Donna North’s Gomez does it all, named The Monitor’s Utility POTY

WRITER’S NOTE: This story is part of a series highlighting The Monitor’s boys soccer all-area award winners. The Monitor’s coverage area ranges from Mercedes to Roma. Check back throughout the week as we reveal the Upper Valley’s other superlative winners and be sure to pick up a copy of Saturday’s newspaper for a complete list of the all-area winners. 

Finding Donna North’s Melvin Gomez on the field during any game wasn’t hard this past season. All anyone had to do was look for the ball.

No matter where Gomez lined up this year, the senior do-it-all athlete lived around the ball.

From attacking as a forward, to looking to take the ball away as a defender, Gomez impacted the game at every level.

For his versatility on the field, Gomez is The Monitor’s 2024 All-Area Boys Soccer Utility Player of the Year.

Donna North’s Melvin Gomez is The Monitor’s 2024 All-Area Boys Soccer Utility Player of the Year. (Andrew Cordero | Special to RGVSports)

“It was a great season,” Gomez said. “I’m glad I had the team I had. Moving positions sometimes threw me off, but I knew me moving around could help my team out in ways we needed.”

Gomez was no stranger playing multiple positions heading into this season, crediting his time playing in club teams in developing him into a Swiss Army Knife on the pitch.

His primary position this season gave him command of the team’s offense, playing the center midfielder spot for the Chiefs.

From there Gomez was able to pilot the Chiefs’ offense to a whopping 3.4 goals per game during district play, coming up with countless assists to his teammates.

Gomez also made an impact offensively as a forward at times, scoring six goals of his own for the fourth-best mark on the team.

Other games Gomez made his impact outside of the box score, tasked with marking the opponent’s best player on numerous occasions, including starting at defender during both of the Chiefs’ two playoff games against District 31-5A MVP Diego Pina of PSJA Memorial and District 30-5A MVP Omar Solis of La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.

Donna North’s Melvin Gomez is The Monitor’s 2024 All-Area Boys Soccer Utility Player of the Year. (Andrew Cordero | Special to RGVSports)

“It was a switch of mentality totally once I went over to the defender spot,” Gomez said. “As a midfielder you have the ball at your feet and you’re in control. Then as a defender I had to be patient and wait for them to come to my area. But the change was easy for me, I think.”

The Chiefs finished the year with a 13-2-3 mark during district play, finishing as the third seed in 32-5A behind Brownsville Lopez and Brownsville Porter.

Donna North also picked up a postseason win against PSJA Memorial during the Class 5A bi-district round before bowing out of the postseason in the area round to La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.

Gomez finishes his four-year varsity career with four playoff appearances under his belt, helping guide the Chiefs past the first round during two of those years.

“It was a great experience the past four years,” Gomez said. “Being able to play against competitive schools like Lopez, Porter and Rivera those years. It was just great. Making the playoffs all four years was amazing, but it just felt like time was too short.”

ivan@themonitor.com

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