Austin senior midfielder Kevin Ortiz has done a lot of good things on the soccer field. He’s developed into the quarterback of the Austin attack, which has averaged 3.3 goals per game this season, he was named All-State as a junior, he helped the Packers take third in the Minnesota Class A State Soccer Tournament last year, and he’s helped this year’s team become the No. 4 ranked team in Class A.

But there’s one Kevin hasn’t done yet. He still hasn’t gotten his older brother Dante, who played on Austin’s 2009 state qualifying team, to admit he is better than him. Dante has a lot of respect for Kevin, but he’s standing firm on his older brother status.

“If anyone ever asks, I still say I’m the better one. When he gets the ball through my legs, then I’ll tell him that he’s better than me,” Dante said. “We’re a big soccer family and that keeps us close together. I’m very proud of Kevin for the kind of guy he is and player as well. He’s a very strong leader.“

Kevin grew up as a ball boy on the sidelines as Dante’s team advanced to Austin’s first ever state tournament and all he could think about was when he would get his chance.

“I went to every game that year and whenever I went to his games, I wanted to play so bad,” Kevin said. “They were good and it was fun to watch.”

Kevin was instantly dedicated to soccer — playing street soccer with his friends, playing in Mexican Leagues — where he set a lot of records for goals and assists — and eventually he began playing in the adult league with Dante as a 14-year old. Since then Kevin has been chasing after his big brothers — Dante and Franco, who also played soccer for the Packers.

“He always says he’s better than me and that’s just motivation,” Kevin said of Dante. “Playing with older guys lets me know how to play better against bigger opponents. It helped me get more physical.”

Besides learning from his older brothers, Kevin also had the advantage of playing for current Austin head coach Jens Levisen as an eight-year old. Levisen recalled that Kevin stood out at an early age and he often drew the attention of fans from other fields when he would connect on long-distance shots. But it took a little while for Kevin to develop as a team-first player.

“He knew what he could do with the ball, but he didn’t completely understand the team concept at that age,” Levisen said. “I remember the first day when he passed it to a teammate who scored and that light bulb kind of went on for him. That was a pretty cool moment. So much of Kevin being a good player comes back to the effort that he’s put in. Who he is as a player is the hours that he’s put in.”

Kevin and the Packers (13-2 overall) are riding a 10-game winning streak as they look towards earning a second straight state berth. The co-Big Nine champs will open the postseason when they host Cannon Falls (11-4-2 overall) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re just focusing on winning. We want to our play our best every second of the game,” Kevin said.

While Dante still isn’t giving his younger brother the better player nod, he will certainly be cheering on his younger brothers and the Packers as they look to make more school history this fall.

“For awhile all of our friends were all cocky because we were the first team to make it, but know that these guys have done so much better than us, we don’t have anything to say anymore. We’re all very proud of them and we’re excited to see how they do this year. Kevin has really evolved and he’s grown into a great leader,” Dante said. “I’m very jealous. I wish I could play one more game here.”

A CHANGE IN ROTATION

In the past the Section 1A boys soccer tournament had always run through RCTC, usually giving perennial contender Rochester Lourdes home field advantage in the finals. But that has changed due to a Section 1A meeting last year that decided the tournament will now rotate between Austin, Winona and Rochester.

“We had talked about it for three years and we weren’t sure it was going to happen,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “We brought it up again last year, we presented it and the change was made.”

The change means Art Has will host some very important soccer games next week as the Section 1A finals will be held in Art Hass Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. The Section 1A girls title game will be held at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18.

“It’s a great thing if we can host it, and it’s a great thing for the community to have the tournament here, no matter who is playing in it,” Austin Levisen said.

The new format also gives the top-seeded teams an advantage as No. 1 seeded Austin has automatically advanced to the top-eight after it received a first round bye in the 16-team tournament.