia, a four-year starter and Green Bay recruit, allowed his teammates to play more aggressively.
“Our back line was able to move up 15 or 20 yards just because of how much they trusted Sergio,” Godinez said. “That changed the whole tone of how we were able to play. We haven’t had a goalkeeper that’s made this big of an impact before.”
Valencia has been playing goalkeeper ever since his first soccer game at age 5.
“I was going to be a baseball player, but there was a soccer team some of my friends were on that needed a goalie,” he said. “I gave it a shot and I loved it. I’ve stuck with it ever since.”
Valencia became a varsity starter four or five games into his freshman season, with some help from an outspoken family member.
“It was his mom’s birthday and we were all eating together and his little brother David was like, ‘Coach, why isn’t my brother starting?’” Godinez said. “I realized that was a good question. I put him in for the second half the next game and he made a great save, kept a clean sheet.
“He made his first start the next game and, once he had the position, he never gave it up.”
Valencia’s emergence coincided with Mount Carmel’s rise from a middle- of-the-road Catholic League team to a state power.
His freshman season in 2015, the Caravan won its first regional title in eight years. The next year, Mount Carmel was the Class 2A state runner-up before moving up to 3A and reaching a sectional final in 2017 and a supersectional this year.
Valencia’s most memorable performance came in the 2016 state semifinals against Jacksonville. In a thrilling, nineround shootout, he made a pair of big saves then converted the winning penalty kick.
“I’ll always remember that game and that team,” Valencia said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to do these last four years. Nobody would have ever thought Mount Carmel soccer would be able to do the things we’ve done.”
As he moves on to Green Bay, Valencia knows he’s left a legacy at Mount Carmel.
“I just want to be remembered as the one who was always there,” he said. “I never missed a practice and I was never lazy. I always gave it my all.”