INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — It depends on who you ask, but William Chrisman High School's Mauricio Lopez draws comparisons to some soccer pros.
"He's kind of our Johnny Russell," said Chrisman Head Boys' Soccer Coach Justin Schmidt of the Sporting Kansas City forward.
Lopez has a different guy in mind.
"Ever since I was little, my inspiration was Ronaldinho," said Lopez of the Brazilian soccer star.
Both are good comparisons and Lopez is living up to them so far this season.
Through three matches, Lopez has five goals and two assists.
"He's such a beast," said Schmidt. "He plays rugby in the offseason and he's tough as nails. Just like Johnny Russell."
Lopez knows what he wants for himself and for his team.
"My goal is to try to have a record for scoring goals at Chrisman and for the team, we've got to go to State, show them what we're made of," said Lopez, the Hy-Vee Athlete of the Week.
Coach Schmidt is proud of the effort Lopez brings to the team.
"He scores a lot of goals for us," added Schmidt. "He's just constantly working hard. He's just such a spark plug that makes things contagious for our team."