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Martinsville's Corcoran named first-team all-state
MHS' Van Nutt, MVHS' Johnson, BHS' Atwood earn second-team honors
Martinsville's Zach Corocorn (middle) was named to the Group AA all-state first team on Thursday by Virginia coaches. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray)
Friday, June 15, 2012
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
Martinsville soccer player Zach Corcoran was named to the AA Virginia all-state first team on Thursday — his fourth all-state selection in four years.
“Just being named All-State is an honor, especially your senior year, going off and getting first-team, I see it as a success for me for all the hard work I put in,” Corcoran said.
Also from Martinsville, Garrett Van Nutt made the state’s second team.
“They’re great kids and they love the game of soccer,” Martinsville soccer coach Pete Scouras said. “Whenever you can impress the coaches from other places ... it speaks volumes.”
Corcoran was the co-Piedmont District player of the year and also a four-time all-region selection. He will continue his soccer career at Longwood University, making him the third Division-I recruit from Martinsville’s soccer program.
While Corcoran scored goals, Scouras said Van Nutt was just as valuable to his team as a play-maker and that he had a knack for setting up his teammates.
“Replacing those is going to be tough,” Scouras said.
Corcoran and Van Nutt weren’t the only PD players to receive all-state nods.
Magna Vista goalkeeper Koby Johnson received AA Virginia all-state second team honors, as did Bassett’s Zach Atwood, while Bassett teammate Misael Barco was an honorable mention from Bassett.
Johnson was co-Piedmont District player of the year, and he’s only a sophomore.
“We could always count on Koby no matter what,” former Magna Vista head coach David Sergeant said. “We expected to win a lot of games 2-1, and with Koby in goal, we always had a chance.”
Johnson was more than just a goalkeeper. Sergeant said he was a leader for his team on the field. He said that leadership came across naturally, but that it was also a byproduct of his play.
“Kids responded to him, because he was making the saves left and right,” Sergeant said.
Atwood scored eight goals and had four assists for the Bengals, but it was his presence on the defensive half of the field that made Atwood so valuable to his team.
“I actually think that might hav e hurt us a little this year, because when Bill Ison came back we got a little more open in our attack,” Bassett coach Larry Wylie said. “It wasn’t just me that trusted Zach and Bill back there, it was the team.”
Wylie said his team’s outside defenders loosened some simply because they knew Atwood was patrolling the middle.
At one point, Atwood helped the Bengals’ defense string together eight consecutive shutouts.
“He’s huge; he had 79 consecutive starts,” Wylie said. “He’s started every game since he stepped on the field four years ago.”
Barco did a little bit more offensively for the Bengals. The versitile playmaker started the season scoring a lot and finished with 11 goals and 11 assists.
“It’s a big honor for any of them to make the all-state team,” Wylie said. “You need to be top five, six seven in the all-region selections.”
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