- East Bay Prep Corner
Boys Soccer: League Favorites, Rankings, Standings, Stats
By Matt Smith
Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 9:36 am in Boys soccer.
Everybody is about to jump into league play and the races will heat up immediately. Let’s see who the favorite is in each league.
ACCAL
I have to say that Richmond is the runaway favorite in this league. Not only are they the ACCAL favorite, but the Oilers are a legit NCS contender. Pinole Valley always seems to play Richmond tough, so watch out for the Spartans as the dark horse in this league. Berkeley may be young and learning, but don’t ever count them out. I think it will be a fight each time these three play each other, and El Cerrito could be a sleeper team based on some earlier results.
BSAL
After hearing the Ko Douglas is back along with a few key players, I have to say Albany should be a big favorite in the BSAL. St. Mary’s appears to be the closest competitor, and as a sleeper, I am thinking Kennedy is a team that is going to get better and going to give teams a hard time.
BVAL
Pittsburg is the team to beat here. The Pirates are fast and athletic, and can frustrate teams by possessing the ball. Antioch is a serious challenger, and as a dark horse, I am going to say don’t look past Heritage. I think this is a playoff year for the Patriots.
DFAL
It’s certainly going to be a dogfight in the DFAL this year. The two favorites have to be Acalanes and Campolindo, but Dublin and Dougherty Valley are a pair of teams that are serious contenders. All four should be taken seriously. Miramonte, based on some early season results, could be a sleeper, as could be Alhambra. Heck, even Las Lomas can jump up and get a team. The Knights might be out of the running after a slow start, but they can give teams trouble. Every other team should be considered a threat to win the league, with Campolindo and Acalanes just a notch above everyone right now.
DVAL
This league certainly has come competitive balance with Ygnacio Valley jumping into the spotlight, joining Clayton Valley as a top team in the East Bay. Concord is also much improved, and College Park is a ranked team that could be a Division I playoff threat. YV and Clayton are the favorites, with the slight edge to YV after their first matchup, but College Park is right there and Concord is a dark horse.
EBAL
I have to say Cal is the favorite, but being the favorite in a tough league doesn’t mean a whole lot. I think six teams have a legit chance to win this league. The serious threats to Cal, at least early on, appear to be San Ramon Valley and De La Salle, but Monte Vista, Amador Valley and Granada are right there. This league will be very interesting and will be a battle night in and night out.
HAAL
With San Leandro becoming much improved, this league got a whole lot interesting as the Pirates join Hayward and Bishop O’Dowd as favorites in the league. I would have to say Hayward is the team to beat this year, with BOD and San Leandro right there in the thick of things. I’m considering San Lorenzo the sleeper team to watch out for, and Mt. Eden is a team nobody should sleep on.
MVAL
It’s a two-horse race all the way between Newark Memorial and Logan. The edge goes to Newark based on the early season, but these teams play twice and it should be a battle each time with the league title at stake.
OAL
Oakland Tech is the team to beat in the OAL, with perhaps Skyline as a challenger.
Rankings
Not many changes this week, with the action being limited. However, it picks back up starting today and there will be plenty of great matches and plenty of moving up and down in the rankings.
Had to move De La Salle up for a very good showing in San Diego, and I couldn’t hit Amador Valley and College Park too hard for close defeats.
1. California (9-0-2)
2. Richmond (7-2-0)
3. Acalanes (5-0-3)
4. San Ramon Valley (4-2-2)
5. Ygnacio Valley (8-2-1)
6. Clayton Valley (5-2-2)
7. De La Salle (6-3-1)
8. Campolindo (10-1-1)
9. Granada (8-1-2)
10. Newark Memorial (10-3-0)
11. Monte Vista (4-0-5)
12. Dougherty Valley (5-3-3)
13. Amador Valley (7-4-0)
14. College Park (6-2-3)
15. Dublin (8-2-0)
Others considered: Hayward (5-2-1), Pittsburg (6-4-1), Bishop O’Dowd (4-0-4), Concord (6-0-1), Logan (6-3-3), Alhambra (5-4-1), Pinole Valley (3-3-0), Miramonte (3-3-2), San Leandro (3-4-0), San Lorenzo (2-2-2)
Standings
ACCAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Pinole Valley (3-3-0, 2-0-0) 6
Berkeley (5-5-1, 1-1-0) 3
El Cerrito (4-2-2, 1-0-0) 3
Hercules (1-4-1, 1-1-0) 3
Richmond (7-2-0, 1-0-0) 3
Alameda (5-6-0, 0-2-0) 0
De Anza (0-2-0, 0-2-0) 0
BSAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Encinal (1-1-0, 1-0-0) 3
Albany (2-3-4, 0-0-2) 2
Kennedy (1-6-2, 0-0-2) 2
Piedmont (2-3-2, 0-0-2) 2
St. Mary’s (1-0-4, 0-0-2) 2
Salesian (0-3-0, 0-1-0) 0
St. Joseph Notre Dame (1-2-0, 0-0-0) 0
St. Patrick-St. Vincent (0-1-0, 0-0-0) 0
Swett (0-2-0, 0-0-0) 0
BVAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Antioch (4-5-1, 0-0-0) 0
Deer Valley (0-4-2, 0-0-0) 0
Freedom (1-3-3, 0-0-0) 0
Heritage (2-1-2, 0-0-0) 0
Liberty (0-4-0, 0-0-0) 0
Pittsburg (6-4-1, 0-0-0) 0
DFAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Acalanes (5-0-3, 3-0-1) 10
Campolindo (10-1-1, 2-0-1) 7
Miramonte (3-3-2, 1-0-2) 5
Alhambra (5-4-1, 1-2-1) 4
Dougherty Valley (5-3-3, 1-1-1) 4
Dublin (8-2-0, 1-2-0) 3
Las Lomas (3-4-4, 0-4-0) 0
DVAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
College Park (6-2-3, 2-0-0) 6
Ygnacio Valley (8-2-1, 2-0-0) 6
Clayton Valley (5-2-2, 1-1-0) 3
Concord (6-0-1, 1-0-0) 3
Berean Chr. (3-5-0, 0-2-0) 0
Mt. Diablo (0-2-1, 0-1-0) 0
Northgate (3-6-3, 0-2-0) 0
EBAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Granada (8-1-2, 2-0-0) 6
California (9-0-2, 1-0-1) 4
De La Salle (6-3-1, 1-0-1) 4
Monte Vista (4-0-5, 0-0-2) 2
Livermore (2-6-1, 0-1-1) 1
San Ramon Valley (4-2-2, 0-0-1) 1
Amador Valley (7-4-0, 0-2-0) 0
Foothill (4-4-2, 0-1-0) 0
HAAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Hayward (5-2-1, 3-0-1) 10
San Leandro (3-4-0, 3-0-0) 9
Bishop O’Dowd (4-0-4, 2-0-2) 8
Castro Valley (1-9-1, 1-2-1) 4
Moreau Catholic (2-3-2, 1-2-1) 4
Mt. Eden (5-4-2, 1-2-1) 4
Arroyo (0-5-2, 0-2-2) 2
San Lorenzo (2-2-2, 0-0-2) 2
Tennyson (0-3-0, 0-3-0) 0
MVAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Logan (6-3-3, 2-0-0) 6
Newark Memorial (10-3-0, 2-0-0) 6
American (2-6-1, 1-1-0) 3
Irvington (1-8-2, 0-0-1) 1
Mission San Jose (0-12-1, 0-1-1) 1
Kennedy (0-5-2, 0-2-0) 0
Washington (1-6-0, 0-1-0) 0
OAL
Team W-L (overall, league) PTS
Oakland Tech (1-1-0, 0-0-0) 0
Castlemont (0-0-0, 0-0-0) 0
Fremont (0-0-0, 0-0-0) 0
Oakland (0-0-0, 0-0-0) 0
Skyline (0-1-0, 0-0-0) 0
Stat Leaders
Name School Goals
Sandoval, Newark 16
Mendoza, Richmond 15
Ayala, YV 15
Lopez, Pitt 12
Hartland, Dublin 10
Alejandro, Alhambra 9
Nguyen, American 9
Montes, Richmond 9
Grixti, Cal 8
Parisi, Dougherty 7
Castillo, Dublin 7
Romero, Pinole 7
Name School Assists
Montes, Richmond 14
S. Palano, Campo 9
Marshall, Dublin 7
Mendoza, Richmond 7
Ayala, YV 7
Damien, YV 7
Dougherty, Newark 6
Ledesma, Pitt 6
Six tied with 5
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January 2nd, 2012 at 11:37 am
Alhambra is a sleeper. They need to get the back 4 to cinch it up. They have have some good sophomores who need to step it up and provide some needed leadership and let your skills be natural not forced…Relax and be confident as one old local coach says. They also have some good seniors who are solid players who can provide a steady hand and provide that stability combined with maturity ..the glue that can bond a team.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Matt can you explain why Richmond didn’t drop after two losses last week?
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Curious how O’Dowd drops four spots after beating Mt. Eden away and tying San Lorenzo away. Also, being one of only a few remaining undefeated squads left. You got a lot to chew on, but that seems a bit odd.Happy New Year!!!!!!!
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:32 pm
Man, I hate to say this, but I have already seen most of the BVAL, DVAL, and DFAL teams, and a lot of this is gonna come down to how the games are refereed. Do they allow a lot of physical contact? Will they blow the whistle too much out of fear that things will get out of hand? There are a host of things to consider.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Any updates on Acalanes vs college Park?
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:11 pm
acalanes v college park score?
January 2nd, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Heard Acalanes 7 – CP 1
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:44 am
Acalanes destroyed college park 7-1. They scored 6 goals in the first half and it could have ended in the double digits for acalanes but the coach decided to play the reserves a lot more once the score got up around 4-1.
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:01 am
4-0 my bad. Acalanes scored 6 before college park got their first goal. The acalanes coach started putting in his reserves around 4-0, my mistake.
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:33 am
Tonight 1.3.12: San Ramon @ DLS >6pm / JV >4pm
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:10 pm
I will be at College Park vs YV.
I give CP a 1-0 win. They have had two very hard loses and will change it up.
I will then try to go to the DLS game.
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Who are the players to watch from Clayton Valley , Ygnacio Valley, and College Park?
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Acalanes beat college park 7-0?!?!
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner to you guys. For some reason the email alert that I get that lets me know of a comment has stopped working. I thought nobody had commented and I was confused! Haha.
Okay, so to address a couple of questions…
One is why didn’t Richmond drop. Well, because it was such a slow week without other teams playing, and because Richmond played two very good teams from outside the NCS.
O’Dowd dropped because when they drew, other teams kept winning. I felt I had to give Hayward, Pittsburg and Dublin some love.
I’m at Amador v. Monte Vista tonight.
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Clayton Valley beat Berean 9-0.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Monte Vista 1, Amador Valley 0 at half.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:43 pm
MV 1, AV 0 at the half in Pleasanton.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Hey Matt,
I would much prefer banned zuzuvelas to the annoying music played during breaks at Amador Valley. I like to hear the refs explain yellow cards for F-bombs…
Cheers!
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Amador gets the 52nd minute equalizer. 1-1.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:07 pm
I’ve scanned the crowd but can’t find you! Figured it had to be the magic word because that card seemed to come from nowhere.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:21 pm
I’m in the typical spot, away from most of the MADs (moms and dads, kinda like WAGs). I am building up a thirst and will stop at the Sunshine Saloon after the match.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 pm
Yv 6. College park 0
Yv has not given up a goal at home.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:27 pm
Wow. YV is rolling and CP is struggling.
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Final score MV-1, AV-1. Each goal legit, but created by weak clears. Matt will post the particulars.
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:32 pm
CAL 6, Granada 0. not much of a match for CAL.
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:41 pm
DLS 2 / San Ramon 1 >Final
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:48 pm
YV prevails over CP
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:14 pm
who looks better amador or mv?
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Also who are mv’s biggest threat players?
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Richmond 4, Pinole Valley 1.
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:29 pm
DVAL scores Tuesday 1-3-12
Clayton Valley 9 Berean 0
Concord 2 Mount Diablo 0
YV 6 CP 0
Northgate bye
January 4th, 2012 at 3:16 am
I have seen about every EBAL team play at least once this year, and compared to the levels of the past, the game seems to be at a lower level for reasons I have yet to piece together. The only thing I come up with is the lack of academy players?
January 4th, 2012 at 9:04 am
EBAL Fan,
This is an interesting observation. Would people have actual numbers
of players who play for academies, by school?
January 4th, 2012 at 9:19 am
I thought AV and MV looked pretty even, to be honest. MV was in control in the first half and AV had the better run of play in the second. I think MV’s best players are Josh Eusebio, Jeff Greenberg and Reid Gratsch.
Does anyone have any other ACCAL scores, or know how Livermore and Foothill did?
January 4th, 2012 at 9:26 am
MV’s best player is David Ehlers. He is a divison 1 prospect. I disagree with EBAL fan. although san ramon lost last night, they knocked the ball around well. the de la salle field is so small, it truly affects the flow of the game. no flow, lots of throw ins. san ramon is having trouble scoring. if they finish their chances last they tie at worse last night and more likely win. de la salle is a talented team but putting carlo at right wing takes him totally out the game. he is very good and should be playing in the middle as their target player in my opinion. cal, de la salle and srv are the three strongest ebal teams from what i have seen.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:37 am
I heard Foothill 4, Livermore 0.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:58 am
I have watched almost every team play once and have followed club and hs soccer last 10 years. I think the quality of play in the past few years is substantially better. You now have the vast majority of players that have all come through club team soccer with professional coaches since the age of U9. Most of the top clubs are now part of an Academy League for ages U-14 through U-18.
And train 5 days a week during club ball with the fall tournaments worked into the HS start of season.
These teams are not restricted regarding play for High School.
The pro-acedamy ie. San Jose Earthquakes demand 100% commitment that you are not participating HS. In general teams that have a majority of Club Academy players are seeing a little longer jell time. Another point is grades..I will not mention schools but at least 6-7 public schools in the greater area are missing anywhere from 1-4 very good players and some are impact players that play club ball but are academically ineligible to play hs school ball. This is a sad fact and a point of frustration for coaches and teams.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:55 am
I saw most of the MV game at AV, and I agree that the teams are even. I also agree that Eusebio looked good, but Jack Peterson was strong in the back and stopped opportunities before they could become dangerous, and Alex Riley is always dominant in his defensive mid position. He wins all of the 50/50 headers and most of their goals have gone through him.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Matt,
Alameda @ EC 3-1
January 4th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
All the EBAL teams are strong and it’s always fierce competition. The Monte Vista team is fun to watch – they’re young and feisty. They play as a unit and there’s not one superstar getting all the attention.
January 4th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
MV and AV are similar in team speed, but I give the overall edge to MV based on their: 1) size in the middle, 2) 50:50 ball wins, and 3) short connecting passing (though there is a bias to one side of the field). AV plays a more vertical style. Each team struggled at times to clear the ball beyond 30 yards out (resulting in the 2 goals and several other scoring opportunities), and several diagonal crosses went through the goal areas untouched.
This was a good outcome for MV on the road, and for AV to cover the deficit in the second half.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
PV 1 Richmond 4 > Final news from poacher.
January 4th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Cokito: Concord HS lost one player to Academy (J Navarro), Clayton lost one (Eli Padilla), Deer Valley lost one (De La Morra), Doughtery Valley lost at least one (Ferber). JT Marcinkowski would be a freshman at DLS — he is also on U15 MNT. There are several others. These are the ones I know about.
January 4th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
The absence of Academy players shouldn’t matter all the much because it’s only one player per team, although CVHS lost Padilla, who was the high goal scorer last year.
There are other factors: some players go to charter schools and can’t play for their home schools. Others don’t make grades. Sometimes the coach doesn’t particularly like the boy…yes, it does happen…I know of 2 instances…which leads me to believe there maybe others.
My philosophy — we have what we have.
I went to the SRV v DLS game and saw at least 12 kids from local clubs on the field between the two — AND most of these boys have played club since U9 or U10.
January 4th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
What is going on at CPark? Did they lose their keeper? Two very strange losses.
Also on the watch list, MV shooting for double-digit wins and double-digit ties after a 4-0-6 start: how about 10-4-10 for a record, is that possible?
Finally, CAL posts a pair of 6-0 EBAL wins to move to 10-0-2, outscoring opponents…39-6…
Lot’s of good matches in the next 4 days:
Campo@DoughertyV tonight6:15
Berkeley@Richmond Thurs5:30
San Leandro@Hayward Fri3:15
Mira@Acal or Dublin@Campo Fri6:15
MV@Richmond Sat12pm
Acal@SRV Sat3pm
See you at the pitch!
January 4th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Sat. Jan. 28 De La Salle vs. Richmond at Richmond. The way things are shaping up, this one could be as good as an NCS final, with two very different types of teams.
January 4th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
Acalanes at san ramon valley this saturday at 3 will also be a very good match. An EBAL powerhouse vs a DFAL powerhouse. It will be a very hard fought match.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Campo scores on a corner-header 1-0 at DV 20 min in. #3 scored. Campo looks very organized.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Campo-1, DV-0 at the half.
January 4th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
DV scores 2 faster than I can type. 2-1 DV over Campo with 23 min to play.
January 4th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
DV up 3-1 on Campo with 10 to play. Looked offsides but…
January 4th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
DV-4, Campo-2 Final
January 4th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
I’m not sure of the number of players that are playing academy, but the scores just seem a little off, there seems to a be a few really good teams followed by a few really bad teams by looking at the score disparity. For example, CAL against Livermore and Granada, that would have never happened in the past.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Albany 8 – SJND 0 at Albany, final
Andre Alvarez scored 4 goals, Gabriel Borges scored 2 goals and made 2 assists.
January 4th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
It’s not just academy EBAL Fan. Grades , cars, and girls all play a role in what boys are gonna do. The thing with high school vs. club or these so-called “academy ” teams, is that in high school, the coaches have to take what they get, whereas the clubs et.al. can be more picky.
January 4th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Alhambra 2 Dublin 2 > Final / news from poacher
January 4th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Dublin 2 – 2 Alhambra
Once again Dublin falls victim to low intensity at the start. Went down 0-2 but Marshall put in the two goals as Dublin missed many opportunities. Hartland and Marshall haven’t had a complete game up top together (performance wise) and if they both show up against Campo it could be an interesting game. Look for an upset in that game if Dublin figures out how to defend against their biggest rival: first half mistakes. I highly suggest as a fan of soccer that you make the journey to campo to see the battle.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Mudhen and others,
One other distinct difference between club and HS soccer(which I don’t think has ever been brought up), and HS sports in general I think, is that in HS there is a significantly different set of player rules and expectations vs Club. Grades, practice attendance are just a few examples. My sense, and I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on this, is that in Club, with the “pay and expect to play” mentality vs HS with set rules and expectations for attendance and behavior (that are usually backed up by HS coaches as opposed to club coaches), is that this is a significant component of Club vs HS play.
Again, this is what I see, and I think it can have a real impact on the teams performance on the field. When was the last time a club player got suspended for drugs or alcohol? Happens quite frequently in the HS game. Do others agree or disagree?
January 4th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Is Clayton valley having trouble scoring since Padilla has left to the academy? Does anyone know who been scoring goals lately for CVHS to be on a 5 game win streak. Has Concord High School been strong in DVAL this season?
January 4th, 2012 at 11:43 pm
Any other scores from tonight?
January 5th, 2012 at 12:27 am
Hey Tack,
You are none too honest about your team. Lead by example and make your teammates better…
Dublin must avoid the “blahs” for first 10-15 minutes (whatever that is, WAKE UP GAELS!) and also avoid the midfield ground game against Campo. Recall how DV played Dublin on their field and then copy that at Campo. It is an 80 minute match, cover all 80 minutes with no slacking AT ALL. Got it?
I plan to see Mr. Smith at Hayward Friday afternoon and then hit the trail to Campo.
Good luck and play well.
See you at the pitch!
January 5th, 2012 at 1:15 am
Sweeper, what’s your take on the Campo/DV game? Didn’t get a chance to watch this time around. Seems like a lot of goals.
January 5th, 2012 at 1:36 am
AGD #62.
Went to the match with an open mind, despite Campo being the favorite. Campo dominated the midfield in the 1st half and then DV made adjustments to avoid that matchup in the 2nd half. One DV goal was questionable (#3) so their 4th goal was icing. I will be at this rematch, as well as DV at Dublin. Still waiting for DV coaches to unleash #10.
Campo will dominate the midfield if you play their game. That is the sign of an eventual champion…
January 5th, 2012 at 1:38 am
AGD #62.
Went to the match with an open mind, despite Campo being the favorite. Campo dominated the midfield in the 1st half and then DV made adjustments to avoid that matchup in the 2nd half. One DV goal was questionable (#3) so their 4th goal was icing. I will be at this rematch, as well as DV at Dublin. Still waiting for DV coaches to unleash #10.
Campo will dominate the midfield if you play their game. That is the sign of an eventual champion…
January 5th, 2012 at 1:40 am
Paydirt is my handle for HS American football.
Please excuse the brain lapse…
See you at the pitch!
January 5th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Looks like it was a pretty exciting night in the DFAL. Looking forward to seeing The Sweeper in Hayward.
I wanted to add a thought about Richmond. Someone asked the other day why they didn’t drop after two losses last week. I said because they were to very good teams from out of the area and that nobody else had played, so it wouldn’t make sense to shift.
But here is something to add to that. People affiliated with the Golden State Invitational sent a note to ESPN Rise and let them know that they thought Richmond was the best team at the event. They also said had Richmond finished a little better against Loyola and Watsonville, they would have made the final and maybe won the whole thing. This is very high praise.
January 5th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Dublin #15 Matt?
Not sure I understand 8-2-1 with 3 points earned in DFAL play.
Wins
Washington 1-6
Salesian 0-3
North gate 3-6-3
Las lomas 3-5-4
Liberty 0-4
Hayward 5-2-1
Moreau 2-3-2
Mission San Jose Fremont 0-12 **max preps**
Only quality win being Hayward…..Just sayin….
January 5th, 2012 at 9:46 am
The DFAL is very interesting. Six teams I think are still legitimately in the running..
Acalanes 10 pts
Miramonte 8 pts
Dougherty 7 pts
Campolindo 7 pts
Alhambra 5 pts
Dublin 4 pts
There will be some shifting in the rankings, but Friday is still a big day for this league.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:02 am
This league is just starting the way I see it
January 5th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Old Mats Fan, if you take away 10 minutes from each game Dublin has played (excluding Las Lomas) then the Gaels are 4-0-0 in DFAL. You seem to misinterpret results in DFAL and maybe that’s because you aren’t accustomed to this years DFAL and how competitive it is, but if Dublin wins out from here, they win DFAL. Even if they just beat Campo on Friday, they are still in it. Every team is good, so don’t discredit a team just based off of early results.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Tacky…..think you missing the point.
Most teams would like to take away 10 min from every game, that’s why they play 80 min.
The point was that Dublins non league schedule is cupcake and now makes sense that the goal leaders from Dublin have as many as they do.
Looks like Miramonte just added Clayton Valley to their schedule Jan 21. Should be fun!
January 5th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Spartans play Granada tonight: JV at 4pmVarsity at 6pm at De La Salle
January 5th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Acalanes 1 Mira 1
Campo 2 Dublin 0
Predictions for Friday! Should be a big night!!
January 5th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Hello there midfielder,
In club, especially the elite clubs, there is NO “pay to play” once you get beyond div. 4 (house). With most of the good clubs (and there are a LOT of not so good ones), a potential player tries out only if a specific position –i.e. goalkeeper etc. is open.You don’t just throw money down and walk on. The cost of joining is only part of the equation , as travel, tournament fees,extra coaching, uniforms (some of these kids have 3 or 4 sets) can stick thousands of dollars onto the cost, and only 11 kids get to play at a time so a lot of players warm benches.
As for expectations, well, if you are paying this kind of dough, that goes without saying.
Also, a goodly number of the elite club players absolutely will NOT play high school, because in the clubs, you generally play other teams of your own caliber,and there is less chance of some yo-yo taking out your knees with a clumsy challenge.
ALL of the club coaches I know discourage playing high school soccer.
As for what I said about high school coaches taking what they can get, if you have a big pool of potential players in a well to do area where good grades are the rule, you will have a much easier time of it.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
CP and Concord are 1-1 about midway through the second half.
January 5th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
1-1 Final.
January 5th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Yv 8 – Berean 0
Ayala 3 goals
January 5th, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Amador-1, CAL-0 after 20 min.
January 5th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Cal ties it 1-1 at Amador, 13 to half.
January 5th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Amador-2, Cal-1
January 5th, 2012 at 7:44 pm
Clayton 0, freedom 0 at half
January 5th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Clayton 2, freedom 0 10mins in 2nd half
January 5th, 2012 at 8:29 pm
It seems to me that the coaching quality in local high school soccer has made more of an impact than the missing academy players. One player can make a difference, but overall, if you look at the teams on top, those teams are on top year after year. Good coaching makes all of the difference. For the most part, I expect that the better high school teams, have the better coaches who probably also coach for good clubs.
January 5th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Cal-2, Amador-2, 5 to go.
January 5th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Cal-3, Amador-2 final
January 5th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Clayton 3, freedom 0 final
January 5th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
DLS 3 Granada 0 > Final
Sparty JV also 6-0
January 5th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
MV- 2 Foothill- 1 final
January 5th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Richmond 1 Berk 0 – Final / thx poacher
January 5th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Mudhen,
Your comment
“As for expectations, well, if you are paying this kind of dough, that goes without saying.”
says it all.
Also, you did not address my observations about grades, attendance expectations, and drug or alcohol suspensions in HS that almost NEVER occur in the club environment.
I’ve been around Club and HS long enough to fully understand how the club process works.
I would like your thoughts on the other areas though.
Enjoy the games!
January 5th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Through late planning at work, I ended up at Amador Valley tonight. The Dons gave Cal a run for the money tonight, with Cal scoring 2 goals inside the last 8 minutes to win 3-2. I enjoyed all 80 minutes.
By my recollection, Cal had an own goal on a cross misdirected over the keeper while he was off his line. Amador then scored on a throw-in to the box, a scramble and a put back to make it 2-0. Cal made it 2-1 on a nice front-to-back obtuse-angle header that was not really defensible (a beautiful play) to round out H1 scoring. Cal tied it with 7+ minutes left on a missed clear ball, and then scored the winner on an in the box pinball scramble shot with less than 2 minutes left.
Cal won down the stretch, but do not underestimate the effort of the Dons.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:07 am
Oh yeah, I forgot to give a shout out to Chris the FJ Photo Guy. He saw through my disguise and we shared season to-date thoughts. It all came back to the work that Matt Smith does for the BANG and this blog.
Check out the FJ Photo Guys website for great in-game freeze action: http://www.fjphotoguy.com/. You never know what you will see, including ‘The Sweeper’ in the background.
Cheers, and see you at the pitch!
January 6th, 2012 at 12:16 am
BTW, those darn photos don’t lie, Cal tied it 1-1 before Amador scored its second goal to make it 2-1. So much for this old recollection…gotta learn to take notes like Matt.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:21 am
Sweeper, pictures are being uploaded as I type and yes, you can be found in the background of several of them. Thanks as always for the shout out.
A little Grizzly magic was definitely at work with Brandon Brown scoring two goals in the last 7 minutes to get a tough victory over a a large and very competitive Amador team. I managed to capture the left foot blast to win the game which can be seen here:
http://www.fjphotoguy.com/CalHighSoccer2011-2012/Cal-High-vs-Granada-1-5-2012/20912763_McfwKK#1660990295_9PWtvqM
I have created a gallery for each team which are available on my site http://www.fjphotoguy.com. As always, if you are interested in purchasing photos it is a lot cheaper to buy the downloadable file and print them at Costco.
I hope to get over to Danville to shoot the Acalanes SRV game Saturday see you on the pitch!
January 6th, 2012 at 1:49 am
Sweeper,
I also ended up at Amador due to work as I had planned otherwise, and I’m quite glad I did as it was the best game I have seen to date. I stood by the Cal side as I’m not too fond of certain parents. Cal looked beatable, and the Dons gave them their all, but the Dons might have shown a recipe to give Cal quite a game as the game should have ended in a draw. Very impressed with the CB for Amador I think #8? Also very impressed with #2 on Cal as he put in two late goals while assisting the first one. Once again, Cal’s #10 (different player, same result as last year) was outstanding as he went from forward to midfield as he drew the comparison from last years #10.
Lesson of the day: There are no easy games in EBAL
January 6th, 2012 at 2:12 am
EBAL Fan,
Good point about some parents. I am not sure whether it is a cultural issue.
I am appalled by some stuff that I hear in the bleachers coming from parents.
I know the IQ of a group is inversely proportional to the square of the number
of people composing the group, but still, there should be limits.
This is a game, not a war, and respect of the opponents, officials and public
is paramount. Most kids and officials do the very best they can to try to
accomplish something positive with what they are given. Respect!
January 6th, 2012 at 8:13 am
One of the things I like about high school soccer is that it mixes up the club teams. Boys who play on the same club team often play against each other in high school, and boys from different club teams play together. I think it has a civilizing influence on both the players and parents when your opponents are also your friends.
January 6th, 2012 at 9:48 am
Acalanes 3-0 Miramonte
Dougherty Valley 3-2 Alhambra
Campo 2-2 Dublin
Predictions for tonight in DFAL! Great match ups for tonight, cant wait to see the results
January 6th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Predictions
Acalanes 2 – 1 Miramonte
Dougherty Valley 5 – 0 Alhambra
Dublin 3 – 1 Campolindo
January 6th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Predictions
Acalanes 3 – 1 Miramonte
Dougherty Valley 3 – 3 Alhambra
Campo 2 – 1 Dublin
GL to all.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Watched Cal vs Amador last night and witnessed an excellent that unfortunately should have ended 2-2.Ref blew call and awarded Cal corner kick that lead to Cals 3rd goal.In my opinion #20 on Cal was best player.On the AV side the best players were #13 Dane Shaffar and soph Tyler Pangia who has scored 2 goals in last 2 games.Defense was solid for AV until final 6 minutes.#15 on AV missed few clearing shots that resulted in Cal goals.He seemed to be a bit tired even though his game was good except for last 6 min
January 6th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
SRV looked pretty good against Livermore last night. Livermore will struggle this year badly in EBAL. SRV needs to find a way to score. Can’t seem to buy a goal. Missed at least 4 on 1 on 1′s last night, two open goals and hit the post twice. They seem to control possession in every game (except the 1st half of the Cal game) but they cannot finish. Strange since two of their and EBAL’s best players (Chaussy and Roth) play up front.
January 6th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Tack-
Those Dublin and DV scores were alittle lopsided ya? You think Dublin will actually PLAY the first 10-20 minutes of the game? DV is going to score 5 goals tonight and not give up 1?
January 6th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Well as everyone here knows, I always will favor Dublin. But I just have a feeling on my predictions; would you have believed someone predicting a 4-2 DV win over Campo? I sure wouldn’t have. But in my honest opinion, DV should run away versus Alhambra. I see Alhambra finishing 6th in DFAL because, even with a strong midfielder, they lack defense and a keeper. It’s all just personal opinion though!
And Sweeper, I sure hope you were able to make it out tonight!
January 6th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
0-0 at the half Dublin @ Campo
January 6th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Acalanes 2 Miramonte 0 half time
January 6th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Campo scores 1st from 30+ yards out, keeper off the line. 23 left.
January 6th, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Campo wins 1-0.
January 6th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Great game by Campo, with an amazing goal from 30+ as Sweeper already mentioned. Finally this season Dublin loses a game that they can be proud of; Miramonte, DV, and even the tie against Alhambra all were let downs and would have been wins had Dublin played like they did tonight. I’ll leave it to Sweeper for a more detailed synopsis if he wishes.
January 7th, 2012 at 1:43 am
Hey Tack,
It was an OK match, but there were way too many fouls that spoiled the flow of play. The calls were legit, but Campo kept fouling at a 3:1 rate, not my cup of tea. Take away half of the fouls (players discretion) and the game flow would have been much better.
The Gaels seem to be improving, and that trend needs to continue as the season grinds toward the playoffs, but injuries need to be addressed now, not later. I also recommend a mix of more diagonal passes between the American football 30s.
BTW, I give the ref crew a B+ as opposed to the Campo MADs that claim the refs (and I) were watching a different match…go figure.
Cheers and see you at the pitch!
January 7th, 2012 at 2:31 am
If I did not make my point clear, and for the record, the officiating at Dublin v. Campo match was quite good with my only gripes being:
1) The no-card call on the H1 1-on-1 contact with the visiting keeper (yellow minimum, must protect keepers, but often ignored these days).
2) Ignoring the visiting coaches repeated requests to start the second half on time while the home team waited in a field shed for five extra minutes. Bad form by the hosts. A yellow to the Campo coach was quite warranted.
3) The no-call 50:50 handball in the box with 17 to play (the AR waivered on flagging it and the Campo fans went “whew”).
Overall a solid B+ for a tough match to call. If I were a coach, I would want this crew down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Cheers and see you at the pitch!
January 7th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Dough Boys 1 Alhambra 0
Alhambra tightened up the D.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Sparty is on the road this week >Tues @ Livermore 6pm
Thurs @ Foothill 6pm
January 7th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Richmond 2, MV 0, after 18 min. Steady N to S wind favors the south goal.
January 7th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Did anyone watch Northgate and LL last night?
January 7th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Questionable foul call leads to PK and 3-0 lead for the Oilers.
January 7th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Oilers up 3-0 at the half. MV missed a legit shot in the final minute, but they get the wind in H2. Oilers coach all over the team for losing its focus in the final 10 min.
January 7th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Richmond up 4-0, 23 left.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
SRV 1-0 after 15. Cross volley kick.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
SRV up 1-0 with 24 left in 1st half. Cross from right to left and then volley finish
January 7th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Richmond won 4-0.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Dons tie it 1-1 at SRV. Bad clear, nice shot up top.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
MV gave-up 2nd half give Richmond credit for keeping it going till end.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Pinball game breaks out and SRV scores, Wolves 2-1, 6 left in H1.
January 7th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
2-1 at half. Getting a little disgusted at the little fouls and sly cheap shots Acalanes is performing.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
SRV 3-1, 27 to go. Quick throw, cross and tap in.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Sweeper where are you sitting?
January 7th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Acalanes makes it 3-2, 8 to go.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
SRV makes it 4-2, in the last minute. Final.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Richmond looked very good today. MV was missing a few players and looked a unmotivated.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Also refs were very poor I felt.
January 7th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Yv takes down DV
2-0
6 game homestand
3 league games
18 goals 0 against
3 non league
7 goals 0 against
January 7th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
What were your thoughts on the acalanes – SRV game sweeper? Who do you think the key players were for both sides?
January 7th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I managed to make it out to Danville to shoot the Acalanes-SRV game today I think I got a fair number of good shots, daytime games are always so much easier.
I have created a gallery for each team which are available on my site http://www.fjphotoguy.com. My standard line applies… if you are interested in purchasing photos it is a lot cheaper to buy the downloadable file and print them at Costco.
Teams in the past have asked to purchase a disk of the game for the parents and use for slideshows at the year end banquet, shoot me an email at fjphotoguy@gmail.com if you are interested.
Thanks for looking!
Chris G. the FJ Photo Guy.
January 7th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Hey TinTIn,
Las Lomas won 3-2 with all goals coming in the first half of the game
January 7th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
What a great day for watching quality soccer today.
Tack, I missed your posting as I was on battery conserve after 3pm except when posting. I was in the non-parents section so I could hear my deaf self think. Seriously, I was camped out near the north 40 on the SRV side, talking to the FJ Photoguy.
Dfalfan, I am generally not a name-names guy, but the SRV connecting passes inside the 40 were relentless: there were at least 20 touch-speed vertical ground passes that the defense had to play running backwards. That is a lot, and the Dons generally withstood these attacks except for 3 key scoring combos. This was on the order of what Richmond did today: diagonal and crossing in the middle of the field and then touch and go again and again and again.
SRV appeared to have the advantage of 48 hours rest from their prior match, while Acalanes played Friday night and their energy came in spurts.
Richmond and SRV seem to be progressing their offenses quite well, but both have challenges with clearing balls on defense (first to ball, not cleared beyond the 30). Richmond at SRV on the 21st will be interesting as the Wolves will have just played Cal (0-0 last match) and the Oilers will have just played DeAnza (12-0 last match).
In the DFAL, it is tighter at the top than in the EBAL. I saw DV beat Campo and Dublin at home, and Campo win a tight match with Dublin last night. Unless DV matches their home wins, I see it as Acalanes and Campo battling for 1st, and DV and Dublin battling with Mira for 3, 4 and 5.
January 8th, 2012 at 12:15 am
Hey Acalanes fans,
Enjoyed seeing your fine squad today, and look forward to seeing the next match with Campo. That said, if you did not take time to visit The FJPhotoguy’s website, trust me (like you would do that), visit the site in post #134 to see what Chris has to offer. While Chris is a Cal Grizzlie dad (BOOOO!, not that I care), often when writing my ‘witticisms’ and ‘stupidisms, I refer to the web site to recall points of the match that are vividly captured. Win, lose or draw, Chris does a great job capturing the action for all of us fans.
And Chris is almost living up to his agreement to not capture images of The Sweeper in his photos. 2 of 240 something photos is an improvement.
Cheers, and see you at the pitch!
January 8th, 2012 at 12:37 am
Hey #123 Shinguard,
What led you to comment that (sic) “MV gave up 2nd half…”?
I saw the entire match and did not see MV give up at all in the 1st or 2nd half. The MV coach did not see eye-to-eye with the officials, BUT the MV squad did not give up. Otherwise the 3-0 halftime score would have ballooned to 5, 6, or 7 to 0. Your assertion is also a backhanded insult to the Oilers.
Please provide facts that support your assertion, or keep unsupported comments off this post.
January 8th, 2012 at 7:33 am
Thanks for pointing that out Sweeper-I didn’t know what shinguard was talking about either. MV held the Oilers to one goal in the second half. The mustangs hung in there against a very good team with some pretty ridiculous calls- 7 yellow cards? Really? Richmond should go far in NCS and deservedly so.
January 8th, 2012 at 8:13 am
Cv takes down pitt in the last minutes of the game 1-0 ,great game overall
January 8th, 2012 at 8:13 am
Uh, Sweeper,
The only supportable assertions around here are scores, fouls by team, shots on goal and the like. ALL other comments are personal observations and thus subject to interpretation.
Just my observation (assertion).
Mudhen
January 8th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Richmond was winning the ball. MV was back on its heals and was out played a good portion of the game. Final score says it all. Richmond gave 80 min of 110% pure work. Give this team some credit. That’s All.
January 8th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Lonewolf,
Not sure what your point is. Nobody disputes the Oilers dominant possession game and closing on 4 of probably 12+ quality opportunities. All credit is given, BUT the coach did appropriately chastise the team for slacking the last 10 minutes of the first half. The coach was spot on and not over the top on this issue.
Hey Cokito, am I wrong on this one? The Oilers were ‘on game’ Saturday, but had their slower moments at the end of the 1st half, AND MV did not quit at any time during the match, as others have posited on this blog. If I am wrong on this, please call me out as I respect your opinion and judgement.
BTW Oiler students (and recent alumni?), I was sitting with you top left of the booth (old guy, old A’s hat), enjoying the banter and hearing the hella this and hella that comments, and the recollections about how big the MV players were in past years. You guys were off the charts fun and funny, and great fans to sit with. I did miss out on the tamales because I had to hit the road to SRV, but I will hang with you guys anytime.
Cheers, and see you at the pitch!
January 9th, 2012 at 9:40 am
Hi Sweeper,
Totally agree with you.
I think the oilers played well enough on Saturday, though I could see indications
of some tiredness, most likely due to them playing 7 games in 10 days, including
the Bellarmine Tourney, and especially, as you pointed out, those last 10 minutes
of the first half.
I did not see MV give up, and actually, in all these years, I do not remember seeing
one MV team give up.
I am glad you got to sit with some of our fans. Some of them are a lot of fun to be around, and given the rich soccer history between the two schools, this must have been an interesting afternoon indeed.
I would like to salute the presence at the game of many RHS ‘College is Real’ program mentors from the Danville community. Those guys have been doing so many good things for the RHS students. Check out http://www.collegeisreal.com for more information. Interestingly enough, this wonderful program was started after a soccer game between Richmond and MV, played at Richmond HS many years ago.
January 9th, 2012 at 10:28 am
OK give up was a bit harsh, but they were not in sync and the Oilers pushed hard for 80 as lonewolf says.
January 11th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
SRV mopped up the pitch with Amador Valley 4-0 on 1/10. AV as I see it has 2 main problems: they don’t have anyone who can finish, and they play ugly long-ball soccer.
January 14th, 2012 at 7:55 am
Acalanes beat LL 4-1 yesterday. LL held Acalanes in first half but pretty much watched the second half.