When Blue Valley Southwest’s Eli Mick blocked a pass attempt by a Blue Valley West player near midfield, the junior midfielder kicked the ball ahead and started sprinting up the left half expecting to receive the second half of a give-and-go.

Mick played the ball well heading into a 2v1 situation, only for another defender to enter the mix by the time senior forward Crew Alvarez took possession of the ball and started dribbling up field along the other side of the center.

But Mick, who had already scored the team’s first goal in the match, temporarily forgot he flicked the ball ahead to a teammate who is one of the few players in the state that can finish through a 3v1 without forcing the action.

“I was open in the middle and I was like, ‘Play me, play me,’” Mick said. “Then I see him take a shot and it's beautifully tucked in the corner and I'm like, ‘You know, what? Nevermind. Keep scoring.’

“He's been an insane finisher.”

With his shot finding the back of the net, Alvarez pushed his team up to a two-goal lead on the way to a 2-1 road victory over Blue Valley West on Oct. 15 to keep the Timberwolves undefeated on the year. Alvarez, this week’s CapFed® True Blue® Student of the Week, also set the program’s all-time goal scoring mark with that score.

“I feel it was amazing. given the fact that we are undefeated on the season and that that was for an EKL title,” Alvarez said. “The importance of that game was just amazing.”

With that win over Blue Valley West, the Timberwolves secured the EKL title for the fourth straight season.
 

“I feel it was amazing, given the fact that we are undefeated on the season and that that was for an EKL title,” Alvarez said. “The importance of that game was just amazing.”

Alvarez said he was unaware that he was so close to breaking the all-time goals record, which matches his preference for being told about that type of individual achievement being on the horizon.

“I think it’s better to play like that,” Alvarez said. “Not knowing, not worrying about stats makes me have more fun in the game and enjoy it a lot more. I have had it where I just worry too much about stats. It’s some advice I’d been given, ‘Don’t worry about stats,’ so that you play your game.”

Alvarez pushed his total to 79 goals by the time the regular season wrapped. The Timberwolves are now 16-0-0 heading into a regional opening match-up against Leavenworth (4-11-1).

“I love my team,” Alvarez said. “They’re pretty much my family now and it’s just amazing. I’m happy to be here.”

Blue Valley Southwest is looking to reach its fourth straight 5A state final. The Timberwolves have reached the 5A state final four in eight of the last nine years. The one year interruption in that streak was during the Covid-19 impacted 2020 season, with Blue Valley Southwest losing in the regional semifinals to the eventual state champion in St. Thomas Aquinas.

Although the Timberwolves won a state title when Alvarez was a freshman, he didn’t join the varsity squad until his sophomore year. That means he’s still chasing a state title after being a member of the Timberwolves two state runner-up finishes over the last two years.
 

“It's motivated us losing those state finals to the same team,” Alvarez said. “Hopefully we play them again. We want revenge. We're hungry. We're out here. We're out here to win a state championship and bring it home.”

If the Timberwolves are able to win the state title this year, they’ll have to maintain their unblemished record. Along with the 2021 state title, this program also won three straight from 2017-19. During the first state title in that streak, the team finished with a 20-0-1 record.

Blue Valley Southwest head coach Erik Jones has definitely seen the impact those close-but-no-cigar finishes have had on his senior leaders, including Alvarez.

“Coming up second the last two years definitely gave these seniors some motivation,” Jones said. “We have 12 seniors and they're awesome, and they come to practice and they really push us. It's a very cohesive group that all want the same goal.

“We gotta wrap up the regular season and then we gotta hit the postseason.”

The previous all-time goals leader for Blue Valley Southwest was Aidan Bates, who had 75 goals from 2016-18. Just like Bates, Alvarez has set that mark in just three seasons of varsity.

“That was a record I didn’t think would ever get broken, to be honest with you,” Jones said. “The boys really rally around him and he’s so unselfish. When we gave him the ball, he immediately gave all of his teammates the credit. That’s just the kind of kid he is.”
 

Last week, Alvarez was named as one of seven Kansas players on the Top Drawer Soccer’s High School All-American Game watch. He was named alongside Salina South’s Luke Matto and Ryan Snell, Maize South’s Danny Derath, Bishop Miege’s Azael Gamboa, Shawnee Mission West’s Sergio Hernandez and Lawrence Free State’s JJ Zheng. Former McPherson player Hayden Hoxie also made the list.

Whether its an All-American honor or becoming his program’s all-time goal scoring mark, Alvarez is less focused on the individual accolades than his team’s goals.

“Going into college, it’s just another bragging right,” Alvarez said. “But it’s not just that. It shows my hard work and dedication throughout the years and it’s just paying off. So it feels amazing.”

On Oct. 5, Alvarez committed to play soccer at Drake University next year. But for now, Alvarez and his senior teammates are focused on this final postseason run.

“Half my teammates are my best friends, we're super close,” Alvarez said. “If we win it as a team, it's just going to be absolutely phenomenal.”