TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Austin soccer players taking their games to the college ranks

By Rocky Hulne

The Austin Packer boys soccer team has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years and now the program is having an impact well beyond Austin.

The Packers are starting to produce some solid college players and some Austin grads are even pulling in athletic scholarships. Andres Garcia was part of a class that won four Big Nine titles and four Section 1A titles for Austin and now he is getting his feet wet with a fresh start in St. Cloud State University, which dropped football for soccer recently.

Garcia is part of a group of players that are hoping to build a new program.

“The pressure was definitely there, but we all chose St. Cloud because we wanted to start something new and build a good program here in St. Cloud,” Garcia said.

Garcia led the Huskies with eight goals in 16 games in his freshman season. It took him a little while to catch up to the speed of Division II soccer, but he was able to get there by the end of the year.

“It was a good first year. It’s different from high school,” Garcia said. “It’s way more intense with older and bigger guys. I wasn’t starting at first, but I got my rhythm back and it went well from there.”

Garcia began playing soccer when his mom signed him up for the sport as a four-year old. As he grew up in Austin, he had plenty of soccer role models to look up to. Abel Gebrekiros, who spent his senior season with the Packers after moving from Ethiopia to Austin, was one of the first trend setters as he recently finished his third season at Division I Gardner Webb. Gebrekiros racked up 10 goals in his first 26 games and he had three assists in 14 games in the 2021 season. Henry Tolbert, who was Minnesota’s Mr. Soccer winner in his senior season with the Packers, played at Iowa Lakes Community College last fall, where he scored five goals and had two assists in 20 games. Garcia still plays with highly talented players and is motivated by playing next to them. “The passion will always be there, but playing at a higher level made it even bigger,” Garcia said. “It was hard on our bodies to play two games in three days in the weekends, but we kept going. I’m very excited. I feel like we can go somewhere with this program. I can’t wait for these next few years.”

Garcia may be focused on his college career, but he still has his sights set on Austin. He was able to get back to the Packer Dome occasionally to work out with the current Packer team, which includes his younger brother, Aidan Martinez.

Garcia has high hopes for Aidan and all of the future Packer teams.

“My brother has always been there for me and I’ve always been there for him,” Garcia said. “I tell him to keep doing his things and I hope that he overtakes me and goes to the Division I level. I’ve always known what he is capable of and I expected that from him.” P

“The passion will always be there, but playing at a higher level made it even bigger.” Andres Garcia

Austin alumni Andres Garcia punches a shot forward for St. Cloud State University.

Photos provided by St. Cloud State University

Former Austin High School standout, Andres Garcia is making waves at the college level in just his first year.