Los Angeles Blues News Release -- www.labluesprosoccer.com
Thursday, January 19, 2012
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Los Angeles Blues are excited to announce they have signed 22-year-old forward and local product Luis Gonzalez for the 2012 USL PRO season, pending league approval. Born and raised in Long Beach, Calif., the explosive forward brings an impressive track record of goal-scoring at the college level as well as in the USL PDL.
“Luis Gonzalez has been on our radar for a while, but we had to wait for him to finish college,” Blues Head Coach Charlie Naimo said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a better finisher than Luis, and that’s the kind of guy we were missing in 2011. If we can give him the chances that we created last year, I’m confident his strike rate will be great and that he can help us increase our goal-scoring output significantly.”
Playing for Cerritos College in 2008 and 2009, Gonzalez was an NSCAA Division III All-American as well as the CCAA South Coast Conference MVP both years. After captaining the team in 2009, he finished his Cerritos career with 52 goals and 36 assists before subsequently moving on to Cal Poly Pomona, where he played in 2010 and 2011.
Gonzalez was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American while with the Broncos and made the All-CCAA First Team both seasons. In 2011, he took home the CCAA Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year award. The California-native totaled 26 goals and 14 assists during his time at Cal Poly Pomona. In addition, he had five goals and four assists for USL PDL outfit Thunder Bay Chill in 2010 and 2011, helping the Canadian side to the Heartland and Central Conference title last season.
After signing with the Blues, Gonzalez is eager to embark on the next chapter in his career.
“I’ve been in touch with the Blues for a while and followed them throughout 2011,” he said. “The coaches are great, and so are the players who are in camp right now. A lot of them are from the area like me, so I know them pretty well. I really like the style of play too. Knocking the ball around on the ground and not hitting many long balls definitely suits my game. I was excited when I was offered the contract, especially since it’s my first opportunity in the pros. I’m ready to work hard and give everything for the club.”
The 22-year-old continued, “As soon as we have most of the guys for 2012 signed, we have to try and get to know each other even better and develop the chemistry on the field that we’ll need to be a winning team. Individually, I like to set the bar high for myself. Being a striker, I eventually want to be scoring in the double-digits over the course of a season, even though I realize it might be tough as a rookie.”