Liberty’s Jeff Koch wins Colorado Gatorade award
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo (BVM) — The Liberty High School boys soccer program made history this past spring. Without senior defender Jeff Koch, that likely wouldn’t have been possible.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound center back was dominant as the last line of defense for the Lancers, who allowed only nine goals, posted five shutouts and reached the Class 5A state semifinals for the first time in program history. On June 11, Koch was recognized for his performance when he was named the Gatorade Colorado Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“Jeff was the best defender we faced this year,” Rampart High School head soccer coach Karl Anderson said in a Gatorade press release. “He locked down the middle of the Lancers’ defense as well as being an offensive threat on set pieces.”
While excelling as a lockdown defender, Koch also made an impact offensively when he had the opportunity, scoring three goals and passing for four assists for the Lancers (11-1), who won their first 11 matches before falling to eventual state champion Fairview in the state semifinals and went from unranked in the preseason to No. 5 in Class 5A by season’s end.
Koch will continue his soccer career collegiately with NCAA Division I Southern Methodist University this fall.
