BSoccer Preview: La Caada with potential to shine

PRESEASON TOP 10 RANKINGS
1. La Caada
2. St. Francis
3. Monrovia
4. Pasadena Poly
5. La Salle
6. Maranatha
7. South Pasadena
8. Duarte
9. Muir
10. Pasadena

By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer

There’s no disputing the West San Gabriel Valley is a hotbed for high school boys soccer. From west of La Caada to east of Monrovia, the talent is rich with depth and speed.

La Caada coach Barry Ritson enters his second season as coach and has vowed to make the Spartans an offensive machine. Ritson succeeded, and despite losing one key player, La Canada still makes the Star-News’ preseason top 10 rankings as the No. 1 team.

1. La Caada (23-3-1 last season)

La Caada returns arguably the area’s best two-punch combination in senior forward Matt Cannata and senior goalkeeper Jack Hale. The duo helped the Spartans reach the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs last season. The Spartans literally came within inches of reaching the semifinals before a volley by Salesian’s Jose Espinoza just cleared Hale’s fingertips and went into the net in the golden-goal period to lead the eventual champion.

The Spartans return eight starters, including senior midfielder Danny Thompson and senior defender Randy Gartside. But the status surrounding Cameron Meeker, who had 33 goals and 13 assists, remains uncertain. He currently is traveling with his club team in a tournament in Arizona and Ritson said the chances of his return to play high school soccer is “slim, if any.”

Still, Cannata’s return assures the Spartans have one of the area’s most prolific scorers. The reigning Star-News Player of the Year compiled 24 goals and 12 assists last season, and the addition of others will bolster Ritson’s lineup, which he said will employ a 4-4-2 formation. Ryan Blumfenfeld, a senior, did not play last season because of his involvement in the U.S. Developmental Academy. He’s been granted permission this season and will play in the center-midfield along with Thompson.

“He’s big time,” Ritson said.

Armand Bagranyan, a sophomore, also is a top newcomer.

“He scored a phenomenal goal against Mountain View,” Ritson said of Bagranyan. “He’s the real deal and nobody knows about him.”

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2. St. Francis (8-12-2)

Coach Glen Appels has more able players than positions to offer. It’s a luxurious problem to have, he said, and one that hasn’t come up in a long time.

St. Francis for the first time in years is loaded with depth and returns 14 players who started at one point or another last season. But the return of two U.S. Developmental Academy players for the Golden Knights inevitably raises expectations this season.

Eric Verso, who scored 26 goals as a sophomore when he led St. Francis to the CIF Southern California Division II regional championship two years ago, returns for his senior season. Jake LaPorte, who scored two goals in the regional championship game, also returns to give the Golden Knights two aggressive and speedy forwards. The duo led St. Francis to an 18-6-4 record as sophomores and came close to beating Millikan in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.

Austin Frank, who broke his leg last season, and Garrett Swart, who had a back fracture, return healthy. St. Francis also has depth at goalkeeper with Hector Carranza and Paul Dean talented enough to start for any other top Division I program. Goalkeeper Carl Rubschlager and defender Jeffrey Quezada are two top freshmen who are expected to play valuable minutes this season and complete the Golden Knights’ revamped roster.

“This is the deepest team we’ve had in a long time,” Appels said. “The quality is still to be determined. But it’s a nice thing for us, to see the kids pushing themselves.”

St. Francis will be tested almost immediately, beginning Friday when the Golden Knights host Santa Barbara, the No. 1 team in the CIF-SS Division 1 Top 10 coaches’ poll.

The same will be said about the Golden Knights later this month when they take part in the College Cup in Santa Barbara, which is being held in conjunction with the men’s soccer national championship tournament at UCSB. In that tournament, St. Francis will play, among others, JSerra, the defending CIF-SS Division 1 champion.

The Golden Knights later will head to the Nike High School Showcase in Oceanside, where they hope to improve on last year’s showing after going 0-3 and lost to perennial powers Brophy Prep (1-0) of Arizona, Bellarmine Prep (2-0) of San Jose and Orange County powerhouse Santa Margarita (3-1).

Appels understands expectations are high after losing to Northwood in the second round of the playoffs last season.

“There’s no way we can look at the guys we have and not aspire to do well,” he said, “and honestly, last year we got better as the year went on. By the time second round of league came we got back to the team we wanted to be.”

3. Monrovia (12-9-3)

The Wildcats played their entire schedule on the road last season because Monrovia’s football stadium was under construction. The road life took its toll on Monrovia, which finished third in the Rio Hondo League despite an impressive and experienced front line.

The Wildcats are looking to bounce back this season with six returning starters, including Rio Hondo League defensive MVP Julio Estrada, Reed Miller and Eric Maldonado.

Mathias Ibaez, who scored 22 goals and recorded eight assists, has graduated, but Monrovia coach Mike Williams is excited about Everado Herrera, the senior who will play alongside Gomez up top. Herrera played behind Ibaez most of last season, but improved so much in the offseason he’s made quite the impression on Williams.

“You should have seen the goal he had against Arcadia,” Williams raved. “Even the Arcadia coach was shaking his head. He’s fast, has a tremendous shot. Realistically, had he been this good last year he would have played above Mario, and you know how good Mario is. (Herrera) has size … he’s right up there with Mathias, which is going to shock everybody because people thought I had nobody.”

Max Medly, a 6-foot freshman, will start in goal.

4. Pasadena Poly (12-8-6)

Coach Doug Jolley returns seven starters from last season’s team that lost on penalties in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division VI playoffs to eventual champion Mountain View.

The reigning Prep League champions are led by junior Jack Birkenbeuel, a three-year starter who earned Star-News All-Area second-team honors last season. The Panthers won’t be at full strength until Chris Levin, Brian Holman and Jack Porter return from playing football (Pasadena Poly’s football team plays in Friday’s semifinals of the Northeast Division playoffs at top-seeded Bishop). Levin, Holman and Porter also are three-year starters.

Jolley expects Pasadena Poly to start slow, for obvious reasons. Losing All-Area first-team selections Matt Morrish (goalkeeper) and Matthew Diephius (defender) will be tough, too.

“We have some important guys to replace and with guys playing football we haven’t had much practice time,” he said. Nine of the Panthers’ 11 starters were involved in playoffs with their fall sports teams, including water polo and cross country.

It’s also the reason why Jolley only scheduled the Ontario Christian Christmas tournament this season.

5. La Salle (10-9-2)

La Salle finished the 2009 preseason with a 7-1 record, but couldn’t sustain the drive through the Del Rey League season. That the Lancers were not in contention for a league title was a disappointment.

But with 10 returning starters, including four-year letterman Jeff Cross and Gio Luna, La Salle coach Dan Sheridian hopes this is the season they’ll fare better against the likes of Bishop Amat and Cathedral.

“That’s been the focal point, to compete physically with the larger teams,” said Sheridian, in his seventh season.

Cross, who has played sweeper the last three seasons, was an All-Del Rey League selection last season along with Luna. La Salle, which also hopes to improve on last season’s playoff performance after losing to Morningside in the wild-card round of the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs, wants to bring home a league title, if not at least contend.

“The group was pretty disappointed with not challenging for a league title,” Sheridian said. “I think this year that’s our primary goal. Anything beyond that would be good, and what’s good is the expectations are coming from them more than the coaching staff, so you like to see that.”

6. Maranatha (11-10-3)

The Minutemen had one of their most successful seasons in 2009. Maranatha for the first time under coach Matt May clinched the Alpha League title and reached the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs.

The Minutemen return eight starters, including senior forward Matt Marbach and senior midfielder Aren Bedoyan. Sophomore Kevin Geddes is also back. He will switch from forward to midfielder. Jeremy Gurule, a junior, is a top newcomer expected to start in the midfield.

7. South Pasadena (8-7-5)

The Tigers return 10 players including five starters. Benjamin Charney, Matt Nelson, Mathewos Ghebrekristos lead the starting 11. Jeff Astle, a senior forward who was out all last season because of injuries, is healthy and coach Juan Zurita said he’ll be vital to the team’s success.

“Hopefully with him playing it’ll give us more depth,” Zurita said. “He’ll be a forward with great speed, one of the best in the (Rio Hondo) league.”

South Pasadena will not play in tournaments and instead play several nonleague games, beginning Friday at home against La Salle.

8. Duarte (14-6-3)

The Falcons return eight starters, including senior center midfielder Edgar Medrano, senior sweeper Candy Rojas and junior defender Saul Acosta.

Duarte got off to a fast start and was in contention for the Montview League title before Sierra Vista (17-5, 10-2) and La Puente (12-3-5, 9-1-2) took a lead in the second half of league play. The Falcons made a first-round playoff appearance, the first under coach Jesse Gutierrez.

“This team has come a long way in one year,” Gutierrez said. “Hopefully we’ll contend for the league title this year until the end. Ganesha also joined the league, and they’re good. But overall I think we have a shot at being right up there.”

9. Muir (10-4-1)

The Mustangs’ 2009-10 season was highlighted by two wins over rival Pasadena and a second-place finish in the Pacific League behind Crescenta Valley. Muir finished just one point shy of tying for the league title.

Sophomore Jorge Castro, who was a reliable kicker on the Muir football team this season, is a key returning player. The Mustangs will have to adjust to losing Victor Lugo to graduation. He was the team’s offensive leader with 23 goals and 10 assists and led Muir to a wild-card win in the Division 4 playoffs.

10. Pasadena (8-6-6)

This will be quite a challenging year for Pasadena coach Cherif Zein, who in the past has been fortunate to boast a strong group of experienced players.

This year? None.

The Bulldogs have no returning starters and will start losing several players to the U.S. Developmental Academy. Seven others did not return. Zein said he’ll rely mostly on junior varsity call-ups, and said this would be a rebuilding season. Pasadena last season reached the second round of the CIF-SS Division IV playoffs.

Kelvin Ponce is a senior defensive midfielder whom Zein labeled “solid.”

Pasadena started the season by beating Crespi, 2-1. A bigger test comes Friday when the Bulldogs visit defending CIF-SS champion Mountain View.

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com

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