SHERIDAN – Fort Lupton’s Arnaldo Chavez finished up his high school soccer career with a goal and an assist in his team’s 4-2 loss at Mullen High School in the first round of the state 4A soccer playoffs.
    Chavez’ goal came with 10 minutes to play. His assist came three minutes earlier when he set up Jacob Posada.

    What those numbers don’t provide is a snapshot of what Chavez did the last three years as a member of the Bluedevils. His offense increased – from 12 goals in 2009 to a team-high 20 goals and 56 points this season.
    They also don’t provide a self-analysis of what Chavez said turned into an important part of high school.
    “It kept me out of doing a lot of bad stuff,” Chavez said after the game. “I met a lot of friends. I kept my grades up. Without soccer, I wouldn’t be the man you see right now.”
    Fort Lupton finished 9-7 and advanced to the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row. This year, though, there was more of an emphasis was on year-round soccer. Chavez participated then, and he would encourage his teammates to continue that pattern this coming offseason.
    “As a team, we matured a lot,” Chavez said. “We played together. The more we played, the more chemistry we had. During the preseason, we hung out together, passing the ball back and forth. We knew where each other was going to be, and we knew each other. That made good chemistry.
    “The more you get people out there year-round, the better they are skill-wise,” he continued. It helps everyone build their skills. Once they build their skills, there are more opportunities for give and gos. It’s like everything was synchronized.”
    Mullen scored the first three goals of the game. They came in the first 49 minutes of play. Even so, Chavez saw a lot of good things his team did.
    “Our touching was awesome,” he said. “We got a lot of shots from the outside. But what went wrong was our poor effort to kick the ball out. That’s what killed us. It was bad luck on our part. Our defense played awesome. But that part (clearing the ball from the Fort Lupton end of the field) – killed us.”
    It’s not like Chavez plans to hang up his soccer shoes just because he’s changing schools. Chavez plans to attend Metropolitan State College of Denver and play for the Roadrunners, an NCAA Division II team, next fall.
    “I grew up playing soccer,” Chavez said. “I always loved it. I’m glad I stuck to it. I turned out to be a pretty good guy. I’m going to graduate and go to college.”

Contact Sports Editor Steve Smith at ssmith@metrowestnewspapers.com or at 303-659-2522, ext. 224.