The ball has a different sounding type of thump as it comes off the foot of Brookhaven High senior striker Ethen Lopez. A strong-legged leader who pushed the Panthers with his ability to center the ball and put shots on goal, Lopez was at his career best in his final season suiting up on King Field.

For his outstanding senior season, Lopez has been named the 2025 Daily Leader All-Area Boys’ Soccer Most Valuable Player. Named to the All-Area Team as a sophomore and junior, Lopez again helped take the Panthers (13-6-1) back to the MHSAA 5A postseason this year.

Lopez put up big numbers last year as a junior, scoring 21 goals and dishing out 18 assists, but his play this season came with a larger target on his back, as BHS graduated a huge senior class last year which included a 21-goal scorer in MT Stewart and two guys who scored 10 goals each in Ashton Ogletree and Walker Williams.

As the focal point of the offense for a young team, Lopez was a calming presence, the type of weapon that can get his team on the board if given just a little daylight.

He finished his senior season with 22 goals and seven assists, but his impact on the game goes deeper than numbers can show, which is drawing him interest from multiple community college programs.

“Ethen is a great student-athlete,” said longtime Brookhaven High coach Aaron Ayers. “He works hard on and off the field and is like my coach on the field during games. He is a player that everyone looks up to. He’s not only a great goal scorer, but probably one of the best ball distributors I have ever coached and he’s an unselfish player who always puts his team first.”