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Boys soccer: How the top 10 might look in 2009-10

Damian Dottore, OCVarsity — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:36:38 +0000

OK, I know the 2009-10 soccer season is a long way off, but I thought it might be kind of fun to put down the teams that I think will be the top 10 in the county poll at the start of next season.

And we'll see how different the list really looks when it's time for the teams to hit the field.

Unless he loses some players to academy, I think the No. 1 team on this list will be No. 1 for a long, long time next season.

1. JSerra

2. Servite

3. Valencia

4. Santa Ana

5. Mater Dei

6. Santa Ana Valley

7. Saddleback

8. Aliso Niguel

9. Santa Margarita (The Eagles had some pretty good performances against good teams this year. They will be back.)

10T. Century

10T. Sunny Hills

Anyone disagree with me?

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Boys soccer playoffs: Santa Ana advances to CIF finals

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:13:15 +0000

Thanks to some standout work by goalkeeper Christian Lara, the Santa Ana boys soccer team is headed to the CIF-SS Division II finals.

Lara made several game-saving saves in regulation, with the Saints playing a man down, and came with another save in penalty kicks to lead the Saints to the victory, 3-1 on penalty kicks.

Santa Ana will face Valencia in the finals either Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined

Boys soccer: No. 5 Foothill gets victory with late goal

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:00:36 +0000

What happened: No. 5 Foothill scored with less than 10 minutes to play to beat Huntington Beach, 1-0, in a Sea View League game Friday afternoon at Foothill High.

And there will surely be repercussions, as four red cards given in the match.

Records: Foothill 10-4-5, 3-0-2; Huntington Beach 2-7-5, 0-3-2

How it looked: The match was rugged from the start, but Foothill never seemed threatened by the Oilers. Before the match, Knights coach Barry Turner said his team has been working on finishing better, but again they lacked in that area.

It wasn't without effort, however, and that effort produced a goal with time running down off a set piece. The Oilers had a late run and sent a cross in front of net, but nothing came of it. It was one of the Oilers better looks on the afternoon.

Who scored: Kyle Dylewski scored for the Knights. A ball rolled free through the box off a set piece to Dylewski, who took one touch and sent a hard right footer high, near the far corner, and over the goalie's hands.

The cards: Huntington Beach plays Woodbridge on Saturday in a make-up match, but the Oilers will be without three players who received red cards Friday. Two were straight reds, the other was yellow-red.

The Knights also had a player kicked out because of a red card.

I didn't get a chance to speak with Oliers coach Austin Nichols after the game. The Oilers took off pretty quick, and understandbly so. I would imagine Nichols wasn't pleased with the situation.

In my opinion, the refs never had control of this match. I have seen this head ref before, and he doesn't seem to call anything until the second half.

I saw both teams fouling. Neither team was innoncent, and no doubt both teams were committing needless and dangerous, fouls.

The bottom line: If the refs won't protect the players, who will? The players need protection, and if the refs won't or can't, then the players will start to protect themselves. And that is usually when things get out of control.

The Oilers didn't lose this match because of the refs. Let's be clear about that. But they will have an effect on two matches for both teams.

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Boys soccer: Tesoro taming the South Coast

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:48:48 +0000

Tesoro's Sean Dhillon leads the team with 6 goals.

Tesoro atop the South Coast at 4-0-2, still unbeaten and in front of teams like Aliso Niguel, San Clemente and Mission Viejo? Who didn't see this coming?

Try everyone. Some coaches felt like the Titans were bottom dwellers of the league this year, and who could blame them. Tesoro graduated 16 players, returning 5 varsity players, two starters.

What's going on with the Titans?

"We are just flying under the radar," Coach Don Skaff said. "We have a young team. I'm playing everyone lots of minutes."

Skaff has 4 sophomores and 1 freshman in the starting bunch. He lost two players to injuries - sophomore Connor Wilkinson and senior Kevin Kandel, who started at left back last year. Wilkinson broke his leg in the first meeting against San Clemente. Kandel broke his cavicle.

Skaff said his team's moment came against Mission Viejo, and he credited sophomore Bryan Breslin for turning the game around. Tesoro trailed 1-0 before Breslin took the field. The Titans won, 3-1.

"He wasn't even walking on Tuesday," because of an ankle injury Skaff said. "He wasn't supposed to play Friday, but Mission was all over us and he wanted to go in. He was the difference maker."

Bryan's twin brother, sophomore Michael Breslin, is in goal for the Titans, and doing a solid job, Skaff said.

"He's huge in goal," Skaff said. "He's really stepped up."

Skaff said Tesoro's 4-0 victory over San Clemente on Monday was huge for his team moving forward with four games to play. He said his team might not have the best talent player for player, but plays the best as a team on the field.

"More important than talent, we get along," Skaff said. "We like being out there. We have great chemistry and our confidence goes a long way. We still feel like the underdog every game."

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Boys soccer: Which team has best case for top 10? (with poll)

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:35:55 +0000

The top 10 is an inexact science, as there always seems to be a team that belongs but isn't included.

Here are my four candidates that best fit that description: Tesoro, Valencia, Los Alamitos and Santa Ana.

Tesoro is dominating the South Coast, in first place at 4-0-2.

Valencia is in first in the Empire League, at 4-1, with victories over Sunny Hills and Fullerton in preseason.

Santa Ana is the only team to defeat Saddleback this season.

Los Alamitos is 4-2 in the Sunset and atop the standings.

So ...

Which of these teams most deserves to be in the top 10?

Boys soccer: No. 10 Woodbridge contains Trabuco Hills

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:39:37 +0000

What happened: Woodbridge scored two minutes into the game and 10 seconds before the half to defeat Trabuco Hills, 2-0, in Sea View League action Wednesday at Alton Park.

Records: Woodbridge 10-3-3, 2-0-2; Trabuco Hills 5-4-3, 0-2-2

How it looked: The best and most accurate I can describe this match is Woodbridge looked like a team already in 5th gear to begin this game, while Trabuco Hills looked like a team still pulling off the starting line. After scoring 2 minutes in, the only question was would Woodbridge let up and/or Trabuco Hills pick their game up.

Though the Mustangs started to pick things up, the Warriors looked like the superior team in every aspect Wednesday. They were quicker to the ball, playing more physical and played with more intensity.

Who scored: Woodbridge's Andrew Sharp received a cross in front of net. He touched it once for the easy goal.

The Warriors scored right before half when Andrew McCarthy's perfect one-touch pass set up Matt Laughlin for a break away. Laughlin finished and the ref blew the whistle on the second touch of the reset.

Warriors keep rolling: Tuesday's victory kept the Warriors unbeaten in Sea View play, along with El Toro and Foothill. The Warriors moved into the top 10 rankings last week and are currently No. 10.

High five to ...: The Woodbridge backfield. Sean Kirkpatrick, Cody Schott, Marcus Grijalva and Yuki Nakamura all spent time making sure the Mustangs didn't have any real good looks.

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Boys soccer: Tobolski's 3 of the day

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:02:23 +0000

Here is a trio of games to follow:

Esperanza at Fountain Valley (Sunset League, 3:15pm)

This game was supposed to be played last week, but got moved to today. The implications remain the same, and that is first place in league. Los Alamitos (4-2) is currently in first. With a victory today, Fountain Valley (3-2) joins the Griffins for a share of that spot. Yet if the Aztecs (3-1-1) defeat the Barons, they move into sole possession of first. While all three of these teams looked poised for the playoffs, there's a huge difference between league champ and No. 3 finisher come CIF. Playoff atmosphere?

Century at Santa Ana Valley (Orange League, 3:15 pm)

This match directly effects the league's playoff race. Currently Santa Ana Valley (2-2-0) is ahead of Century (1-1-1), but how 80 minutes can change that. With a victory in this match, Valley looks like a playoff lock. However, Century can mix up the standings and make a postseason push with a win of its own.

Katella at Kennedy (Empire League, 3:15 pm)

Sticking with the playoff bubble theme, this Empire League showdown is perfect. The Knights (2-2) and Fighting Irish (2-2) have identical records entering this one and tied for third place behind Loara and Valencia. The winner no doubt gets the leg up for the final postseason berth.

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Boys soccer: the Weekly contest, week 3 (Tobolski's picks)

Chris Tobolski, OCVarsity.com — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:01:01 +0000

Here are the selected games:

Servite at Mater Dei

Santa Ana at Westminster

Woodbridge v Trabuco Hills

Mater Dei at JSerra

Sunny Hills at Troy

Sonora at La Habra

My picks:

Servite, Santa Ana, Tie, JSerra, Troy, La Habra

Dottore's picks

Calhoun's picks

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Boys soccer: the Weekly contest, week 3 (Calhoun's picks)

Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:58:52 +0000

Here are the selected games:

Servite at Mater Dei

Santa Ana at Westminster

Woodbridge v Trabuco Hills

Mater Dei at JSerra

Sunny Hills at Troy

Sonora at La Habra

My picks:

Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Trabuco Hills, Tie, Troy, La Habra

Dottore's picks

Tobolski's picks

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Boys soccer: The Weekly contest, week 3 (Dottore's picks)

Damian Dottore, OCVarsity — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:55:16 +0000

Here are the selected games:

Servite at Mater Dei

Santa Ana at Westminster

Woodbridge v Trabuco Hills

Mater Dei at JSerra

Sunny Hills at Troy

Sonora at La Habra

My picks:

Tie, Santa Ana, Woodbridge, JSerra, Sunny Hills, La Habra

Calhoun's picks

Tobolski's picks

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