All-Area boys soccer: Colby Burdette, large schools player of the year

Monday, March 28, 2011
by Jeff Greer

When Jupiter coach Tim Shea went back and viewed film of one of the Warriors' games against Boca Raton this season, one goal stood out.

Boca Raton forward Colby Burdette had scored on a header, outjumping one of Shea's tallest defenders, leaving Shea and his coaching staff in awe.

"His head was literally above the crossbar," said a laughing Shea, whose Warriors regularly compete with Boca Raton for the District 9-6A title.

That story shouldn't surprise anyone who's played against Burdette. The FIU-bound senior scored 44 goals this season, enough to become the area's leading goal-scorer regardless of class. He added 19 assists to his resume, too.

And he did it all with a smile on his face.

What set Burdette apart from his talented counterparts was simple: He just has "it." As Shea put it, Burdette is special.

He has that forward's ability to bounce off tackles, run at defenders, find openings in the tiniest of spaces, score with deadly accuracy and set up his teammates.

"It was always like, 'Oh my God, he's on fire tonight,' " Shea said. "If he's going straight at you, he'll just crush you. But he is special, and he was great for soccer in this county."

Burdette wowed Palm Beach Gardens coach Francisco Lopez with his unparalleled understanding of positioning on the field.

"His understanding of the game is superior to the average player in Palm Beach County," said Lopez, whose Gators also compete in the same district as Boca and Jupiter. "As soon as he got possession of the ball, we tried to put pressure on him right away, and that worked for a little bit. But he could see the strategy we were using against him and change his game and adapt because he's that good."

Burdette will once again adapt his game to FIU and Conference USA soccer, and the coaches who had to prepare for him around Palm Beach County will be happy - in the nicest way possible - to see him go.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Tony Shellard

Park Vista

Coached the attack-minded Cobras to their first berth in the regional playoffs.

FIRST TEAM

GOALKEEPER

Brian Kilgallon

Boca Raton, Sophomore

Repeat first-teamer posted eight shutouts and a 0.6 goals-against average.

FULLBACK

Joe Moore

Palm Beach Gardens, Senior

Four-year center back for the Gators provided a steady presence on the back line.

FULLBACK

Gilmar Rodrigues

Boca Raton, Sophomore

Teamed with sophomore Giovanni DiMauro to provide Bobcats with a sturdy defense.

FULLBACK

Nick Tripodi

Park Vista, Sophomore

Was the key cog of a Cobras team that finished fifth in the area rankings.

MIDFIELDER

Kamil Balcerzak

Wellington, Senior

Formed a nice central-midfield tandem for the Wolverines with Nick Brewer.

MIDFIELDER

Rafael Chavez

John I. Leonard, Senior

Had 26 goals and 16 assists for the District 15-5A runners-up.

MIDFIELDER

Jeff Michaud

Dwyer, Junior

Almost a unanimous selection, tallying 17 goals and eight assists.

MIDFIELDER

Jake Weiss

Jupiter, Senior

Played everywhere for the Warriors, scoring 19 goals and adding eight assists.

MIDFIELDER

Mateus Oliveira

Boca Raton, Senior

Contributed 31 assists to the Bobcats' attack.

FORWARD

Miguel Arroyave

Royal Palm Beach, Senior

Scored 28 goals in 16 matches for the Wildcats.

MIDFIELDER

Ronald Garcia

Suncoast, Senior

Suncoast coach John Walker called Garcia � who had 31 goals and 11 assists � the "best player I've ever coached."

SECOND TEAM

G: Ryan Heagan, Spanish River, Sr.

D: Roman Nino, Santaluces, Sr.

D: Mooryol Lee, Palm Beach Gardens, Sr.

D: Giovanni DiMauro, Boca Raton, So.

D: Mark Diaz, Park Vista, Sr.

M: Stephan Hohn, Royal Palm Beach, Sr.

M: T.J. Lombardo, Jupiter, Sr.

M: Nick Brewer, Wellington, Sr.

M: Hunter Bandy, Boca Raton, So.

F: Ignacio Albornez, Park Vista, Jr.

F: Jose Martinez, John I. Leonard, Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Atlantic: Jairo Jimenez, Roberto Rivera.

John I. Leonard: Fernando Cortes, LaRose Esther, Kevin Farjado, Jhoan Victoria, Danny Zamorano.

Jupiter: Richie Bezold, Tommy Johnson, Erik Mastromarino.

Olympic Heights: Boris Bozic, Emilio Bresani, John Sooker.

Park Vista: Travis Allyn, Derrick Contreras, Francisco D'Oliveira, Aryeh Ebrahimi, Jorge Santana, Steve Sosa.

Palm Beach Gardens: John Jules, Kevyn Pinzon.

Palm Beach Lakes: Ezekuiel Carranza, Holidson Lucien, Jonathan Magliore.

Royal Palm Beach: Paul Brown, Robert Budd, Courtney Lyn-kew.

Santaluces: Jaime Gonzalez, Yves Morquette, Vinny Schultz.

Spanish River: Flavio Santana.