COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After leading the Eastern New Mexico men’s soccer team to its most successful season since 2014, sophomore midfielder Gabriel Peres was named to the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) All-South Central Region Second Team on Wednesday.
In his first season with the Greyhounds, Peres appeared in and started all 18 games while finishing second on the team with 15 points on six goals and a team-leading three assists. Peres finished in the top 15 in the Heartland Conference goals scored, points, and game-winning goals.
Peres notched his first game-winner of the season in the 22nd minute against UT-Permian Basin on Oct. 4, putting the Hounds ahead 3-0 in Eastern’s eventual 5-2 win over the Falcons. Two days later, Peres scored another crucial goal for the Hounds. Trailing 2-1 to No. 23 West Texas A&M late in the match, Peres scored the equalizer in the 81stminute, forcing a 2-all draw against the Buffs.
Two weeks later, Peres knotted his second game-winning goal of the season on Oct. 18 against Dallas Baptist. Just before the half, Peres fired in a shot from 15 yards out from the left side in the 44thminute to put Eastern up 1-0 going into the break, eventually beating the Patriots by a 3-0 score.
Peres led the Hounds to an 8-8-2 overall record and a 6-6-2 mark in conference play. Eastern posted 20 conference points, a mark that tied for seventh in the HC and was the most points recorded by the Greyhounds since joining the Heartland Conference in 2016.
It was the first time an ENMU men’s soccer player had received an all-region accolade since 2013 when the Hounds got three selections to the Daktronics All-South Central Team, as Kal Herbert received First Team accolades while Julian Roberts and Andy Wilkinson received Second Team honors.
This is the second postseason award for Peres, as he was also named to the All-Heartland Conference First Team, joining teammates Aderi Arthur-Dede, who was selected to Second Team and Julian Trapp as a Third Team selection.
