2006 Soccer Class

[mustangbill67]

So far neither the SMU men's or women's signee list has been released. Rivals soccer speculates that SMU men may be a bottom top 15 class. It predicts that the best classes are Maryland, North Carolina, New Mexico, Santa Clara and Indiana most of which are loaded up with Dallas area players. So far I know of only three SMU men commitments (none from the Dallas area) only one of whom is considered a top national recruit. I do not know what is going on. We may be limited on the soccer/financial aid scholarships we can offer. We may also have some transfers or foreign players in the mix. Time will tell.

[mustangbill67]

The DMN today lists Jaime Benitez of Carrolton Creekview as having signed with SMU. He plays club for FC Texas, the MLS FC Dallas youth team. I do not know how he ranks nationally. Another FC Texas player and top national recruit,Leone Cruz is a commitment to SMU but no announcement as to whether he has signed.

[Webmaster]

[quote="mustangbill67"]The DMN today lists Jaime Benitez of Carrolton Creekview as having signed with SMU. He plays club for FC Texas, the MLS FC Dallas youth team.... quote]Yup -- and we've got a photo of Benitez from a game this week. We'll add it to the Photo of the Day rotation....

[Ponymon]

Great article on Jaime Benitez in today's school day section of the DMN. It sounds like this kid should have been named player of the year on the All-American lists. Evidentally, although he is short, he is supposed to have an amazing shot and is quicker than anybody on the field!

[PonyPride]

Sounds like a typical Schellas Hyndman recruit -- fantastic talent, but sometimes overlooked by other schools because of height, etc. Coach Hyndman always seems to have the smaller team on the field, but more often than not, his "smaller" team beats the hell out of their opponents.

[mustangbill67]

This is the article.

When Carrollton Creekview senior puts best foot forward, look out

11:51 PM CST on Wednesday, March 1, 2006
By BRANDON GEORGE / Staff Writer



CARROLLTON – Carrollton Creekview's Jaime Benitez calls a soccer field his own little world. Few who have attempted to defend him would argue.

Benitez's coaches and teammates are often left in awe of the 19-year-old's video-game-like moves. The senior midfielder amazes his peers while maintaining intense focus on the field.



"I don't have any distractions when I'm playing – I don't let anything get into my head," Benitez said. "It's like my own place, where I can get away from everything."

Except the attention that shadows him. Despite his size (5-5, 130), Benitez has a rare combination of a sprinter's speed, a basketball player's footwork and a running back's leg power.

His dazzling moves and lightning shots helped him garner interest from some of the top college programs in the nation. Benitez recently signed with SMU, choosing the Mustangs over North Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa and others.

"He's one of those special players," Creekview coach Shane Bybee said. "He sees the field in a special way that's hard for you and me to think about."

Benitez leads Creekview with 13 goals. Bybee said Benitez is one of the top attacking players he's ever seen in high school.

Brennan Peacock, a senior forward, said Benitez isn't a fun matchup in practice.

"I don't ever get too close to him or he'll smoke me," Peacock said.

Bybee said Benitez's power comes from his experience playing futsal, an indoor soccer game played on a basketball-like court in which a much heavier ball is used.

"He played that a lot growing up," Bybee said, "and that's what he credits for his powerful shots."

Power isn't the only attribute of Benitez's shots on goal.

"His shot always has some kind of funky curl to it," Bybee said. "His shots come in fast and hard, and because of the way he strikes the ball, it bends to the goalkeeper's right. It's like a sinker or curveball in baseball."

Bybee said he's seen Benitez make several goalkeepers look foolish.

"I can't tell you how many goalkeepers I've seen in the last two years where they will jump to the left because that's where it looks like the ball is going," Bybee said.

Benitez, who is left-footed, is also difficult to mark. Though he has a dominant left foot, he can have defenders knotted up by using either foot.

"The things he does – his ideas with the ball – are just amazing," Peacock said. "He's also different than any other soccer player because you can't read him. He's unpredictable. He keeps the defense confused all the time."

Peacock said one of his best recollections of Benitez's dazzling ability came in a match against Carrollton R.L. Turner. Benitez was facing a free-kick situation from 45 yards out.

"One of the Turner players knew he had a good shot – but from 45 yards, no one around can make a free kick from 45 yards – so the kid looked at him and said, 'You got such a good shot, why don't you shoot it, Jaime?' " Peacock recalled. "So, Jaime shot it and put it in the back of the net. I just started laughing. The kid had this clueless look on his face, like ... 'How did that happen?' "


JASON JANIK/Special Contributor
Carrollton Creekview's Jaime Benitez (second from right) leads the team in scoring and in an end-of- practice get-together. Bybee said Benitez has a rare ability to play a soccer ball between a defender's legs while he and his defender are in a full sprint, almost toying with his opposition.

"It's not something I've ever seen a high school player do as consciously as he does it," Bybee said. "It's an amazing thing to see him do it."

Benitez said he was born to play soccer. He's played since he was 3.

"I grew up watching my dad play and watching games on TV – I quickly fell in love with the sport," Benitez said. "But really, I think I was already in love with the sport in my mom's stomach."

E-mail bgeorge@dallasnews.com


JAIME BENITEZ
School: Carrollton Creekview, Sr.

Position: Midfielder

Notable: Benitez transferred to Creekview last season from W.T. White. He played on W.T. White's varsity as a freshman and sophomore. ... Benitez grew up in Dallas and learned the sport from watching his father play with friends. ... Benitez's brother, Dennis, was a midfielder at W.T. White before graduating in 2004. ... Benitez plays center midfield for Creekview in its one-forward offense but said he will probably play outside midfielder at SMU. ... Benitez plays forward for FC Texas '88 Black.

[mustangbill67]

National champ Maryland announced its class today that includes three top national players from the Dallas area, Omar Gonzalez F 6-5 200 Dallas, TX Residency,Justin Kendro M 5-9 150 Irving, TX DFW Tejanos
and Josh Mikulewicz G 6-2 185 Frisco, TX Solar. Apparently one reason schools delay announcing a full list of soccer recruits is that transfers and walkons cannot be announced until admitted to school per NCAA regs. Currently I am aware of 5 SMU highschool recruits. I do not know if we have any transfers or national residency players committed for next fall.

[mustangbill67]

The FC Texas website has confirmed that Jaime Benitez and top national player Leone Cruz have signed with SMU. FC Texas is a FC Dallas youth team. FC Texas also had two players sign with North Carolina. Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia each took several top players out of North Texas this year. SMU is one of only a few top programs that has not officially announced its 2006 class.

[me@smu]

Today is signing day for College soccer so we should know our class either this afternoon or tomorrow.

[WildHorse]

Sounds like a very solid class. Congratulations, Coach Hyndman!