Lakeridge's Rafa Loyo named 2023-24 Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year

Lakeridge’s Rafa Loyo is the 2023-24 Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year, the Gatorade Player of the Year program announced via press release on Friday, June 14.

After taking home 6A player of the year honors back in the fall, Loyo was recognized yet again this spring for his efforts on the pitch.

Gatorade’s press release reads as follows:

In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Rafa Loyo of Lakeridge High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Loyo is the fourth Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Lakeridge High School. The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Loyo as Oregon’s best high school boys soccer player. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport, touting an all-star group of alumni that includes Lyle Yorks (1987-88, E.O. Smith High School, Conn.), Alecko Eskandarian (1999-00, Bergen Catholic High School, N.J.) and Ben Bender (2019-20, Calvert Hall College High School, Md.). The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior midfielder led the Pacers to an 18-1 record and the Class 6A state championship this past season. Loyo scored 10 goals, including two in Lakeridge’s 3-2, overtime win over Jesuit High in the state title game. The Class 6A Player of the Year, he was also the Oregonian State Player of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches High School All-American selection. Loyo has volunteered locally at Every Body Athletics, an exercise program designed for people with disabilities. He also donated his time during the 2020 Oregon wildfires by collecting supplies to donate to communities in need. “Rafa was a straight-up (game) buster,” said Tom Lathrop, head coach of Mountainside High School. “His physical presence paired very effectively with his technical ability. He was a positive control factor in a hotly contested midfield.” Loyo has maintained a B average in the classroom. He will attend Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico, where he will play soccer on scholarship, beginning this fall.