- East Bay Prep Corner
East Bay Boys Soccer Notes: Rankings
By Matt Smith
Monday, November 22nd, 2010 at 10:46 pm in Boys soccer.
The first rankings are up.
I just want to say, first of all, don’t stress too much over the original rankings. They will change and fix themselves as the season goes. I am just doing my best based on early season information. With that said….
Had to go De La Salle No. 1, until somebody beats them. Enough said.
I feel like Clayton Valley and Mission San Jose are establishing themselves as teams to watch out for. I think Campolindo is as well.
And I am hearing to watch out for Concord, so they might be a surprise to some to see them just outside the top 15.
1. De La Salle
2. San Ramon Valley
3. California
4. Bishop O’Dowd
5. Amador Valley
6. Berkeley
7. Clayton Valley
8. Mission San Jose
9. Acalanes
10. Granada
11. Albany
12. Dublin
13. Campolindo
14. Richmond
15. Antioch
Others considered: Deer Valley, Las Lomas, Dougherty Valley, Concord, Logan, Monte Vista, Alhambra, Pinole Valley, Livermore, Piedmont.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
November 23rd, 2010 at 6:32 am
Not bad I guess. Paint it usually a good idea to start with the teams that made NCS? The season will shake the teams out so I’m
looking forward to it.
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:46 am
Soccer sucks, the real “football” season is still going on.
November 23rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
i believe this list is somehwat accurate, but ive seen san lorenzo play this year, and i believe they are top contenders to go far in NCS
November 23rd, 2010 at 2:40 pm
i dont think richmond has ever had such a low ranking before. they are definitly top 8
November 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Largely a shot in the dark, based on last year’s
performance and the HS cycle, and only Division 1:
1. Berkeley — experience, talent
2. DLS — low point of the cycle?
3. Amador — Overachieved last year as a young team
4. Clayton Valley — Rory will get them there
5. SRV — Young, but always tough
6. Richmond — Young, but always tough
7. California — Not much info about them
8. Monte Vista — Dark horse
A note also about the upcoming results, which need to be taken with a grain of salt: Academy, Nomads are getting in the way of the early season; the Classic takes place very early in the season too.
November 23rd, 2010 at 6:15 pm
EBAL we got Livermore with a lot of returners and few new additions that weren’t available to them, Monte Vista young last year and looking up and lastly a California team with who the coaches consider the best player in the league leading them. Don’t see much in DLS but they are well coached and always on top.
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Berkeley as number 1 cokito? They were deep last year with strikers but this year I’m not so sure. Their defense is mean as ever, and I dont’t see many teams scoring on them. The EBAL will always send multiple teams to NCS but I predict a non EBAL team taking it all this year.
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
No one likes Soccer!
November 23rd, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Playmaker
Please, the Worlds #1 sport is Soccer/Football
not American Football
The WORLDS #2 sport is Cricket
so please, leave your American centric mindset at the door
the WORLD is a big place, join it
or just leave
November 23rd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Well said, EBAL DAD.
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Play Maker, you really had to say that twice just to get some attention? Get a life…
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Players to watch?
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Hopefully you guys do some reporting about the world’s #3 sport, RUGBY! The East bay is chock full of great rugby, from Under 19 to Men’s. Hopefully you guys add a bit of coverage for that!!
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:18 pm
YV 1 Pinole 0. Great game. Both teams played exciting soccer.
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:22 pm
I totally agree with san lorenzo being a contender… They played a really gud game against newark and las lomas and they have alot of returningseniors and a couple other players that ive seen in other highschools. With their new defender joining from mt eden, san lorenzo has a really tough defense which haveent allowes any goals yet, im really interested in how this team will do this season
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I totally agree with san lorenzo being a contender… They played a really gud game against newark and las lomas and they have alot of returningseniors and a couple other players that ive seen in other highschools. With their new defender joining from mt eden, san lorenzo has a really tough defense which haveent allowes any goals yet, im really interested in how this team will do this season
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Very nice, EBAL dad.
November 23rd, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Westofthetunnel, I admit my rankings are just a guess, and I/you may very well be right, or wrong.
November 24th, 2010 at 5:51 am
A preview of the ACAL:
Richmond graduated many crucial players, that will be hard to replace.
Berkeley kept most of their defensive players from last years 12 shutout game season ,strong bench, still working on who will lead their offense.
Pinole is young, but returned many players and may surprise a number of teams.
Alameda, DeAnza, El Cerrito, Hercules, all are not deep in talent.
Berkeley should win the league and be a force to contend with in the playoffs.
“LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”
November 24th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Hey Matt,
Good start to one of the best high school sports blogs going. CAL will have to wait a while for their captain to finish his American football season. When/where are the top pre-league tournaments?
Can’t wait to hear the chants, such as “Richmond, Richmond, RAH! RAH! RAH!”
November 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Sweeper we see each other again.
Good point on CAL missing their captain but I am excited this year once again!
November 24th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Soccer needs to work out some problems with how it is officiated and how controversial plays are determined. The world cup this year started some dialog about instant replay and such. Last year in the Division 1 playoffs I was disgusted how the officials let the same player from DLS fake an injury three seperate times so the team could catch its breath while being run into the ground by a better-coditioned Cal team. If that is going to happen the player needs to be removed from the field.
November 24th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Pitchku maternu, play maker.
November 24th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
What about the bval
November 25th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Ouch
November 25th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Campolindo and Mission San Jose play in the winter classic next Monday! What do you think about that matchup?
November 25th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Sorry Cokito but i dont agree with one thing. Rory isn’t a very good coach and he isnt going to be the one to get Clayton anywhere. He gets lucky. If you look at when he got to Concord, he had very good players and the same happened when he arrived at Clayton. If Clayton is going to go far in the season and playoffs, its going to have to be because of the players and not the coach.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Happy turkey-day fellow soccer bloggers, bloated and ready for some REAL football.
Matt, please prep a piece on the key local pre-league tourneys. Would like to see the key 3 or 4 matches.
EBALDAD, ditto, ditto, ditto.
Cokito, great to see you active on the blog. I enjoy your in-your-face version of salsa…
Ebal Fan, looking forward to another great year of banter with you, the Tahoe-guy(?) and the DLS contingent.
Outsider, by my observation, DLS was not winded in the final because CAL committed so many fouls (30+ by my count, a ridiculous and Netherlands-like number), and the DLS squad therefore, had plenty of rests. The real officiating mistake was in the semifinal at SRV, where the best player on the field was given a straight red card, and this allowed CAL to make an amazing comeback. I say that the player was the best on the field because SRV was dominating with him on the field and they could not hold the lead without him. If the red card was not called, CAL would not have made the finals. Poor officiating determined the outcome of that semifinal match, but not the final. TRUE. And the best final match never happened. Matt?
Football, Football, Rah, Rah, Rah!!!!
November 26th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Sweeper I still can’t believe you’re talking about that semifinal game! I would love to see the DLS vs CAL game on tape I’m sure one of the CAL parents has it to count the number of fouls.
This year, I got Livermore, CAL, MV fighting it out in EBAL.
November 26th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Regarding the American football NCS D-1 playoffs, I would like to see the CAL kicker lined up for a 45+ yard field goal at the Coliseum against DLS for all the marbles, but I expect to see DLS win going away: 38-24 or wider…as there will not be a 22+ minute H2 scoring dry spell.
I hope that each team performs well leading to the finals and the health of each team is intact.
November 26th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Ebal Fan,
Matt should have the foul count from the final. My guess is DLS-19+, CAL-35+. I recall one sequence in the 63rd-65th minute where one DLS player dribbled for 30+ yards, was challenged/fouled 3 times but no call was made because possession was maintained, and then a foul was finally called. It was very much like the Netherlands “thug-unskilled-soccer” approach in the World Cup Final that was a proven failed strategy. The film will reveal the truth.
The tape sequence provided by CAL fans on-line for the semi-match clearly confirmed that the call at SRV was totally BOGUS, it was not a straight red card foul, and there is no factual evidence to refute this.
BTW, saw both DLS-SRV league matches, and talked to DLS parents, and believe me, the DLS contingent was totally relieved that they did not have to face SRV in the final.
CAL was a “pass” match. What say you?
November 26th, 2010 at 9:14 am
yea those Spartans are always worried about a challenge! comedy
November 26th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
the cal dls game was a great game that came down to a few shots from cal that went off the post. the srv cal game did come down to the that red card but we all know here that SRV did still give up 3 goals in 20 minutes. One player should not have that great effect on the field to where his team will give up 3 goals in 20 minutes. If u had watched DLS and CAL play each other in the EBAL regular season you would have seen the same exact soccer being played by both teams where you saw in the finals. DLS was better and thats why they won but this year CAL is my prediction to win NCS this year. In there first 3 games they have outscored there opponents 20-5!!!!! and this was without RIVAS!
November 26th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Matt, there is another kicker still playing pointy football in NCS quarterfinal’s that has yet to join his team. It’s Trevor Long from Granada. As a freshman last year, he was second leading scorer behind Garret Foster for the high flying Matadors. This is a kid with a great motor, smokin’ fast and tons of heart. Definitely a player to watch. Granada has struggled to put goals in the net this year but once he returns, watch out.
November 26th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Wow, Weeper, it’s been nine months. Stop crying and get over it. You continue to show a complete lack of respect for what an exceptional group of high school boys were able to accomplish. Worse and unfortunately, these sad, bitter accusations also paint, with an indirect association, the incredible coach Don Busboom, SRV and his boys in a poor light. They have too much class to publicly challenge a referee’s call as the sole reason for their opponent’s come-from-behind victory.
How does a team give up three goals after losing one player? It’s a tough pill to swallow, but a championship team, simply put, does not. CAL lost their Times All-East Bay 1st team defender in the same match to a concussion, made no excuses, and won the game. Days later, again without Andrew Noble, CAL then went on to outshoot DLS 8-3 in the final, with one dramatic rocket off the post, before falling 1-0. You didn’t hear whining about a foul committed against the keeper on the winning goal or Noble’s absence in the final from CAL. And you won’t.
Did SRV dominate the first three quarters of the semifinal against an inferior opponent, get robbed by a vengeful, ignorant ref, and finally completely fall apart offensively and defensively in the last 15 minutes? NO, OF COURSE NOT! The correct answer is usually the simplest, and here it is: CAL had an excellent team last year and played better in the crucial 2nd half.
Regarding the call: going into the game, Trevor Tow, SRV’s terrific defender, had a reputation as a physical, intimidating player for good reason. Tow, who had inadvertently injured a player minutes earlier, went up to challenge a header and completely destroyed the defenseless opponent. After seeing the video, no one can argue for the call to be reversed- it’s clear that this was a card-able offense. It was dramatic, excessive and that’s why it was posted online by a CAL fan.
More importantly, it’s not like the referee carded Tow (who, BTW, was not even SRV’s best player last year), and then automatically awarded CAL three more goals as icing on the cake. CAL, which led EBAL in scoring last year, earned every one of those comeback goals- starting with the first one 60 minutes into the game, way before the foul.
This was a classic high school game, played for the right to advance to a final, between two excellent teams. We enjoy most of your comments. Stop tarnishing a great game. Nine months have passed. Babies have been born who have the excuse of whining. Get over it.
November 27th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Sweeper, I love how we still follow a soccer player in the American Football game. I’m rooting for Rivas, I hope he does get the chance for a game winner against DLS in the final. Wouldn’t you want him to make a huge kick for everyone to finally respect soccer here?
Anyone else, I have a question, is there any rule that would prevent Rivas from playing soccer at the same time as football besides a sense of courtesy? Matt?
November 27th, 2010 at 12:54 am
Sweeper I see where you’re coming from. But the second SRV vs CAL game was a draw along with the DLS vs CAL second time around. I do think you’re taking too much credit away from a very good CAL team that was lead by Rawls and Rivas. However, that is set in stone and nothing we can do about it now. I see CAL in the NCS final again this year against a fellow EBAL team
November 27th, 2010 at 9:55 am
#40
Yes I believe there is a rule for high school sports that prevents players from playing more than one at the same time.
November 27th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Iker,
I’m not so sure because an athlete could play basketball and soccer at the same time if it would work.
November 27th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Soccer and basketball would be a brutal combination. I haven’t seen any dual-sport high school athletes (two sports at the same time) in the past 30 years.
Back in the day, we had high school track meets on Tuesdays/Thursdays and baseball games on Wednesdays/Fridays. There were 2 athletes that participated in both sports. We’re talking the 70s here. Today, the coaches would probably object.
I believe that Jackie Robinson, a four sport athlete at UCLA, ran track and play baseball with overlapping seasons.
November 27th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Berkeley 0 College Park 0
Great game by both teams. Berkeley has definitely one of, if not the strongest defenses in the East Bay. However, CP was still able to get some quality shots off. I would have to say that Berkeley is a top 4 or 5 team in NCS, but I would not count out CP. They looked strong, and kept up with a very talented Berkeley side.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Matt, I’m looking forward to another great year of soccer. You do a great job of reporting and mediating this blog.
A couple of pre-season scrimmage results:
Acalanes 1 Amador Valley 0
Acalanes 1 Monte Vista 0
November 27th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Thank you, Saint.
Looks like Acalanes is tough as nails again. I really like their style of play.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Sweeper (and everyone else),
Sorry for my lack of responses and feedback on the blog thus far. I am in my first semester of law school and actually have my first final in a couple of days. I pretty much have my nose buried in books and notes for the most part. I will be more active starting in early December!
November 27th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Matt, we understand.
Any rule on athlete playing two sports?
November 28th, 2010 at 12:25 am
ive checked with NCS comissioner gil lemon
You can play 2 sports at once in the same season (remember the stud welch from LL a few years ago, NCS wrestling champ and played on their soccer team)
only rule regarding 2 sports, is certain areas of CA, and other states plays boys and girls soccer at different times, and an athlete cant play soccer at one school, then transfer and play soccer during a different season at another school.
But an athlete can play 2 sports in the same season, if the coaches will allow it
November 28th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Matt,
All the best with the 1st semester law finals and beyond. Will blog when you resurface.
Joe,
Good work finding the multi-sport answer. I recall Welch as a wrestler, but missed the soccer connection. Our track coach had a fit when the baseball coach said OK to sprints (early each meet) and no to relays (end of the day). Nothing changes, except when lawyers butt in (sorry Matt).
November 28th, 2010 at 12:47 am
I stand corrected, thanks for the rule
November 28th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
I dont think Berkely is as strong as you guys are making them out to be. Logan played a tough game against them in where they lost 1-0 to a controversial goal that looked like it was offsides and was really the only oppurtunity they had against logan. They sat everyone back and waited for logans attack who had good oppurtunities bt could not finish. Either that or Logan is a very good contendor this year.
November 29th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Why is everyone so caught up in acalanes?! Their style of soccer is dirty to watch! If you wanna see some true DFAL soccer you should go watch Campolindo who took down #8 mission San Jose 6-1!!!! They scored in the first 2 minutes of the game and it was 4-0 in less that 14 minutes, and 6-0 at half!! Watch out for that campolindo squad!
November 29th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Winter Classic Boys Soccer results –
Gold – http://winterclassic.50webs.com/2010%20Winter%20Classic%20Championship%20Gold%20Results.pdf
Silver – http://winterclassic.50webs.com/2010%20Winter%20Classic%20Championship%20Silver%20Results.pdf
Surprised that Richmond was beaten tonite by Palo Alto. Richmond always strong.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:16 am
I think it’s called results. Acalanes is the defending 2009-2010 Winter Classic Champion, was NCS Champion in 2009 and was an NCS Semi Finalist in 2010.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:49 am
who can comment on the richmond game?
November 30th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Soccerpro94:
Taking down Misson isn’t that great of a task. The only reason they beat Granada and Dublin was due to their field. Dublin and Granada both practice on turf, quite different from Misson’s rock hard, bumpy, multiple lined madness of what assumingly can be called a field. Yes Campo is a strong team this year, but nothing has been proven yet.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
#54. Elgallo, I nominate Westofthetunnel and/or Cokito to comment on the Richmond v. Palo Alto match. I recall reading that Richmond graduated many starters from last season, while Palo Alto had a .500 record last year, after tying 0-0 for the CCS co-Championship with Bellarmine in the 2008-09 season (4OTs, no PKs per the CCS sports WEB site that’s right, no PKs!).
November 30th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
meant #53.
BTW, forgot to mention how global climate change is making it so comfortable to watch these early season matches. My electric car runs crappy in this weather…
November 30th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
The goalie for cal high is a freshmen, Derek Wilcox, and he hasnt let in any goals yet. Cals looking good great season ahead!