Sophomore leads Poky to promised land with massive points total

POCATELLO — The Pocatello Thunder returned to the girls soccer mountain top this season, claiming the 5A state title thanks largely to the scoring prowess of sophomore striker Aryanna Gonzalez.

Gonzalez finished among the top-eight in the state in both goals (29) and points (64) — the combination of goals and assists — in 20 games played.

“Ary is such a natural athlete — strong, fast, aggressive and determined,” Poky head coach Mark Wetstein told EastIdahoSports.com in an email. “What a lot of people overlook, especially for a top goal-scorer like Ary, is the mental fortitude it takes to continue to produce goals. She is self-driven, she wants to be the best.”

After being named All-State First Team as a freshman last year, Wetstein said, Gonzalez looked at her production and found ways she could improve, to make herself even more impatctful.

Looking at this season the same way, Wetstein added, Gonzalez can make even more of an improvement on her efficiency. He said that, for every goal the star attacker scored, there were four-times as many missed opportunities.

“This is not meant to be a poor reflection on Ary, but just to show how dangerous she is for opponents when she’s on the pitch,” he said. “What sets Ary apart is how personally she takes the misses, it can weigh heavily on someone and they don’t always bounce back. What I’m most proud of Ary for, this season especially, is the maturity she’s begun to develop to not let the misses weigh her down, but learn from them instead. As she gets older and gains more experience, she’s going to be able to capitalize on more of those opportunities she creates. It’s incredibly exciting as a coach to have that type of talent and firepower to work with for a couple more years.”

Gonzalez, for all her growth on production, still has two more years of high school soccer — as well as basketball, where she plays guard for the JV squad, and track — left.

“Soccer, basketball and track all help me to remain in shape, and to use my skills in different ways,” she said. “Each sport requires me to focus on different muscles and skills that make me a more rounded athlete. I think that all three sports work together.”

Of her sophomore campaign, Gonzalez said she relied heavily on the support of her teammates and coaches, adding that she is proud of the success they enjoyed together.

And she believes the Thunder are in position to make a run at another state title next year.

“I think we have to find a way to keep up our teamwork and connections with each other,” she said. “If we each play our best in our positions, we can’t be stopped. There’s gonna be pressure on us to get back to the championship, but we just gotta stick together.”