Earns WAC Girls Soccer POY honors
When Jasmine Ruiz arrived for the spring preseason practices of girls soccer at Dodge City High School, all she had hopes of was to make the varsity and see if she could fit into the team as an incoming freshman.
Little did she realize what her first high school season would become two months later.
The 5-foot-5-inch Ruiz not only made the starting lineup, but she scored goal-after goal-after goal, and kept on scoring like the Eveready Bunny commercial.
The final tally reads 43 goals in 17 games to help the Lady Red Demons to a 13-4-0 record only to see their postseason end in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Wichita Northwest in the Class 6A Regional championship game.
For her exploits, Ruiz was named the 2022 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Garden City High School Coach Jose Vital was voted Coach of the Year as he guided the Lady Buffaloes to a 6-2-0 league record to share the WAC championship with 2021 champion Hays High.
Ruiz said she learned of the honor after the season ended on a telephone call from her coach, Saul Hernandez.
“I was very shocked,” she said of the phone call. “I didn’t expect anything like that being a freshman and knowing there are many other outstanding players who are upperclassmen. It was kind of like, ‘What the heck?’ I could not believe it myself. ‘They picked a freshman?’ It was just something I couldn’t really figure out at first.”
Nonetheless, Ruiz is one happy freshman with the postseason honor.
“One of my goals this season was to go out there and play my hardest,” Ruiz said. “I didn’t expect much else. I really like the girls I play with. We have a lot of fun and we also work hard.”
Her coach had nothing but high praise for his dynamite forward.
“Jasmine is a hard worker, not only on the soccer field, but in the weight room,” Hernandez said. “Most importantly, also in the classroom (4.0 GPA). She got second place in our Demon Strong strength and agility testing in the whole school for female students.”
The 43 goals (also 6 assists) were not only a season school record (breaking the mark of 21); she also set a career goal-scoring record in just her first season. The Lady Demons totaled 70 goals during the season so her 43 scores account for 61.4 percent of the scoring.
The 43 goals is believed to be the most goals scored in one season in the WAC since Garden City all-state player and junior college all-American Cyndi Benitez scored 45 in her freshman season in 2005.
“A thing that sets her apart is her strength and determination to get to the goal,” Hernandez said. “She’s a positive person that leads by action and understands that hard work pays off when it is consistent.”
Ruiz said she enjoys playing on the attacking side of the field where she can utilize her strength, speed and agility to position herself to where she can get passes from teammates close to the opponent’s goal.
“The juniors and seniors were amazing teammates and I love them very much,” Ruiz said. “They are a huge part of how I got this (award). They always help me to do my best.”
Ruiz’ top-scoring games on several occasions were five goals.
“I don’t think too much about what I’m actually doing,” he said. “I just let my feet go where they think they need to be. I just do random stuff and shoot it and many times it goes in. I just try to be more open so I can get the ball from my teammates.”
Despite her stellar debut at the high school level, Ruiz knows she can be even better.
“I’m left-footed and I want to work on my right-footed kicks so I can use both of them about the same,” she said of her plans on what to work on the summer and off-season practices. “Team-wise, I want to help us do better so we can win the WAC next year. There are some really good teams and we have competitive games and that’s always a challenge and also a lot of fun.”
Joining Ruiz on the first team all-WAC squad were two of her senior teammates – Matty Scheck and Mia Rayo. Co-champions Garden City and Hays each had two selections. Garden City had senior Destiny Rojo and junior Andrea Aguilar while Hays’ representatives were senior Caroline Robben and junior Katie Dinkel. Liberal had the most with three—2021 POY senior Ashley Carrillo, and senior teammates Valeria Gonzalez and Ashley Melendez. Great Bend had senior Joselin Pando named.
2022 WAC All-Conference Girls Soccer
| FIRST TEAM | YEAR | SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jasmine Ruiz | 9 | Dodge City |
| 2 | Joselin Pando | 12 | Great Bend |
| 3 | Caroline Robben | 12 | Hays |
| 4 | Katie Dinkel | 11 | Hays |
| 5 | Ashley Carrillo | 12 | Liberal |
| 6 | Valeria Gonzalez | 12 | Liberal |
| 7 | Ashley Melendez | 12 | Liberal |
| 8 | Matty Scheck | 12 | Dodge City |
| 9 | Destiny Rojo | 12 | Garden City |
| 10 | Mia Rayo | 12 | Dodge City |
| 11 | Andrea Aguilar | 11 | Garden City |
| SECOND TEAM | YEAR | SCHOOL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casandra Enriquez | 12 | Great Bend |
| 2 | Claire Humphrey | 11 | Hays |
| 3 | Abigahil Gallegos | 12 | Dodge City |
| 4 | Aleyia Ruder | 12 | Hays |
| 5 | Yulisa Valdez | 12 | Great Bend |
| 6 | Thania Flores | 11 | Garden City |
| 7 | Ivanee Medrano | 12 | Garden City |
| 8 | Aspen Melvin | 11 | Hays |
| 9 | Dani Willeford | 9 | Hays |
| 10 | Arely Molina | 10 | Liberal |
| 11 | Leydaly Enriquez | 11 | Garden City |
