Andy Alvarez, a senior forward from Gulliver Prep High School (Miami, Florida), and Samantha Bruder, a junior forward from Oaks Christian High School (Westlake Village, California), are the TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Players of the Week. 

Alvarez is one of the rare players who moonlights in Florida high school ball during the winter before launching back into the Development Academy with Kendall SC for the rest of the year. Last year, he had five goals in 24 starts in the DA. With Florida recently opening postseason play, Alvarez is putting the finishing touches on his senior season, and he’s off to a fine playoff start. He was involved in four of Gulliver Prep’s six goals in a 6-1 rout of Ransom-Everglades last week with a goal and three assists. Incredibly, his goal and two of his assists came in a single three-minute window that blew the hinges off the match. 

Bruder has experience in the U14 and U15 U.S. GNT setups, so her inclusion this week was almost a matter of time. As a 2016 USC(w) commit, Bruder is one of the cornerstones of the Trojans’ recent rise toward Pac-12 prominence, and she’s barreling through her junior year with near impunity up top. The ECNL standout with Real So Cal scored five of Oaks Christian’s goals last week as the team improved to 12-0 so far this season. In addition to her 15 goals on the ECNL level, it would appear Bruder is a year early on her college soccer preparations.

Other boys finalists include Davis Neitschman (St. Paul’s High School, Covington, Louisiana) and Hakeem Reid (Fleming Island High School, Orange Park, Florida). Other girls finalists include Summer Mason (Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad, California) and Gabriela Coleman (Keller High School, Keller, Texas).

The TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Player of the Week honor is designed to highlight a selection of the nation's rising stars populating the high school ranks. Coaches are free to nominate a boys or girls player each week by emailing Will Parchman at wparchman@topdrawersoccer.com. Be sure to include the school and any relevant stats from the previous week. The selection process will take into account a slew of factors from contribution to team results to individual accolades. Honorees are announced each Wednesday.

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