Boys soccer preview 2024-25: Rankings, storylines, players to watch, more
Bay Area boys soccer season preview: Who will prevail in CCS? Bellarmine primed for a bounce-back season? Is Berkeley ready for another run? Plus much more.
CCS: MITTY, MOUNTAIN VIEW OR ST. FRANCIS ON TOP?
Who will emerge as the top team in the always competitive Central Coast Section?
Last season, Archbishop Mitty won the NorCal Division I title over St. Francis in penalty kicks, completing a run that saw them beat Mountain View in overtime and the Lancers in the CCS championship game.
All three should factor into this season’s race.
Mitty loses senior Guiseppe Sigala, who scored a dramatic last-minute goal to get the Monarchs into the penalty shootout against St. Francis, and senior goalkeeper Alan Quintero, who was the hero in PKs.
But senior Jonah Guardino, who had the second-most goals of any Monarch last season (12), returns to anchor Mitty’s offense. Other top returning scorers include seniors Daniel Mendoza (eight goals) and Nicholas Palomino (three). Senior midfielder Seunghyun Kim and junior defender Roberto Nolasco are returning all-league players.
St. Francis returns second-leading scorer Lukas Ramans, who found the back of the net nine times as a sophomore while adding a team-leading 16 assists. Junior Michael Scavotto was the Lancers’ third-leading scorer last season with six goals. Defender Callum Todd, now a junior, took home all-West Catholic Athletic League honors as a sophomore.
Mountain View, which saw its season come to an end in the NorCal quarterfinals against Clovis North, lost eight seniors but should return two of its three rostered goalkeepers from last year, junior Patrick McGuirk and senior Parker Lunn. Junior Valen Spade returns after receiving all-Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division recognition last season.
WILL BELLARMINE REBOUND?
Perennial powerhouse Bellarmine had a drop off last season, going 5-9-6 – the program’s first losing record in over 18 years. It was a surprising fall for a program that won NorCal titles in 2018 and 2023, but the Bells are primed for a resurgence. Senior forward and all-WCAL first-team selection Thomas Dumont led Bellarmine with four goals last season. He’ll form a solid duo with midfielder Matthew Shimizu, who also received all-league first-team honors. Senior forward Luke Furtado and junior goalkeeper Noah Luinenburg were standouts and all-league second-team selections. Conor Salcido will be entering his ninth season as coach and will look to get Bellarmine back on track. The Bells open their season at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit on Dec. 5.
OTHER STORYLINES
Berkeley made a surprising championship run in NCS Division I as the No. 6 seed, slaying two higher-seeded teams from the East Bay Athletic League along the way. Key contributor Oliver Adams returns for the Yellowjackets. … Dougherty Valley won a program-best 19 games and reached the NCS Division I title game a season ago. The Wildcats should be a contender again. … De La Salle will look to rebound from a shocking loss as the top seed to No. 8 Clayton Valley Charter in the NCS Division I quarterfinals. Senior midfielder Ronan Rattigan is a returning all-EBAL performer for what should be another strong Spartans squad. … Richmond has been a powerhouse in West Contra Costa County for years under coach Rene Siles. The Oilers are hoping for another stellar season from all-league senior Andres Araujo. … Peninsula Athletic League contenders Burlingame and Carlmont should once again battle it out in the Bay Division. Burlingame brings back the league’s forward of the year, Dylan Rossen. … Newark Memorial captured the NorCal Division III title a season ago, and senior all-league midfielder Ibrahim Ahmed should be back for another season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oliver Adams, Berkeley, senior
Ibrahim Ahmed, Newark Memorial, senior
Christopher Arezta, Mt. Diablo, sophomore
Andres Araujo, Richmond, senior
Ben Bishop, Menlo School, senior
Thomas Dumont, Bellarmine, senior
Jayden Fitzgerald-Boes, O’Dowd, junior
Colin Farley, Clayton Valley Charter, senior
Coleson Franklin, Amador Valley, senior
Seunghyun Kim, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Jose Martinez, Salesian, senior
Jameson Raby, Dougherty Valley, senior
Ronan Rattigan, De La Salle, senior
Dylan Rossen, Burlingame, junior
Valen Spade, Mountain View, junior
Callum Todd, St. Francis, junior
Bay Area News Group preseason Top 10
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (20-2-4 last season)
How it finished: Beat St. Francis 2-2 (PKs) in NorCal Division I final
Season opener: Dec. 4 vs. Carlmont, 3 p.m.
No. 2 ST. FRANCIS (22-2-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 2-2 (PKs) to Archbishop Mitty in NorCal Division I final
Season opener: Dec. 7 vs. Mountain View, 11 a.m.
No. 3 DE LA SALLE (13-4-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 4-2 to Clayton Valley Charter in NCS Division I quarterfinals
Season opener: Dec. 13 vs. Clovis, 8 p.m.
No. 4 BERKELEY (23-3-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 1-1 (PKs) to St. Francis in NorCal Division I quarterfinals
Season opener: Dec. 2 at James Logan, 6 p.m.
No. 5 MOUNTAIN VIEW (18-3-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 3-0 to Clovis North in NorCal Division I quarterfinals
Season opener: Dec. 2 at Carlmont, 4:30 p.m.
No. 6 MONTE VISTA (17-4-3 last season)
How it finished: Lost 3-2 to St. Francis in NorCal Division I semifinals
Season opener: Dec. 6 vs. Jesuit-Carmichael, 3 p.m.
No. 7 BURLINGAME (18-4-1 last season)
How it finished: Beat Dougherty Valley 2-1 in NorCal Division II championship game
Season opener: Dec. 4 vs. Capuchino, 4:30 p.m.
No. 8 DOUGHERTY VALLEY (19-6-4 last season)
How it finished: Lost 2-1 to Burlingame in NorCal Division II championship game
Season opener: Dec. 3 at College Park, 7 p.m.
No. 9 NEWARK MEMORIAL (24-1-3 last season)
How it finished: Beat Cardinal Newman 2-1 in NorCal Division III championship game
Season opener: Dec. 6 vs. Oak Ridge, TBA
No. 10 LAS LOMAS (22-3-2 last season)
How it finished: Lost 3-1 to Burlingame in NorCal Division II semifinals
Season opener: Dec. 3 vs. Deer Valley, 6 p.m.
Editor’s note: Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The news organization’s high school staff chooses the teams.
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