NCS girls
MONTE VISTA’S UNLIKELY RUN TO NCS TITLE IS A PERFECT 10
Ten seems to be the magic number for the Monte Vista girls soccer team. The Mustangs were seeded 10th in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs that began 10 days ago, and Saturday they won their 10th section soccer title, beating Amador Valley 1-0 in two overtimes.
The Dons kicked the ball in their own goal in a scramble around the net in the game’s 98th minute, according to Monte Vista coach Chris Lum.
“We got lucky,” Lum said. “Right place. Right time. Amador was fantastic. They had (ball) possession for the most part.”
Monte Vista last won the section in 2020. It was their longest drought since going without an NCS crown between 2006-2012.
The Mustangs were seeded 10th in this year’s tournament after going 6-5-3 during the regular season. Then they reeled off victories against Casa Grande, Liberty and Bishop O’Dowd before meeting Amador Valley for the title.
It didn’t hurt that the game was played at Monte Vista even though the Dons (13-4) were the fourth seed. Amador Valley coach Grant Matsumoto said there was a paperwork snafu that caused the lower-seeded team to get the home field in the championship game.
“It wasn’t a determining factor in the outcome,” said Matsumoto, whose team had won eight in a row before playing Monte Vista.
Said Lum, “Hats off to Amador Valley. They will be back. They’re a young team.”
The Dons’ big loss will be second-leading scorer Maylen Montoya, the EBAL’s unanimous league MVP. The former Pleasanton Rage star will continue her career at the University of Washington.
As for Monte Vista, Lum said of NCS, “We had an attitude there was nothing to lose. We embraced the underdog mentality.”
Goalie Amanda Kayari played a splendid game for Monte Vista, as did Raquel Rivas and Lele Besag.
CCS girls
HOMESTEAD CAPTURES FIRST GIRLS SECTION CROWN IN OVER 30 YEARS
The eighth-seeded Mustangs scored the only goal of the match in the second half en route to a 1-0 upset over No. 2 seed Salinas 1-0 in the D-II title match.
Selene Bruyere put a free kick in the net from about 25 yards to help send the Homestead girls to their first CCS soccer championship since 1993.
The Mustangs (11-7-4) put on a defensive clinic in the second half, holding powerful Salinas (17-2-2) to one shot on goal in the 10 a.m. match held at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas. Besides being closer to home, Salinas entered the title match with a 15-0-1 record in its last 16 outings.
Homestead goalie Myley Markley also had a big match for the winning team with saves.
TWO SECOND-HALF GOALS SPARK MENLO
Knights coach Ross Ireland won his third CCS title Saturday as Menlo beat Mountain View 2-1 for the D-III crown, but it was Halle Blanchard who had the day to remember.
The junior scored her first goal of the season early in the second half to break a 0-0 tie. She took a short pass and dribbled a yard or two down the right sideline before launching a shot from the corner. The ball went over the hands of the outstretched Mountain View and into the net for a 1-0 Menlo lead.
After the Spartans tied the match a little later, Menlo’s leading scorer Roya Rezaee headed in a corner kick from Krista Arreola to break the 1-1 deadlock.
The victory capped a nice run for the fourth-seeded Knights, who went 14-1-3 since a 2-3 start. No. 3-seed Mountain View is 12-8-2.
HEALTHY SACRED HEART PREP GIRLS OVERWHELM D-V
The Gators proved to be a little too strong for the competition now that they are healthy. Sarina Yu had two goals and Lewa White had a goal and three assists in SHP’s 7-0 romp against North Monterey County in the CCS D-V title match. Sacred Heart Prep led 5-0 at the half,and in three CCS matches outscored its opponents 21-0.
“As it turns out, we are now healthy for the first time and proved to be too strong for D5,” Gators coach Armando del Rio texted. “We are looking forward to competing and advancing in NorCal. We feel like with our health and form we can compete with anyone.”
For del Rio, this was his third section championship in the last four years. He won CCS crowns with the SHP boys in 2021 and 2022. The Gator girls hadn’t won the section since 2020, when they completed a run of four championships in seven years under Ramiro Arredondo.
The committee seeding the CCS participants must have known something was up with Sacred Heart Prep. It was seeded No. 1 despite a lackluster 8-7-3 regular season. No. 2-seed North Monterey County came in at 15-4-3.
Camy Sheldon had a goal and an assist. Grace Rocha, Nathalia Herrera and Ellie Shen scored goals.
OTHER GAME
Soquel and Christopher played to a 0-0 tie in regulation in the D-IV title game, but Soquel is the CCS winner after a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks. The section championship is Soquel’s first in girls soccer. Christopher’s girls won titles in 2021 and 2022.
Oakland Section girls
OAKLAND TECH GIRLS BOUNCE BACK NICELY FROM SLOW START
Esme Falk and Melissa Romo Padilla each scored goals as the Bulldogs (13-3-1) won the Oakland Section title. For Oakland Tech, the victory capped a nice recovery from a slow start to the season. Oakland Tech lost two of its first three games but is 12-1-1 since. Skyline is 12-4-2.
CCS boys
SHP BOYS CAPTURE THIRD SECTION TITLE IN FOUR YEARS
The Gators shook off the shock of allowing their first goal in 10 games en route to a 2-1 victory over Santa Clara in the D-III CCS championship match at Del Mar High..
“The defense was under intense pressure the last 10 minutes after Santa Clara scored to make it 2-1,” SHP coach Bret Simon said.
Goals by Nathan Fox and Miles Brush put the sixth-seeded Gators up 2-0, then Santa Clara scored to cut the lead in half when Edwin Rodriguez connected. It was the first goal allowed by Sacred Heart Prep since a 1-1 deadlock with Priory on Jan. 24. The Gators were 8-0-1 during the streak of shutouts, and finished 16-2-5 overall.
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Santa Clara (12-9-2) entered the CCS playoffs as the fourth seed. Simon said the Bruins’ had a very difficult strength of schedule.
Sacred Heart Prep is expected to qualify for NorCals, and will likely play again on Tuesday.
MILPITAS BOYS ACCOMPLISH A FIRST
“The kids are floating on the bus right now,” said Milpitas soccer coach James Williams, who was calling with details about his team’s victory over Crystal Springs Uplands in the CCS D-V championship.
Milpitas won 5-3 on penalty kicks after regulation play ended with the teams deadlocked at 1-1. It was the first-ever CCS boys soccer title for the Trojans, and the bus ride home from Sequoia High to Milpitas was a joyous one.
The last time the Trojans played for the championship was 1999. They lost to Bellarmine. This time fourth-seeded Milpitas (11-3-7) grabbed a 1-0 lead early in the first half on a goal by Jesse Robles. No. 6-seed Crystal Springs Uplands (16-3-4) scored the equalizer after intermission.
Converting penalty kicks for Milpitas were Robles, Gonzalo Merino Sanchez, Ivan Santillan Yepez, Jason Aguiar and Luqman Abas.
OTHER GAMES
Division II top-seed Hillsdale (19-1-2) won its first-ever boys soccer section title by edging Menlo 5-4 in penalty kicks. Neither team scored a goal in regulation. … Gonzales took home the championship trophy in D-IV by edging Pioneer 2-1. Gonzales is 18-3-3. Pioneer fell to 11-9-2.
NCS boys
OTHER GAMES
Playing at home on Saturday night, top-seed Piedmont failed to muster any offense and lost to No. 2 seed Roseland University Prep-Santa Rosa 2-0 in the D-IV title game. The Highlanders are 10-9-4 this season. Roseland improved to 13-4-2.
