HEBER CITY, Utah – Containing one high scoring forward is tough enough. Figuring out how to stop two such players is a defensive nightmare.
That's the scenario
Wasatch (Heber City) opponents face each time they take the soccer field. The Wasps are off to a 10-0 start and are a strong contender to win their second Class 3A boys soccer championship in three years. One reason for this favored status is the dual presence of senior forwards
Alex Espinoza and
Ben Powell up top.
Powell led the state in scoring a year ago with 26 goals. Espinoza led Class 3A in scoring two years ago with 21 goals while helping Wasatch win its first boys soccer state championship in school history.
Ben Powell
Photo by John Coon
Containing both players at the same time is virtually impossible. The Wasps regularly deal with teams that bunker down in the box hoping just to keep the game under control.
"Who do you mark?" Wasatch coach Dwain Wheatley said. "If you're an opposing coach what do you do? You have to restrict their opportunities. We've been facing defenses that are packed. They drop seven, eight or nine people in the defensive third of the field. So we've got to find ways for them to score. You do that by having people complement each other."
The potent duo of Powell and Espinoza was only fully realized this season. Powell took on the bulk of scoring duties last spring when Espinoza broke his foot two games into the season. Espinoza played through the injury, but it limited his effectiveness for the rest of the season.
"It was really hard, especially when I tried to turn," Espinoza said. "I was running (awkwardly) half the time, trying not to put pressure on that outer part of my foot. It was really painful at some points."
Espinoza taped up his foot before each game to make the situation as bearable as possible. By the end of the season, though, his foot was still only at 85 percent.
He relishes being fully healthy in 2013. The speed and playmaking abilities he showed off two years ago are all top-level again.
"I feel very energetic compared to last year when I broke my foot," Espinoza said. "It brought me down a little, but this season I'm feeling great."
His injury allowed Powell to flourish in a new role. During his sophomore season, Powell played as a defensive midfielder. Then, as a junior, he switched to forward. Powell's time in a defensive role helped unleash his offense because he understood what it took to be an effective scorer after spending so much time trying to stop those types of players.
Alex Espinoza
Photo by John Coon
"I don't see myself as a guy who is always going to beat people," Powell said. "I like being in the right place at the right time. I'm just going as hard as I can to put pressure on the defense. If you're always going hard, that's all anybody can ask for."
Powell (15 goals) and Espinoza (14 goals) are the top two scorers in Class 3A and they both rank in the top five in the entire state. They set a goal to score 50 combined goals this spring and are more than halfway there with less than a month left in the regular season.
Both players feel intense defensive pressure from opponents who will do anything possible to avoid letting Powell and Espinoza get a flurry of goals at their expense.
"It always makes us play a little harder than usual, which is good because it is only making us better," Espinoza said. "I just try to play simple whenever that happens."
They have come to expect games where they have to get creative and fight to score their goals more than in past seasons.
"People play against us differently because they know we have that attacking option," Powell said. "They know they have to play a little more defensive."
Both Powell and Espinoza have their sights set on taking their game to the collegiate level after finishing out their senior seasons.
Espinoza plans to play for Westminster College, an NAIA school in Salt Lake City, in the fall. He is hopeful he can make the Utah Valley University roster when the Wolverines start their men's soccer program after joining the Western Athletic Conference this summer.
Powell will leave for an LDS mission to Chile this summer and play for Dixie State, an NCAA Division II school, when he returns in 2015.
John Coon has covered sports in Utah since 2004. He previously worked as a prep sports reporter at the Salt Lake Tribune for 2 1/2 years and then spent 3 1/2 years as a prep sports reporter with the Deseret News.
