FREMONT – Their soccer careers began as small kids, playing in a youth soccer league at the Fremont Rec Center. Later came four years of varsity soccer for the Little Giants. Then Wednesday, with family, friends and teammates looking on, Mikey Contreras and Sam Durbin together signed their National Letters of Intent to continue their careers at the next level.
Ross senior Sam Durbin signs his Letter of Intent to continue his career at Tiffin University as his parents, Steve and Kari, look on.
“It’s really cool. It’s crazy how far we’ve come in the last 10 or so years, from playing over at the Rec to here now, and now going off to the next level,” Contreras said. “It’s gives a little bit of butterflies in your stomach.”
Contreras, a goalkeeper, signed to play at Division III Mount Union, while Durbin a forward/midfielder, will head down the road to Division II Tiffin University.
“It feels pretty great. It’s been a long road coming but, now that I’m here, it’s kind of nice,” Durbin said. “I kind of wanted something close to home, not too big and that seemed right for me.”
Durbin scored 17 goals with seven assists as the Little Giants compiled a 10-7 record. Ross boys soccer coach Alex Coressel said the Dragons are getting a player capable of playing anywhere on the field.
Sam Durbin
“He’s played defense, he’s played midfield and he’s played forward and he’s one of those kids no matter where we put him on the field, he’s going to succeed,” Coressel said. “I think his game will transition very nicely to the college game. He’ll be able to move the ball extremely well and he’s a great field general.”
Durbin was the Little Giants’ MVP twice and the team’s Offensive Player of the Year his sophomore year. He’ was named all-league second team his senior year and earned three TRAC all-academic honors three times while compiling a 3.4 GPA.
“Tiffin is kind of tough in that they choose their roster week by week, so as long as I’m playing well, I shouldn’t have too big of a problem,” said Durbin, who said he plans to study business. “I can definitely get a lot stronger and a little bit faster. But from a technical side, I think I’m up there.”
As the Little Giants’ last line of defense, Contreras shined in goal for Ross. His senior year opponents fired 221 shots in his direction, 141 of which were on goal. He stopped 101 shots for a save percentage of .710 with four shutouts included in a 10-7 record.
His senior year he earned first team all-TRAC honors after being second team his sophomore and junior seasons. Contreras also spent the last three years as the placekicker for the Little Giant football team, earning TRAC honorable mention status every season along with Special Teams Player of the Year in 2015.
Ross senior Mikey Contreras signs his Letter of Intent to continue his career at Tiffin University as his parents, Rick and Regina, look on.
Contreras was also earned three TRAC all-academic awards and carries a 3.9 GPA.
“Mikey is the outstanding keeper in the area,” Coressel said. “Multiple schools were looking at him. The way he is with his Pacesetter team it’s zero, one, two goals at the most they’re giving up behind a good defense, whereas here, we were piecing together a defense for a couple of the seasons he was here. He’s a great leader on the field and he’s going to be able to lead a program, especially at Mount Union, where I think he can step in on Day 1 and play.”
Contreras, who plans to study civil engineering, said in addition to Mount Union, he drew interest from Wooster, Trine, Center College (KY) and Ohio Northern, among others.
“The reason I chose Mount Union over the other ones is the fact that it just feels more like home, than the other places. It feels like somewhere I can go and be far enough away from home yet still feel comfortable enough to be myself. And the academics are off the charts.”
Mikey Contreras
While Contreras and Durbin advancing to the play at the next level serve as shining example for his program, it also means Coressel has to figure out how the Little Giants will replace Durbin’s goal-scoring and Contreras’ goal-keeping next season.
“(It’s) almost insurmountable,” he said. “I’m still in the middle of basketball season but I’ already stressed about what July is going to look like for us.”