Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
                                Lumberton’s Hoslerson Joseph dribbles against Pine Forest on Aug. 31. Joseph was named Robeson County Player of the Year.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian

Lumberton’s Hoslerson Joseph dribbles against Pine Forest on Aug. 31. Joseph was named Robeson County Player of the Year.

LUMBERTON — Hoslerson Joseph won a state championship as a sophomore at Nandua High School in Onley, Virginia before transferring to Lumberton this fall.

While the Pirates didn’t win state, they had a fantastic season collectively — going 19-2-1, winning the United-8 Conference championship and reaching the second round of the state playoffs — and Joseph made the transition well, having a great season individually. After doing so, he is The Robesonian’s Player of the Year for Robeson County.

“It was alright, because since I moved here I’ve been training with the team, I’ve been practicing with those players,” Joseph said. “So it was kind of easy to be honest, because when I first came over here they (took me in) me as a team, coaches, players.”

And adapt Joseph did, scoring 38 goals with 10 assists as the Pirates won their first conference title since 2013.

“This is a close-knit group of players, a group of players that have played together since they were 10 or 11, so to come in and have to break into an established team like that could be difficult for anyone,” Lumberton coach Kenny Simmons said. “But I think the fact that he came in, and right away we saw he was a player, made it that much easier. You’re scoring goals for your team, you’re going to fit in pretty quick, and he did and the guys accepted him in.”

Joseph, a junior forward, was a dynamic goal scorer all season for the Pirates, with the ability to shoot and score from just about anywhere on the offensive half of the field.

“Coming into the season we thought we had a good team, and then with the addition of him and his ability to score goals and be a constant threat for opposing teams, that just added that much more to our squad,” Simmons said. “Every good team needs goal scorers, or a goal scorer, and he was the X-factor; he was an impact player, he changed the games. I thought he made a lot of our players that played around him better over the course of the season.”

After a tough 1-0 playoff loss to Enloe ended the Pirates’ season, Joseph hopes they can accomplish even more next season.

“It was a tough season. We won some tough games, and we didn’t make it to state; this was hard,” Joseph said. “Hopefully next year we can make it to state.”

Coach of the Year

After guiding the Pirates to the conference title and the team’s best season in recent memory, Kenny Simmons is The Robesonian’s Coach of the Year.

“It’s more about the players and the program than just me,” Simmons said. “I was happy for the guys and all our supporters and the school; our season was really good.”

Simmons has coached the Pirates’ soccer program for the last 25 years, and is so synonymous with Lumberton soccer that the Public Schools of Robeson County Board of Education has proposed renaming the Pirates’ field after Simmons.

He’s also coached the players on this year’s Pirates team for many years, even outside of the school team environment before they became Pirates.

“I’ve coached over half this squad since they were 10 or 11 — it’s been a long journey for them,” Simmons said. “We’ve talked about that as a team, and it was a very rewarding season to see the fruits of our labor came to be true here in this final season together, with a large group of seniors. I was just happy for the guys, and for me to get this honor again is a reflection of the team, and I’ll share that with them.”

“I think he deserves it,” Joseph said. “The way he taught us how to play, the rules, he taught us everything we needed to know to play. He made some bold changes, so I think he deserved it.”

Goalkeeper of the Year

In addition to the Pirates’ offensive efficiency, led by Joseph, their defensive efficiency was also a big part of the reason for their strong season. The player anchoring that was goalkeeper Ben Hunt, who is The Robesonian’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Hunt had 130 saves over the Pirates’ 22 games, with six shutouts. The team played several low-scoring games which they either won or were kept in the game because of Hunt’s play in goal.

“Ben quickly developed into a strong keeper,” Simmons said. “With his size and his wingspan he’s a good physical presence in goal, a very good shot-stopper and strong in the air handling crosses. He has drastically improved on his decision-making and distribution of the ball.”

The junior also had one assist on the season.

All-County Team

Jonathan Carerra, Jr., F, Lumberton — The “unsung hero” of the Pirates, Simmons said, Carrera controlled the midfield and his passing ability helped the Pirates’ goal scorers.

Angel Robles, So., MF/S, Lumberton — A quick player on the wing whose runs also created some goal-scoring opportunities for the Pirates, including 10 by Robles himself with nine assists.

Julian McGarahan, Sr., D, Lumberton — The solid one-on-one defender used his composure to help anchor the Pirates’ back line; he also scored one goal with one assist.

Luis Izeta, Jr., F, Lumberton — Last season’s County Player of the Year, injuries caused a slow start to the season before Izeta came alive late with 24 goals and nine assists.

Cale Harris, Sr., S, Purnell Swett — Always a threat to score a goal, or contribute to one, Harris had 21 goals and 13 assists for the Rams.

Zachary Hunt, Sr., MF/D, Purnell Swett — A player who can play any position on the field, Hunt had 13 goals and eight assists while also serving a key role defensively.

Kevin Locklear, So., MF/S, Purnell Swett — An up-and-coming star for the Rams, Locklear had seven goals and eight assists.

Nehemiah Maynor, Sr., D, Purnell Swett — The Rams’ defensive leader led the team’s goal-prevention efforts, while also scoring one goal with four assists.

Javier Villagomez, Sr., F/MF, Red Springs — The offensive spark for Red Springs, Villagomez scored 15 goals with five assists to help lead the Red Devils to the second round of the state playoffs.

Diego Lazaro, Sr., MF, Red Springs — Lazaro scored some key goals for the Red Devils, with 11 goals and seven assists, doing so from the midfielders’ position.

Olvin Diaz, Sr., MF, Red Springs — Diaz could score goals and could assist on them, doing each equally with eight goals and eight assists as one of the Red Devils’ senior leaders.

Anthony Sosa, Sr., F, St. Pauls — A prolific goal scorer who can score them in bunches, Sosa had 28 goals for the Bulldogs this season.

Jason Zamora, Sr., D, St. Pauls — A team leader whose defense, plus a penalty kick, helped the Bulldogs past Wallace-Rose Hill in the state playoffs.

The All-County Team is selected by The Robesonian sports staff with input from coaches.

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.