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ZAROKOSTAS NAMED RHODE ISLAND GATORADE BOYS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (February 11, 2016) — In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Stavros Zarokostas of La Salle Academy as its 2015-16 Gatorade Rhode Island Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Zarokostas is the eighth Gatorade Rhode Island Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from La Salle Academy. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Zarokostas as Rhode Island’s best high school boys soccer player.
Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May, Zarokostas joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, East Brunswick HS, N.J.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.). The 5-foot-5, 135-pound senior forward led the Rams to an 18-0-1 record and the Division I state championship this past season. Zarokostas scored 27 goals and passed for 14 assists. The Rhode Island Soccer Coaches Association’s Division I Player of the Year, he was a First Team All-State selection by the Providence Journal. Zarokostas has maintained a B average in the classroom. A saxophone player in the La Salle Concert Band, he has volunteered locally as a peer mentor at Tides Family Services. “Stavros’ low center of gravity allows him to drift past defenders with ease, and defenders found it very difficult to push him off the ball,” said Mick Rooney, head coach of Bishop Hendricken High. “Coupled with his ball skills, that made him a great goal scorer.”
Zarokostas will attend the University of Rhode Island beginning this fall.
La Salle Academy is a high school rich in history and grounded in the person and teachings of Jesus and the Catholic faith, which are core to the school's life and culture. The De La Salle Middle School provides a strong holistic foundation for students to transition into high school. The high school and middle school provide students of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds, a community to foster growth in the tradition of St. John Baptist de La Salle’s ideals of faith, service, and community.
