Mario Trujillo named WSC Goalie of the Year; led the state in saves
Like a cat ready to pounce, Mario Trujillo prowled the goalie area for the Glendale College Men's Soccer Team like a man possessed in 2022. Until the opposition makes a run at him and the defense starts to form around him, he alternates between fielding shots on goal with venturing as much as 20 yards outside of his area to shout encouragement and deftly managing the game on his end of the field.
As a team captain for the Vaqueros, Trujillo exhorts his teammates with defensive instructions and even takes matters into his own hands, becoming what he calls a super defender, and ventures outside his 24-feet long by 8-feet wide goalie box to help his teammates.
"It may seem like I'm taking chances when I go (way) beyond the goalie area to help out on defense, but I have confidence in my teammates and myself to do what I need to do to help the team win," said Trujillo. "I don't get down when the opposition takes a lot of shots or even scores a few goals. My job is to put negative things out of mind and stay focused and be a leader for our team during every game.''
Trujillo's focus and sheer will and confidence have been evident as he led the state in goalie saves with 175 and was second in the WSC South with 75 saves and has played a key role in Glendale's five shutout wins this year and an overall record of 8-10-3 and third place in the WSC South at 3-3-2. For his efforts, he was named the WSC Goalkeeper of the Year and a first-team All-WSC selection.
"Mario has been the backbone of the squad. Not only does he lead through his captainship, but also with his heroic performance securing the net including five shutouts, and he has consistently held in the top 20 for the CCCAA goalkeeping stats in the state,'' said GCC Head Men's Soccer Coach Laura Matsumoto. "I'm very proud of his resilience and determination to drive our team's success. He will be sorely missed as he moves on to his next adventures in the net at a four-year institution in pursuit of an administration of justice major."