Ford Cash plays four sports at Benjamin High School: soccer, football, lacrosse and track and field.
If he had to choose his favorite, it would likely be soccer. And why not? The sophomore midfielder scored (14) more than half of his team’s goals and added nine assists in just 16 games played to help the Buccaneers win back-to-back district titles.
Cash delivered the goods when it counted as he helped Benjamin to a 9-5-4 record this season. Among the victories were wins over rivals King’s Academy, Cardinal Newman, Oxbridge Academy, Jupiter and Dwyer.
He was named the underclassman MVP at his school and captured the Sun Sentinel Class 5A-2A player of the year honor as well. His biggest moment was probably his goal against King’s Academy in the district final with 10 seconds remaining which helped them to a 4-3 (7-6 PKs) victory. He also scored twice in the second half to give the Buccaneers a 2-1 win over Dwyer.
“It was a good year for us, we won districts which was our goal,” Cash said. “We wished we could have gone farther in the playoffs, but we beat some good schools and rivals this year.
“We lost like 10 plus seniors from last year’s team,” Cash said. “I would say the biggest change was me stepping up as a leader. The sophomore class had a number of starters, and our junior class only has like three or four players, so our future is bright.”
Cash said the team’s core is still very young and they will graduate just four seniors this year.
“I think nine of our 11 starters are returning next year,” Cash said. “Last year I played more of a forward position and this year I dropped back and distributed the ball to my teammates and tried to put the ball in the back of the net when I could.
“I want to play a sport in college, I just genuinely don’t know which one yet,” Cash said. “I would say soccer is my best and probably my best shot but since soccer is so hard to get recruited for in the United States. In middle school, I played every sport I could play. I have been doing it for a while. I have to focus on time management, especially at Benjamin.”
Benjamin boys soccer coach Kris Steeves said Cash was key to the success of the program this season.
“Ford provided the majority of our goals this season,” Steeves said. “He was always someone the boys looked to and as a sophomore, he took it on his shoulders really well. He provided some excellent moments for us this year and was a key part of the success we got this year, which was probably a little unexpected.
“I coached Ford when he was small, 10 or 11, at the club level,” Steeves added. “We knew he had it then. As an athlete, he is just incredible. He has a good head on his shoulders. He had one goal against Pine Crest this year where we are lucky the net was there, or the ball would still be traveling.”
