Matias Gutierrez of Westminster Christian helps Strikers Miami make history at soccer nationals
Westminster Christian School 2021 graduate Matias Gutierrez, along with other talented South Florida soccer players (mostly from Miami), recently made history at the US Youth Soccer National Championships for club soccer.
Gutierrez is part of Strikers Miami FC 19/20U, which reached the finals of nationals, a first for Miami boys’ club soccer teams.
“It was really difficult,” Gutierrez said. “The teams were really, really good.”
Gutierrez competed, coming off a left knee injury.
“I’m a team player; so whatever they needed me to do, I did,” he said. “I felt good, and I played well. The team played amazing. We are very well coached.”
As a youth, he competed for Pinecrest Premier.
Gutierrez said: “I was on the B team with Pinecrest Premier, and then I went to [Coach] Diego [Rios] with the Coral Estate Soccer Club Strikers, which became Strikers Miami FC.”
Rios, who starred at Killian High School from 1995-97, is a two-time Miami Herald All-Dade Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year.
Rios transitioned nicely to coaching, able to teach, make players better.
Gutierrez said: “He completely switched my position. I was playing defender [center back], and he put me as an attacker [forward]. Then he changed me to right back, where I really excelled.
“He made me run more after practice. He helped me with conditioning but even more with soccer IQ. He spent time with me after practice to work on my ball handling skills, and he would tell me what to do.
“He would say, ‘The best way to play soccer is to not make mistakes.’ Instead of turning and running with the ball, get the ball, pass the ball, keep circulating the ball, make a good pass, get it off your feet, don’t dribble, dribble, dribble, keep moving. The longer you have the ball, the more apt you are to make mistakes.”
Strikers Miami FC made fewer mistakes than most teams.
Thus, Strikers Miami FC 19/20U boys’ soccer team qualified for nationals, which were July 20-25 in Lakewood Ranch, near Sarasota.
Gutierrez, Gabriel Cartagena (Doral Academy), Danny Mendoza (Ransom Everglades), Alejandro Marino (FIU), and Sebastian Ocampo (Coral Reef) joined Rios’s program several years ago, escalating their play each year.
The team also features Daniel Amado (Ronald Reagan), Mateo Amado (Ronald Reagan), Jefferson Amador (Jackson), Cristobal Cardella (Riviera Prep), Allan Cuartas (Southwest), Matthew Farias (Coral Reef), Snyder Fils-Aime (Edison), Lesther Garcia (SLAM), Andres Melendez (Ferguson), Casey Perez (FIU), Juan Poblete (Homestead), Sebastian Rincon (Everglades), Mikel Riquezes (Riviera Prep), Mauricio Trejo, Juan Valiente (Varela), Jose Varela (Coral Reef), Jude Waugh (Gulliver Prep) and William White (Ransom Everglades).
The Strikers went 3-1 at nationals to reach the finals.
Chicago FC United, which beat them earlier in the tournament, edged them 2-1 in the championship match.
Even though the Strikers placed second, they recently ranked No.1 in the state, region and nation.
Unfortunately, they don’t have a home field to train, and they don’t have any sponsors. They want a home field and sponsors and hope the city, county and community will oblige.
“We need support. We really need support,” Rios said. “We’ve been doing this for 10 years, and we built this club with just the love of the game and my wife and my brothers support and Lou Confessore of the Coral Estate Soccer Club.”
Strikers Miami FC boasts five boys’ teams (19/20U, 17U, 16U, 15U, 14U). The 17U team is also ranked No.1 in the state, region and nation.
The Strikers 19/20U beat Team Boca and (Pennsylvania) Lehigh Valley to reach the national semifinals. In the semifinals, the Strikers beat St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC.
The Strikers advanced to nationals by winning the national league tournament. The process started in 2020 in Panama City. Because of Covid, there was a delay until 2021, where the Strikers won in Greensboro, North Carolina to qualify. They also reached the regional finals in Greenville, North Carolina, but Team Boca beat them in the finals.
The Strikers are a two-time FYSA State Cup champ.
In his senior year of high school, Rios competed for Athletico Nationale, a professional team from Colombia. After graduating from Killian, he returned to Colombia to continue playing professionally.
He trained with the Miami Fusion, but a car accident ended his playing days.
He attended Miami Dade College and then earned a degree in finance from Florida International University. He began coaching youth soccer, starting with a C Division team.
Even without the usual support, Rios built the boys’ soccer program into a successful club. Strikers Miami FC is the only boys’ club team in Florida to reach nationals four consecutive years.
Visit strikersmiami.com.
Rios said: “The emphasis of the program is player development, solid academics and character. There is also assistance for those who need financial help to compete in club soccer.”
Gutierrez, 18, of Pinecrest was a five-year starter for the Westminster Christian School boys’ varsity soccer team, which includes his eighth grade year. He also played on the school’s middle school team as a sixth and seventh grader.
As team captain, Gutierrez (an attacking midfielder) helped lead the Westminster Christian School boys’ soccer team to the 2021 FHSAA Class 3A State Finals for the first time in school history.
A Miami Herald All-Dade first team and second team boys’ soccer selection during his high school career, he was a 2021 Silver Knight nominee for business.
Gutierrez graduated with a 4.0 GPA, and he will play soccer at NCAA Division III Babson College, a top entrepreneurial college in Boston.
New coaches and award winners
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have new hires, or coaches and athletes who won special awards (local, state, regional, nationals), email hssports@miamiherald.com.
