One of the gauges to determine a top player in a section or region is to assess that player’s value to his or her team. Considering that Cupertino senior Chris Ortiz scored over half of the Pioneers’ goals this past season and had a role in roughly two-thirds of them, it is fair to say that he was crucial to the success of the SCVAL-El Camino champions.

Ortiz tied for the overall section lead with 23 goals scored this year, and in many victories, was the sole contributor to the Cupertino tally. In a 1-0 win over Lynbrook in January, it was Ortiz who scored the lone goal, just like he had the only score during a 1-1 draw against Mountain View early in the year. And to underscore his importance on the final outcome, consider this - the Pioneers overall record for the season was 12-4-4; in games where Ortiz scored or assisted on goals, Cupertino was 10-1-2, meaning they were 2-3-2 when the defense was successful in slowing down their senior star.

The high rate at which Ortiz scored against opponents not only led Cupertino to its best overall record in over a decade, but also into the CCS Division II playoffs, where the Pioneers fell to North Salinas. Ortiz’s top scoring effort came in an early January win over Fremont, where he tallied all five of the Pioneers’ goals.

For his efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Chris Ortiz as the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Senior of the Year.

Other players considered include Santa Clara’s Solomon Kendaya, Bellarmine’s Mario Barocio, Bellarmine’s Casey Jaeb and Soquel’s Ryan Jordan.

NOTE: We would like to thank our media partners, coaches, parents, players and fans for contributing photos for our all-section features. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of CCS soccer.