CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 4 all-state boys soccer team. Jamestown sophomore forward Max Cooper is the Class 4 Player of the Year, and Smithfield head coach Jason Henderson is the Class 4 Coach of the Year.
Cooper, the ultra-talented striker for the Eagles, finished his sophomore season with 44 goals, 11 assists, and nine hat tricks while leading Jamestown to a 21-4 record and a 1-0 win over Smithfield in the state finals for the program’s fifth state championship, and first since 2015. Cooper has scored 64 goals in two seasons and is on pace to break the school record 103. His 44 goals this season are the 10th most in VHSL history for a single season, and his nine hat tricks tie him for fifth most in career hat tricks. George Mason’s (now Meridian HS) Elliott Mercado (2014-16) is the state record holder with 19 career hat tricks.
Smithfield head coach Jason Henderson guided his Packers to a 16-7-1 record and their second state title game in three seasons, winning the Class 4 championship in 2021. He has a career record of 104-24-7. The Packers defeated Jefferson Forest, 2-1, in the 2021 state finals and lost in the state semifinals last year to the eventual state champions, Western Albemarle, 2-1.
The all-state soccer team consists of four forwards, four midfielders, four defenders, one goalkeeper, and three at-large positions. Only those players selected first-team all-region are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region.