The West County has long been a hot-bed for boys high school
soccer, thanks in large part to the strong El Mo teams of the early
90’s, and the nearly two decades of dominance enjoyed by Analy.
Although its way too early for bold predictions, it is safe to
say that local teams should enjoy a fair amount of success again
this year.
Tigers capture Healdsburg Invitational
tourney
There is no such thing as a rebuilding season for the Tigers,
who seem to come up with a winning team year in and year out under
returning veteran coach Peter Meechan.
Last year’s team enjoyed a tremendous run, advancing in the NCS
playoffs, and nearly up-ending eventual champion Marin Catholic in
finishing the season at 16-6-2.
Despite losing several of their key front-line players to
graduation, the Tigers are up to their old tricks again this fall,
surprising everyone and possibly themselves in winning the annual
Healdsburg Invitational last weekend.
The Analy team took the tourney by storm, beating Rancho Cotate,
3-0, Arcata, 2-1, forging a scoreless tie with Cardinal Newman, and
defeating Elsie Allen in the title game, 2-0.
The tourney victory may have been impressive from a spectator’s
standpoint, but Meechan was typically cautious to make too much of
the Tiger’s early success.
“We have a young team and are hoping we can gel soon,” said
Meehan, in his 20th season as Analy head coach. “I think Windsor
and Sonoma are the league favorites.”
Analy may be young, but it does have its share of returning
stars in senior midfielder Sergio Hernandez, senior midfielder Eli
Munger, junior defender Anthony Zepponi, junior forward/mid Armando
Coronel, senior forward/mid Richy Amador, and sophomore forward/mid
Augustine Reyes.
Other key players figure to be junior forward Raffi Dick, junior
mid/defender Brett Marshall, freshman mid/defender Cassidy Rosales,
junior defender Ryan Willis, sophomore mid/keeper Isaac Moore,
junior midfielder Alex Rich, senior goalie Ben Holt, senior
defender Matt Uleman, junior forward Hithm Halawi, senior forward
Cameron Wehrfritz, junior defender Taylor Williams, junior forward
David Vigil, senior defender Tyler Yeomans, senior defender Keith
Pastorino, senior goalie Sebastian Birthelmer, senior midfielder
Corey Schmitt, senior midfielder Kyle Schmitt, junior midfielder
Cheyanne Rahimi, sophomore midfielder Juan Sanchez, and freshman
defender Shaq Burton.
The Tigers will hit the road this weekend for the annual
McKinleyville Invitational Tournament and kick off the league
season against visiting defending champ Windsor on Sept. 21.
El Mo looking for improved campaign
The Lions have nowhere to go but up after a tough 2009 season
that found wins hard to come by, in spite of giving teams all they
could handle most nights.
Head coach Dan Calmeyer is back for another year, optimistic and
hopeful that his team’s hard work in the pre-season with translate
to league wins.
“We have a team that has high expectations for this coming
season as we try to climb above last season’s finish of last place
in the SCL,” said Calmeyer. “We have a core of returning seniors,
as well as a few new faces to varsity. Our goal this season is to
make the playoffs.”
The El Mo coaching staff added considerable experience to its
brain-trust, welcoming back former Lion’s and more recently,
Windsor head coach Tomas Acuna into the fray. Acuna has the
distinction of coaching the only boy’s league championship team in
school history in 1994.
Jack Grant returns to coach the JV squad.
Returning players for the Lions include senior third-year goalie
Easton Palmer, talented junior captain Miguel Rodriguez, senior
captain and defender Julian Bauer, senior Hector Lopez, senior
Christian Robledo, senior Rosendo Lopez, senior Ryan Emory, senior
Brayan Romero, senior scoring threat Chris Hennen, sophomore Connor
Hennen, senior Warren Cappurro, and junior Saul Onofre.
Other key contributors figure to be junior goalie Nathaniel
Byers, junior defender Mitch Parsons, junior Will Plaugher, junior
Gus Leveque-Eichorn, sophomore Alex Shkurkin, freshman Princevaar
Buttar, sophomore Jose Valentine Salas, and senior Martin
Newman.
El Mo is already off to a strong start, soundly defeating Sonoma
Academy, 7-1, and Willits, 2-0. The Lions will compete in the Bay
City Invitational Tournament this weekend in Santa Rosa, and open
the league schedule at Windsor on Sept. 23.
