Vasquez Heeds Coach’s Call to Arms : Prep soccer: Fountain Valley junior has 16 goals and 10 assists in response to preseason request.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — At the time, Fountain Valley junior forward Joey Vasquez didn’t think twice about soccer Coach Kevin Smith’s preseason request.

“He basically told me, ‘This year, I need you to step up and take a little leadership role on this team.’ ”

Only now does Vasquez realize what Smith was really saying--”Take us over the top, Joey.”

“He asked a lot of me this year,” Vasquez said.

Smith must have known something, because Vasquez has delivered most of the time. A halfback until the second half of last season, Vasquez has turned into one of the county’s better scorers and playmakers with 16 goals and 10 assists.

He also has helped turn around Fountain Valley’s soccer fortunes. Last year the Barons won only five games. This season, they went 19-1-2 and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the county.

The Barons, the top-seeded team in the Southern Section Division I playoffs, advanced to the second round with a 1-0 victory over Dana Hills on Friday.

“He’s the key to our attack without a doubt,” Smith said. “We usually try to isolate him one on one up front. With his creative ability, he’s usually able to get a shot off.”

Vasquez’s creativity reached new heights this year in a Sunset League game against Esperanza.

“He had his back turned to the goal and he just flicked the ball over his head, then he turned around, kicked the ball while it was still in the air, into the net,” teammate Steffen Greenly said. “Everyone was in awe.”

Vasquez’s acrobatic goal was even more spectacular because it came in the last five minutes of a tie game. Greenly said he has grown to expect the unexpected from Vasquez.

“They can put three guys on him, but he’ll always seem to come out with the ball,” Greenly said.

Vasquez said he prefers the attention.

“I like having the ball a lot, and I like the pressure of having the ball,” he said.

Vasquez also likes playing with a center halfback as unselfish as Greenly.

“He’s a real hard-working halfback,” Vasquez said. “I know where he’s going to be all the time.”

Smith said he has made it clear to his team that they should always know where Vasquez will be.

“Our team really knows their role,” Smith said. “They’ve stuck to the system. They know what (Vasquez) can do for us. They usually try to get on the other end of what he’s doing, because he usually is going to be doing something good.

“He’s definitely not a selfish player, though. I promote him to do what he can, and he’s the player that takes us over the top. Every game we’ve won, he’s had a part in.”

Said Greenly: “Coach just tells us to get it to the forwards and he’s the one who can do the most with it. We have a lot of depth on this team, but he’s definitely our best player.”

Just how good is Vasquez?

“He should go a long way,” Smith said. “I was playing over in England last summer and I’d say he could be playing professional soccer in some of the lower leagues there. With the season he’s had this year, he’ll really be a marked man next year.”

That’s just the way Vasquez likes it.