There was a time this season that Pancho Alcala, The Tribune's 2A MVP, started to feel guilty about his success.

"I gotta quit trying to score so many goals," the Millard forward said.

His teammates, however, weren't so keen on the idea.

"They were like, 'Keep shooting!' " Alcala said.

So the multisport standout went back to his preferred method: "Take as many shots as you can. You can't score if you don't."

As a junior, Alcala led all classifications with 34 goals and led the Eagles to a dream season that didn't end until a shootout with eventual-champions Waterford in the 2A quarterfinals.

"It felt really bad because we were right there," Alcala said about the loss.

Even in that game, Alcala raised eyebrows. He scored once in the game, his last goal of the year.

"I was skeptical that he was as good as the stats said he was," Waterford coach Tim Dolbin said. "That kid is an amazing soccer player."

He added, "I haven't seen as powerful a forward in a long, long time."

Alcala is not tall, about 5-foot-9, but thick. In an offense loaded with talent, he excelled. Teams couldn't focus solely on him — Brian Araos and Jesse Rhodes combined for another 34 goals — so Alcala bullied his way through any hole. He scored multiple goals in 11 games. This all came after a sophomore season in which Alcala scored 19 goals.

He isn't shy about his scoring figures. But it's when he mentions a brief stint as a goalkeeper that his eyes get biggest.

When the Eagles' goalkeeper left a March 11 game against Manti with an injury, Alcala was put in goal to replace him.

The player who has made a career out of frustrating goalkeepers didn't allow a single goal.

boram@sltrib.com

Twitter: @oramb —

The teams

All-State boys' soccer teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/jet5Hd

All-State boys' soccer MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/m52R7I

Class 2A first team

MVP: Pancho Alcada, Junior, Foward, Millard

Midfielder, Jacob Chung, Jr., Waterford

Midfielder, Trevor Rydalch, Sr., South Summit

Midfielder, Jon Bebbington, Jr., Rowland Hall

Midfielder, Avery Smith, Soph, Waterford

Midfielder, Adam Brodstein, Soph, St. Joseph

Midfielder, Dino Soto, Sr., St. Joseph

Forward, Josh Warner, Soph., Waterford

Forward, Levi Thompson, Sr., South Summit

Forward, Han Wiener, Sr., Rowland Hall

Forward, David Donlevy, Fr., St. Joseph

Defender, Parker Dolbin, Jr., Waterford

Defender, Blake Shott, Soph., Rowland Hall

Defender, David Beesley, Sr., Waterford

Defender, Mats Sanyer, Sr., Rowland Hall

Goalkeeper, Mitch Koehler, Soph., St. Joseph

Goalkeeper, Ben Mitchell, Jr., Maeser Prep

Class 2A second team

Midfielder, Emir Rahislic, Soph., Rowland Hall

Midfielder, Keyanu Tate, Fr., St. Joseph

Midfielder, Brian Araos, Sr., Millard

Midfielder, Diego Urban, Sr., Wasatch Academy

Midfielder, Casey Lundgreen, Sr., South Summit

Midfielder, Jesse Rhodes, Soph., Millard

Forward, Sam Nolan, Jr., Rowland Hall

Forward, Diego Gonzalez, Jr., Gunnison

Forward, Tyler Garcia, Sr., Grand

Forward, David Engle, Sr., Mount Vernon

Defender, Sean Black, Sr., Grand

Defender, Kenin Richards, Soph., St. Joseph

Defender, Pat Cozzi, Sr., St. Joseph

Defender, James Joseph, Sr., Beaver

Goalkeeper, Joseph Hawks, Sr., Grand

Goalkeeper, CJ Metcalf, Jr., South Summit