Back in August, Jason Pinnock called his shot.
In his eyes, the fifth-year Norristown head boys soccer coach knew this season would be a make-or-break campaign. He also knew in his heart that his Eagles would back up his proclamation that the program would make it to the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time and would back that up with its second-ever district playoff berth.
While Pinnock’s bold statement might have raised some eyebrows in an extremely difficult and talented league for soccer in which only four of the 12 teams make the playoffs, Pinnock knew exactly what he had at his disposal.
He had Steve Ruiz.
Ruiz, Norristown’s spectacularly-talented offensive forward, had already posted 19 goals, five assists and one First Team all-PAC selection through two varsity seasons, but now it was time for more. And Ruiz was more than ready to deliver the goods.
As a junior, Ruiz doubled his goal output to a league-leading 24 while also posting 15 assists, a figure five times higher than what he produced as a sophomore that underscores the fact that as gifted a goal-scorer as he is, Ruiz’s ability to make everyone around him better is what truly sets him apart.
Not only did Ruiz validate Pinnock’s preseason faith by carrying Norristown to its first-ever trip to the PAC playoffs, he also scored the game-winning goal with just over a minute left to defeat top-seeded Phoenixville in the semifinals. Two nights later, he buried a magnificent bicycle kick into the back of the net as the Eagles flirted with winning a title in their first go-round. Unfortunately for Ruiz and company, the team fell just short of the crown, ultimately falling to Spring-Ford in penalty kicks.
Even so, Ruiz willing Norristown to the PAC final as well as back into the District 1-4A Tournament was more than enough to earn him the honor of Mercury All-Area Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” Pinnock said during a recent three-way phone interview with the Mercury and Ruiz. “I knew Steve was going to be a great player. The kid had the utmost confidence from year one, so while certain things about him drop my jaw, I’m not surprised at how much better he’s gotten. He’s matured so much and been on an incline ever since his freshman year. We tell the kids to go have fun and be special, and I’m really proud of him.”
All told, Norristown went 12-8-1 this season, and along with fellow talented juniors Alexis Zurita and Ishmael Kromah, Ruiz just felt like this year was more meaningful than his first two.
“I believed because we had a lot of people who just really wanted it,” Ruiz said. “From the first game we won, we had the PAC finals and districts already in our minds. We just knew that we had to keep working hard.”
This, Pinnock says, is where Ruiz put his money where his mouth was the most. Talent was never an issue with Ruiz and company; rather, it was structure. Pinnock’s demanding and professional-style practices were something the team was not accustomed to, especially for teams without many upperclassmen during Ruiz’s first two seasons. There was nothing abjectly wrong with the team’s center of gravity – they were simply behaving like kids their age who have yet to come across a mentor to provide them with specifically-established rules, discipline and culture.
Of course, it’s one thing to say you’re going to buy in and another to actually do it, and Ruiz backed up his words with actions. The team around him followed Ruiz’s lead, and now that he was a junior he knew he needed to step up off the field as well if the Eagles were going to have their desired success on the pitch.
“I just knew I had to give it my all, because the team needed me and they always told me that I could do it,” Ruiz said. “They would tell me I was unstoppable and it would give me even more confidence.”
Ruiz was rewarded tenfold for his efforts in the PAC semifinals. His unselfish assist early in the first half led to a Kromah goal and 1-0 lead over Phoenixville, but the Phantoms battled back to tie the game. With 1:04 remaining and overtime seeming likely, Ruiz’s powerful strike from the left side of the box lifted the Eagles to an enthralling 2-1 victory.
“I was very excited,” Ruiz recalled. “I really enjoy watching (the replay) and seeing my coach jump and the players running to the corner to meet me. I was crying and so happy because it was our first time ever making it to the PAC final. I did everything for my team and coach, who were always there for me and gave me a lot of confidence through all of this.”
Two nights later and six minutes before halftime in the championship game, Zurita fed Ruiz, and with his back to the net Ruiz executed a flawless bicycle kick into the back of the goal for a 1-0 Norristown lead. The Eagles had all the momentum, but the battle-tested Rams tied the game with 17:45 to play in regulation and ultimately sent the contest to penalty kicks, an outcome Ruiz and company had desperately worked to avoid against Phoenixville.
Spring-Ford won the shootout 4-3, with one of the two misses attributed to Ruiz. Soccer, like all sports, has the power to knock you off the pinnacle as quickly as you ascended it.
“I was really sad and felt like I let my team down because I missed my kick,” Ruiz said. “I believe that if I made that one, we would have won. It happens like that sometimes. I just have to keep my head up and hopefully next year we can bring a PAC title home to Norristown.”
Even so, it was all enough for the Eagles to qualify for their second-ever District 1-4A Tournament, where 27th-seeded Norristown fell 3-1 at No. 6 Great Valley in the first round. While it was not the result the team had hoped for, it also emphasized how far they had come together just getting there to begin with.
“It was really good to put Norristown back on the board in districts,” Ruiz said. “We had the potential to move on to the next round, but I think we were still a little mad or sad that we lost the PAC final and were lagging. If we make it back to districts we have to keep working hard as a team because I really want to make it to states.”
States will be next season’s challenge, where Ruiz said he hopes to eclipse his 24 goals from this season while winning the PAC and making it far enough in districts to nab an automatic berth into the PIAA field.
This season was certainly a big step in the right direction, but Ruiz is still hungry for even more after seeing the heights he and his teammates reached together in 2024.
“To win for Norristown is a very big accomplishment,” Ruiz said. “We deserve it, because we’ve been the underdogs for a long time. I’m already training in the offseason and pushing myself to the limit while working hard toward next year.”
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Mercury All-Area: 2024 Boys Soccer Teams
First Team
Steve Ruiz, junior, Norristown (Player of the Year)Ishmael Kromah, junior, NorristownAlexis Zurita, junior, NorristownConnor Northcott, senior, PhoenixvilleBrody White, senior, PhoenixvilleMatthew Fisher, senior, Upper PerkiomenEthan Barr, senior, Upper PerkiomenWill Watson, senior, Perkiomen ValleyGavin Moser, senior, Perkiomen ValleyChris Collins, senior, Spring-FordElijah Purtle, senior, Owen J. RobertsChase Bartman, senior, BoyertownBrayden Burkhardt, senior, Boyertown
Second Team
Owen Baker, junior, Perkiomen ValleyTyler Cervellero, senior, Spring-FordMason Wiedl, senior, Owen J. RobertsMick Kuhl, senior, Owen J. RobertsPatrick McNamara, senior, PhoenixvilleMateo Rodriguez, senior, PhoenixvilleRyan Lang, senior, PhoenixvilleBen Wintersteen, senior, Upper MerionLuke Wintersteen, senior, Upper MerionSean Rogers, junior, Upper MerionLiam Kane, senior, Upper MerionBrae Jerrom, senior, Upper PerkiomenChristian Hill, sophomore, PottsgroveJason Krum, senior, Pope John Paul II
Honorable Mention
Phoenixville: Simon Lange, Liam Hahn, Ryan JacobsonPottsgrove: Gavin Knox, Elijah MohamedUpper Perkiomen: Tanner Heckman, Brody Lash, Benjamin NorthernUpper Merion: Alok Shori, Danny Hill, Sander Urias, Diego PerezNorristown: Brett Murphy, Colin Harrington, Jayson GarciaOwen J. Roberts: Andy Tzoanos, Zach Przemieniecki, Juan Colina-ValeriPerkiomen Valley: Matteo LoRegioSpring-Ford: Billy Collins, Patrick Clemens, Andrew WibleBoyertown: Sean Owens, Nick MorganMethacton: James Orcutt
Coach of the Year
Jason Pinnock, Norristown
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