With almost all leagues virtually at a halfway point some league races are tightening up and some teams are running away with their respective leagues as the 2019-2020 CCS Boys Soccer season heats up.
WCAL : 4 teams are separated by 2 points as the ultra competitive West Catholic League. The league looks set to crown a new champion for the first time in 4 years. Bellarmine thought they had kept themselves a cushion on Saturday after sophomore Jorge Hoffman put the Bells in front in the first half against Sacred Heart Cathedral, before the Fightin' Irish equalized late in the second half to snatch a point on the road. Bellarmine will now have to travel to St. Francis, whose Lancer team is lead by junior Rory Forlan with six goals. The two teams will meet 10 days after the two teams first met, a 1-0 win for Bellarmine at home with junior Uriel Morales scoring the game winner.
Mitty may be the hottest team in the WCAL winners of three straight, including at defending champion St. Ignatius on Saturday after sophomore Thomas Pellino scored the game winner in the second half for an important three points to cut the gap on the league leaders. "When the clock is running our team stays calm." Said Pellino, "We stay positive. We will need to keep that up in our upcoming games." Mitty is two points off the pace, while three time defending champion St. Ignatius has seen a potential defense of their championship virtually impossible after the defeat. However the Wildcats could still very much qualify for the open division of the CCS tournament due to their strong non-league schedule, predominately from their travels to Florida where they went unbeaten. Valley Christian dropped another tough game on Saturday to St. Francis and a point they desperately needed in their race for survival for the playoffs. Valley Christian may find themselves in the same position as last year, enough points to qualify for the playoffs, but not the prerequisite eligibility to qualify.
SCVAL De Anza : Santa Clara has started to run away with the "A" league, holding a seven-point advantage with six games to go. The Bruins had an above average pre-season, but with the arrival of junior Tamba Di Mattia into the lineup after missing the first part of the season Santa Clara has been almost invincible in league play. Nothing has shown this more than their dismantling of Los Gatos, a strong playoff team in its own right, on the road Friday night by a score of 3-0.
Despite starting off the season winning their own tournament, defeating WCAL power St. Francis in the final, Homestead has had a rough season in league play. If the Mustangs can stay above .500 in the second half of the season they should still find themselves in the playoffs, along with Los Gatos, Mountain View & Cupertino.
BVAL Mt Hamilton : Lincoln had one of the most important results of the past week when it went to Leland and tied the Chargers, 0-0, despite the fact these teams are in opposite halves of the division and do not compete for playoff berths. The Lions, led by senior Diego Baca, now keep a lead over Branham, after the Bruins tied against Overfelt, with sophomore Ian Hutt scoring for Branham. Branham travels to Leland on Monday night in a game which may be a must win for the Bruins, who are looking to keep pace with Lincoln. Leland is hoping their offense led by junior Santi Gonzalez will break out at the right time.
PCAL Gabilan - Watsonville finds itself one game above Alvarez for the league championship in the Gabilan "A" Division by virtue of a shocking 7-1 win over its closest competitor Alvarez. Two goals apiece by senior Eric Vazquez and junior Jeal Leal paced the Wildcatz. Alvarez will have a chance for redemption when the rematch occurs on February 11th in Salinas.
WBAL : While Sacred Heart Prep doesn't look be in danger of not winning the WBAL crown, it has indeed proved mortal with a 3-3 tie on the road to Harker. Sacred Heart Prep could still find itself going through the regular season, it looks as if the Gators could fall short of the point total needed to get into the Open division.
