CHICAGO – UAB men’s soccer signees Mayno Linares and Heath Flathau were named Gatorade State High School Players of the Year as announced Monday morning by The Gatorade Company.
Linares, a forward from Houston, took home the award for the state of Texas after helping lead the Elsik High School Rams to a 21-0-1 record before the rest of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. In 22 games, Linares scored 19 goals and led the state with 31 assists. He finished his high school career with a school record 103 goals and 86 assists. In addition to his work on the field, Linares volunteered as a peer tutor for an elementary school literacy-outreach program and donated his times to working with children with special needs.
Flathau claimed the award for the state of Mississippi, becoming the first player from Sacred Heart Catholic School in Hattiesburg to win the award. The midfielder scored 20 goals and tallied 12 assists en route to a Class 1A/2A/3A state championship. Flathau was named District MVP, Clarion-Ledger First Team All-State and Pine Belt Sports Player of the Year as a senior. Off the field, Flathau volunteered on behalf of U.S. Youth Soccer TOPSoccer program serving young athletes with disabilities while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in the classroom.
“It’s a great honor to be named Gatorade Player of the Year and I’m proud of both of these players for their high school accomplishments,” said head coach Jeff Kinney. “After watching them and getting to know them personally during the recruiting process, I can’t say I’m surprised. I’m looking forward to bringing them into our atmosphere here, so they continue their success wearing the Green and Gold! This is also a testament to the recruiting by the staff as we continue to do our best to bring the best players from our region to UAB.”
Linares and Flathau join current Blazers Brooks Rice and Sumner Richardson as Gatorade State Player of the Year honorees.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Linares and Flathau as the best high school boys’ soccer player in their state. Now finalists for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Linares and Flathau join an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook High School, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel High School, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, 2002-03, East Brunswick High School, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004-05, Blue Valley West High School, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire High School, Mass.) and Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.).
For more information on the UAB men’s soccer team, follow @UAB_MSoc on Twitter and Instagram.
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