By Grant Clark
Juan Lopez estimates he scored 84 career goals — give or take a score or two after you factor in penalty kicks — during his four years as a starter on Aberdeen High School’s boys’ soccer team.
“It’s something like that,” Lopez said after he quickly tried to add up the near-70 high school matches he appeared in. “I’m not exactly sure.”
What he is positive about is that one individual had a significant hand in many of those goals — his cousin Juancarlos Oropeza.
“It seemed like he got the assist on all of them,” Lopez said. “He just always knew where I was going to be, even before I got there.”
The two midfielders are entering their junior seasons at The Evergreen State College and both are expected to play a much larger role this year for the Geoducks squad, which is coming off a third-place finish in last year’s Cascade Collegiate Conference.
Both saw significant improvements in play during their sophomore seasons. Lopez tied for the Evergreen team lead with four goals in 2014 and was second on the squad with 26 shots while starting in nine of the 14 matches he played in.
Oropeza was an All-Cascade Conference Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore, registering five assists and a goal while appearing in all 18 matches.
“We expect a lot out of both them this year,” said Evergreen coach, John Purtteman, who is entering his 10th season with the Geoducks.
It wasn’t until late into their senior season of high school that playing for Evergreen even started to show up on their radar.
Growing up in Aberdeen, Lopez took up the sport at the age of 9, and it was through his encouragement that his cousin followed suit. However, outside the usual Sunday rec-league match, the two didn’t actually play on the same team until they became Bobcats during their freshman year of high school.
“We always wanted to play together,” Oropeza said, “but I’m a little older than him. So when we were younger, we were always on different teams.”
Despite having minimal actual-game experience together, the two immediately clicked on the pitch and the Aberdeen program quickly reaped the benefits of the duo’s effortless interaction as the Bobcats won the Evergreen 2A Conference title during the tandem’s senior year in 2013.
Lopez was named conference MVP for a second consecutive year — the first player in Bobcats history to accomplish such a feat — while Oropeza earned first-team all-conference honors.
As their high school careers drew to an end, it wasn’t until the conversation of playing together at the next level started to surface.
“We are the first generation from our family to go to college,” said Lopez, who plans to pursue a career in the medical field. “Neither of us really knew what to expect [with the recruiting process].”
Originally, they discussed attending and playing soccer at South Puget Sound Community College, but once Purtteman entered the scene their focus quickly shifted to the Geoducks – a program which was coming off one of its most successful seasons in 2012 by finishing second in the CCC with a 12-2-0 record.
“We just had one of our last [high school] practices when Evergreen offered both of us,” Lopez said. “[Coach Purtteman] told us about the program. It’s a great school and we liked that it was close to home so our family can come and watch us play.”
As expected, there was a learning curve in transition from the high school to the college game for both players.
“It was eye-opening that first year,” Oropeza said. “The speed of the game is so much faster in college. I remember thinking everyone was just as good as or better than I was. It took a while to adjust.”
Oropeza appeared in 14 matches, making starts against Oregon Tech and Northwest Christian during his freshman season. He logged a total of 586 minutes.
“He was the most college ready of the two of them. He was ready for the physicality,” Purtteman said about Oropeza. “With (Lopez) it took a little bit for him to get adjusted, but his confidence has definitely grown over the last two years.”
The Geoducks opened their 2015 season on August 27 with a 3-1 victory over Northwest Christian. Lopez failed to find the back of the net but finished with three shots, including one on goal.
“This season feels a lot different,” Lopez said. “It’s tough making that switch [from high school], but now it feels comfortable.”
The Geoducks played their first home match of the season on September 6 against Doane College. In addition to Lopez and Oropeza, Evergreen welcomes back 2014 all-conference picks Nate Boatwright, Angel Guerra, Willie Spurr and Tanner Williams.
Evergreen was picked to finish fifth in the CCC in the preseason coaches’ poll. The 14-school conference will have a drastic new look this year with the addition of seven new programs (Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Multnomah University, Walla Walla University, Great Falls, Rocky Mountain and Carroll College – and the departure of Concordia.)
