West Forsyth’s Lopez-Dominguez, Penaloza prepare to play in next week’s East-West All-Star Game
Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 17, 2025


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By Jay Spivey
For the Clemmons Courier
It’s been quite the summer for the West Forsyth boys soccer team and it has nothing to do with the upcoming fall season.
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Abiel Lopez-Dominguez and Ryan Penaloza, who graduated from West Forsyth this past May, will represent the school in the East-West Boys All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 22, at 8:30 p.m. at Jamieson Stadium at Grimsley High School in Greensboro.
And that comes on the heels of Omar Brahim and Coach John Blake of West Forsyth representing the team last month at the Clash of the Carolinas in Pineville.
“The program’s going in the right direction,” said Blake, who is about to start his second season as the head coach for the Titans. “I think we’ve got probably one of the strongest groups to ever come out of West Forsyth as far as all-around goes, maybe not all of the college stuff we thought we might get, but really, I think it shows that people on how good of people they are — great GPAs, great academically.”
West Forsyth finished 21-2-2 overall last season and 12-1-1 in the Central Piedmont 4-A.
Much of the credit to the team’s success came from Lopez-Dominguez, who was a striker, and Penaloza, who was listed as a fullback. However, the season ended on Nov. 12 of last year following a 2-1 loss at home against Charlotte Catholic in the second round of the NCHSAA Class 4-A playoffs. So, it had been a long time since the season. That long period without playing surprised both Lopez-Dominguez and Penaloza when they found out that they would be representing West Forsyth one last time.
“Honestly, it was something that I couldn’t believe,” Lopez-Dominguez said. “Like, I’ve seen people in the past go to these events, and like I never imagined myself being able to go to one.”
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Although, much like Lopez-Dominguez, Penaloza eventually found out that he had made the all-star team through Blake, he initially found through a common method among teenagers in 2025.
“The Instagram post,” Penaloza said of how he found out that he made the all-star team.
Asked what he thought, Penaloza said, “I was just excited to be a part of it.”
Blake, who nominated both players, added a little bit to the story.
“I told them late, actually it got broke on Instagram before — they released the thing before we could tell them,” Blake said. “So, we kind of found out right around the same time it got released.”
It’s also a chance for both players to reunite on the field.
“I’ve known Ryan for a long time, maybe since we were 12,” said Lopez-Dominguez, who will be playing college soccer at Mars Hill and reports Aug. 15. “We started playing club together. And I’ve known Ryan for a long time. And playing with him one last game, I think, he’s not playing in college, so this will be one of his last games being able to play in general.”
Just like Lopez-Dominguez said, Penaloza isn’t playing soccer in college. However, Penaloza will be attending High Point University.
“I’m just very happy that I’m going to be able to play with him one last time,” said Penaloza “I’m just very thankful and happy that I was able to play with him one last time.”
Losing to Charlotte Catholic was even tougher for Penaloza because he wasn’t going to play in college.
“It was really disappointing,” he said. “Being such a good school, higher ranking, and just going out the way we did.”
It almost feels like redemption for Lopez-Dominguez after coming up short in last year’s playoffs.
“I thought it would’ve been my last game representing West,” he said. “That would’ve been the last step in my high school soccer career. Whenever I found out I was very thankful I was able to play one more game to represent my school.”
The season was still memorable for Blake, who believes Penaloza and Lopez-Dominguez helped him get through his first season as the head coach at West Forsyth after replacing Jeffrey Williams, who is now the girls coach.
“It was super-important, especially coming into a new school and new environment,” Blake said. “For me, they welcomed me right in and they really led the charge for the season and the team.
“It has a lot to do with them. They led by example and they also were coachable.”
The friendship has been beneficial for both players.
“We really push each other to go harder,” Penaloza said. “Every time we practice and go against each other, we both know each other well. So, it’s hard for one of us to beat the other, but it’s a good challenge.”
Their high school coach in their final season for the Titans even noticed how they interact on the field.
“They knew where everybody was and they had such a good feel for each other and the rest of the team,” Blake said. “So, they were able to just play in flow for pretty much the whole season.”
Despite the loss early in the playoffs this opportunity is like the icing on the cake for both players.
“It feels good to represent West one more time with my friends and family being there watching me,” Penaloza said. “I’m just proud of myself and our team.”
That one last chance to play with each other starts on Sunday, July 20, when both the East and West All-Stars meet for workouts to prepare for the East-West All-Star game.
“I’ve been training every day in the offseason,” Lopez-Dominguez said. “I’ve also got to get fit and be ready for college soccer. So, I’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, a lot of technical work, just staying fit.”
Penaloza, although not playing college soccer, plans to play club soccer at High Point.
“I know a couple of people on the team already from my club team (Charlotte Independence),” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to meeting new people and playing with new people.”
In addition to having friends and family there to see both players, Blake will also be there.
“I’ll go down there. They’ve got a banquet, so they’ll both be named scholar athletes,” Blake said. “They’re going to be awarded a certificate for that. And at the banquet they’ll get their certificate for playing in the game and all their other stuff. So, yeah, I’m going to the awards banquet.”
Blake also knows from experience all that it means to the schools the players represent. After all, he was the head coach for the West in the 2023 East-West All-Star Game when he was the head coach at Ledford.
“It’s a great opportunity for the boys to play one more time competitively at the high school level,” Blake said. “They’ll probably never really experience anything like it again.
“Playing in college is completely different. Playing in front of their friends for one last time they’ll probably have a pretty good group of friends there. And then getting to know kids from another school, kind of in the same position. And other coaches. It’s a good showcase for the state of North Carolina soccer.”