Rafael Torres named All-Bi-City Boys Soccer Coach of the Year

Since Rafael Torres joined the Northside boys soccer coaching staff four years ago, the team has had two overarching goals. In 2017, the Patriots finally checked one of them off the list.

Torres, who has been the Northside head coach since 2016, said every year the team’s major objectives are to win the region and to host a playoff game. The Patriots took second in Region 1-4A and not only hosted a playoff game but won one for the first time since at least 2010.

As a result, Torres has been selected as the 2017 All-Bi-City Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

“The seniors, they’ve really been waiting for that moment,” Torres said of hosting a playoff game. “We’ve been talking about doing it for so long. To have it finally take place meant everything.”

Torres said he’s seen consistent progress since he joined the Patriots, which culminated in this year’s run. The Patriots only lost one game in the region, a 1-0 deadlock with Columbus that was decided by a shot with eight minutes left in the second half.

The Patriots’ entire path to the playoffs fit the mold of the Columbus showdown.

“There were no easy games,” Torres said. “We had a couple of new teams in the region like Cairo and Westover, and they played us tough. Hardaway was the game to clinch the playoffs, and we only won by a goal and it went to overtime. That was insane. We beat Shaw in overtime. We lost by a goal to Columbus. We had so many nail-biters where we were really fighting to win. To see all their hard work throughout the season pay off just so where they can finally the playoff game (was special).”

For Torres, the secret to the team’s high points in 2017 was the group of Patriots he was working with.

“I’ve been lucky to have a fantastic group of seniors this year,” Torres said. “They were a great group of kids and leaders. I’ve been very fortunate to coach fantastic players, and that’s always going to make what I do easier. The Xs and Os are incredibly important, and we prepare just like every other team in the city, but it’s incredibly important to build a family rapport.”

Torres’ spoken goal was to host a playoff game, but that was only half of the objective. The second part was to win it, and his Patriots complied.

Playing at their home field, the Patriots made short work of Thomson, taking a 6-0 victory to advance to the second round. Torres had to dodge a Gatorade bath afterward --he had unsuccessfully tried this after the Hardaway victory when he ran nearly two soccer fields--but was all smiles when he thought about what the victory meant to the program.

“It was fantastic,” Torres said. “It meant a lot to the kids and me also. The kids would love to play at the school (instead of at Woodruff Soccer Complex) so they could have more of their peers, students, family and friends here. For us to be able to host a game at the school and have all their friends and family come out and support them, I know it meant a lot.”

Northside ultimately lost to Blessed Trinity in the second round to end the season with a 9-10 record. The Patriots do lose six seniors, but Torres is hopeful that the returning players plus a few talented freshmen will help the team pick up right where they left off.

Regardless of the roster’s outlook, Torres already has his goals for 2018.

“Nothing changes,” Torres said. “We want to host a playoff game again, which means finishing in the first two seeds (from our region). If we could win the region, that would mean even more.

“In a perfect world, I’d love to say we’re going to beat Columbus and win the region next year. For Columbus soccer in general, everybody views Columbus High School as the king. To shake things up a bit, that would mean a lot for us.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Rafael Torres named All-Bi-City Boys Soccer Coach of the Year."