Young soccer player dies

Felipe De La Cruz, 13, collapses during a tournament match in Westminster.

A 13-year-old soccer player died Saturday morning after collapsing during a tournament match in Westminster.

Only 10 minutes had elapsed during the second half of the match when Felipe De La Cruz flung his arm in the air and requested that another player be substituted for him, said Mark Marquez, team manager for Strikers FC North.

After Felipe jogged off the field at Westminster High School, he sat down on a bench and collapsed.

As Felipe’s face turned blue, Marquez said, members of Strikers FC North team rushed toward him. A coach’s wife started administering CPR, and a parent who happened to be a doctor assisted.

“He was never really conscious,” Marquez said.

Paramedics took the Hacienda Heights teen to a hospital, where he died, said Capt. Larry Kurtz, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.

It is unclear what led to Felipe’s collapse. By all accounts, Kurtz said, Felipe had no history of health issues.

In a show of support, the youngster’s teammates gathered at the hospital, where grief counselors spoke with them, said coach Ron Esparza, whose wife performed CPR on Felipe.

Felipe was one of 17 players on Strikers FC North, a competitive soccer club in Orange County.

Felipe’s death was a huge loss for the team, which considered dropping out of the tournament until the boy’s father asked if they could play Sunday in his son’s memory, Esparza said.

The team now had a mission. Donning armbands with Felipe’s number, 18, the players assembled on the high school’s soccer field to honor their fallen teammate.

The team competed with 10 players, leaving the 11th position vacant. Their opponents did the same. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

“It was just a beautiful day of honoring Felipe and honoring his family,” Esparza said.

At the field, the coaches erected a small memorial with Felipe’s gym bag, candles, a signed soccer ball, a photograph of him, and a cooler filled with flowers.

Inside the bag, the coaches found that visitors had left $1,900 for Felipe and his family, Marquez said.

Felipe was dedicated to the sport, and traveled the longest to practice, Marquez said — from his home in Hacienda Heights to Orange, two or three times a week.

During the car rides to and from practice, Felipe did his homework, Marquez said.

Felipe never missed a practice and always arrived on time, he said.

Once Felipe arrived at practice, the team said, he was focused and worked on perfecting his game as a defender and midfielder.

“He was just a spectacular kid,” Marquez said.

To further honor Felipe, he said, the team came up with a code to use during games. When the team shouts “18!” — Felipe’s number —they will not only be invoking their fallen teammate’s memory, but also calling for support and backup.

The club created a GoFundMe page to help pay for Felipe’s funeral and assist his family.

veronica.rocha @latimes.com