Live Oak soccer’s Garrett Frechette and Anthony Avalos are
packed with talent
It’s a fearsome one-two punch: Garrett Frechette scores the
goals and Anthony Avalos sets him up.
And it’s been the major offensive factor behind the first-place
Live Oak boys’ soccer team’s undefeated season. So far both seniors
have helped set the tempo of the game and have been able to
dominate with their speed and ball control skills.
Live Oak soccer’s Garrett Frechette and Anthony Avalos are packed with talent
It’s a fearsome one-two punch: Garrett Frechette scores the goals and Anthony Avalos sets him up.
And it’s been the major offensive factor behind the first-place Live Oak boys’ soccer team’s undefeated season. So far both seniors have helped set the tempo of the game and have been able to dominate with their speed and ball control skills.
Frechette, the Acorns go-to guy at forward, has racked up 16 goals and four assists while Avalos, last year’s league MVP, has 11 assists and four goals.
What makes Frechette’s numbers so impressive this year is that he has done so despite being double- and triple-teamed every game – for the entire game.
“He’s having to be more creative this year,” said Live Oak coach Tony Goble. “He’s making more runs and playing very unselfish.”
What separates Frechette from most forwards in the Central Coast Section is his explosive speed and footwork, which forces the added coverage. And that’s when Avalos, the team’s attacking midfielder, capitalizes on the situation by finding someone else open up top or by taking it to the goal himself.
“Anthony was the MVP last year. They’re both playing so well this year that I’d push for a Co-MVP right now,” said Goble. “Garrett is a serious threat and a scorer. I’d hate to have to coach against him. Not having Anthony on the field would hurt us most right now because he is like the quarterback of our soccer team.”
In addition to the “quarterback” and “wide receiver” the Acorns also have an exceptional defensive unit this year.
In the 11 games that they played the Acorn defense has allowed a mere three goals while the offense has scored 30 – a discrepancy that any coach in the section ought to take notice of.
And the Acorns are winning despite a slew of key injuries.
All-League senior Nick Mott and his sophomore brother Casey have both had to sit out the season after tearing their anterior crucial ligaments, the main stabilizing ligament in the knee.
The injuries forced Goble to reshuffle his lineup a bit in various games, which included moving last year’s Co-Freshman Player of the Year Robert Adam from forward to defense and sophomore Rene Hernandez from outside midfield to forward.
Despite the all of the makeshift moves to the lineup, the one constant has been Frechette and Avalos.
The two are friends both on and off the field and have played the sport together for a number of years, which explains their chemistry on the field.
Both started playing the game when they were 4.
“I learned from my mom and dad and started playing in San Jose when I was 4,” said Frechette, whose 45-year-old dad Chris still plays forward in a men’s soccer league in San Jose.
His mother Laurie also played sweeper for most of her life in a number of leagues but stopped last year after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament, the key ligament providing stability in the knee.
With his parents igniting the fuse of interest, Frechette has never stopped playing the sport. Like Avalos, he played in the Orchard Valley Soccer League in Morgan Hill from the age of 10 to 16.
“I was always real fast as a kid,” said Frechette, adding that it’s the rush of the sport that keeps him playing.
A year ago, the 17-year-old started playing for the Santa Clara Ruckus club soccer team. Frechette also competes on the Regional Olympic Development Team. Avalos also played on both elite teams before he turned 18 earlier this year.
While his teammate is now too old, Frechette is in Carson today trying out for the National Olympic Development Team’s 17-under squad, which is why he could not compete on Thursday afternoon against North Salinas High.
At the national tryouts, 44 of the top soccer players from the four regional teams in the United States tryout for the elite squad. Only a dozen or less make it.
The U.S. also has a national under-19, under-21 and under-23 team. The Olympic or World Cup team is usually picked from the roster of the under-23 team.
Frechette knows that making the under-17 team now would be a huge step towards his goal of playing on the World Cup team or Team USA.
“It would be like a dream come true,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been working up to my whole life. As long as I keep playing well, I will hopefully rise up to the World Cup team.”
Like Frechette, Avalos learned the game from his family, and he’s still coached everyday by his dad, Ray, who is an assistant coach for Live Oak.
The older Avalos also played soccer at the competitive club level for a number of years and played some lower-division professional soccer.
The younger Avalos said that the key behind the Acorns success this year is the chemistry of the entire team.
“We have a lot of young guys that get it done,” Avalos said. “They all play for the team this year. What I like most about soccer is that you get a workout and the success feels great. It’s fun to be around the other guys too.”
Although Avalos has not scored as many goals as his teammate and friend, he is equally important in the Acorns’ equation for success.
“I spread the ball around and get the flow of the game going,” said Avalos. “I get it to the forwards.”
Next year Avalos will be playing soccer for the University of California, Berkeley after receiving a partial scholarship to play for the Bears. Frechette plans on attending the University of Santa Clara in the fall.
Avalos is thrilled to be going to Cal, which has one of the top soccer programs in the country. Last year, the Bears made it all the way to the “Elite 8” in the NCAA Division I tournament before losing to New Mexico – the team that lost to Maryland in the championship game.
“I found out I’d be going there over the summer,” Avalos said. “They scouted a lot of our games last year. Luckily, I played well when they were watching.”
With their college careers not starting for several more months the main focus now for the two standout athletes from Live Oak is winning a CCS title.
Last year Live Oak lost to Alisal in the CCS semifinals. This year the Acorns’ top seniors will have one more crack at tasting a CCS championship.
“We want to win it all. That’s always the goal,” Avalos said. “It would be great if we could do it this year in our last year. Last year we had some real strong individuals. This year we don’t have that. But the players all play for the team and that’s priceless.”
Their coach has faith in them and the entire team.
“Alisal and Watsonville are good but it’s wide open right now,” Goble said. “There are a bunch of teams that are good. But we’re in a position where we can make a run at it if we keep getting better and better.”
