Gulliver Prep’s Catalina Garcia is Miami-Dade Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year for 4A-2A
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2022 Winter All-Dade, All-Broward Players and Coaches of the Year
The Miami Herald’s All-Dade and All-Broward High School Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year for the Winter sports season were announced Wednesday.
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There were few offensive players more productive in Miami-Dade County than Catalina Garcia this past season.
From her attacking midfield spot, Garcia scored 16 goals and dished out 11 assists -- both team-highs -- and helped power Gulliver to a District 16-4A championship.
It’s why she’s the Miami Herald’s Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year for Classes 4A-2A.
“I’m very good with the ball, technically,” Garcia said. “I’m a very smart player.”
With Garcia leading the way, the Raiders felt they were poised for a run in the Class 4A postseason, but a quad injury kept her out for all of the Region 4-4A playoffs and Gulliver bowed out in the region semifinals.
It was still as far as anyone but Palmer Trinity made it in 4A-2A and her regular-season -- and district -- production made her one of the best players in Dade County for the second straight season.
Last year, she was a first-team all-county selection by the Herald after leading the Raiders with four assists while COVID-19 shortened the season. As a senior, she exploded in both the scoring and assist columns to turn Gulliver into one of Miami-Dade’s top small schools.
In the district semifinals, Garcia assisted on both of Gulliver’s goals to clinch the Raiders’ spot in the 4-4A playoffs. When Gulliver upset LaSalle in January, Garcia scored a goal and she tallied a hat trick in the Raiders’ win against Ransom Everglades, another playoff team, two days later. She even had three shots -- although she didn’t score -- when Gulliver beat MAST Academy in February to win its district tournament.
Her top performance came when the Raiders blew out Killian in their regular-season finale, and she had two goals and two assists. Although her injury made for a frustrating ending, Garcia capped her career with another great season and she hopes it won’t be her last.
Although the coronavirus pandemic hampered her recruitment, Garcia is still hoping to walk on once she gets to college.
“I’m going to be going to camps in stuff for the schools that I got accepted to,” she said. “I’ll probably end up talking to the coach.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 9:15 AM.
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