Bulldogs’ Rogge eyes team goals

All 16 times the Bulldogs have taken the field, senior forward Kevin Rogge has scored at least one goal, which has led to another near-guarantee: a Centennial victory.

Rogge, who has 33 goals, is a big reason Centennial (15-1) enters the Sunset Region tournament today as the Northwest League’s No. 1 seed.

The Bulldogs, winners of 15 straight, face Spring Valley (9-7-2) in the quarterfinals at  6 p.m. at Bettye Wilson Park.

Chances are, their postseason success will be dictated largely by Rogge.

“I just try to do my best,” he said. “I haven’t looked at any stats. People tell me, but I try not to think about it.”

Rogge’s consistency has been amazing. He has no more than three goals in any match. He has scored at least two in 12 of the Bulldogs’ matches and has more goals than some teams have scored all season.

“He works hard,” coach Tommy Porrello said. “He buys into the team concept that everyone has a role. He knows he’s looked at to be a scorer, but he’s not overly concerned about who scores. He just wants to win.”

If not for a knee injury that cost Rogge his sophomore season, he probably would be approaching 100 career goals. He scored 15 as a freshman and added 20 last year.

As those statistics point out, Rogge often plays at a higher level than his contemporaries, and maybe that’s because he spends his summers doing just that. Each summer Rogge’s family travels to his mother’s native Germany.

“We visit every year and I get to play on a club every year,” he said. “This past year I made the first team. It was such a good team. My playing skills just really improved.”

Club soccer in Germany is highly competitive, Rogge said.

“It’s basically a couple of leagues lower than the professional leagues,” said Rogge, who hopes to play professionally there. “The skill level over there is just phenomenal.”

Relatively speaking, the Bulldogs’ skill level isn’t too shabby, either, with Rogge and talented teammates such as Matt Kurtz, Isaac Ramirez and Joe Mikulich.

“That’s what makes us so dangerous,” said Rogge, who also has 13 assists. “It’s not just one player.”

The Bulldogs have also been good defensively, allowing 21 goals all season — 12 fewer than Rogge has scored.

“We know we have a good chance to be successful (in the playoffs), but only if we play as a team,” Rogge said. “We all have to really want it. We all have heart and we want to do well, but when it comes down to it, we need to do what it takes to win.”

In other Sunset quarterfinals today at Wilson Park, Cimarron-Memorial meets Bishop Gorman and Palo Verde plays Durango, both at 4 p.m.; and Clark faces Legacy at 6.

In the Sunrise Region tournament, also starting today at Wilson Park, Valley plays Green Valley, and Eldorado plays Silverado, both at 4 p.m. Chaparral plays Tech, and Las Vegas plays Coronado at 6.