With the non-league portion of the schedule winding down for most Central Coast Section teams and with some leagues even starting up, we felt it was a good time to look at some of the potential league races. Of course, the preseason can sometimes be misleading as teams work through all sorts of logistical challenges, but we are beginning to get an idea of the teams to watch in each league. We will focus mostly on the top division in each league, but will try to give an overview of all the leagues in CCS.
Blossom Valley Athletic League
Based on preseason results, the BVAL-Mount Hamilton looks like it could be a wide-open race. Westmont and Leigh seemed to have established themselves as the favorites, but all eight teams look like they could be playoff contenders and form a deep title race.
Westmont had a successful return to the BVAL “A” league in 2023-24, finishing third. The Warriors (3-2), who have already knocked off Los Gatos and Saint Francis, rely heavily on senior midfielder Kota Brown, a first-team all-BVAL performer last season. Leigh fell 3-2 in its opener to a Los Gatos team that Westmont beat 3-0, but the defending champion Longhorns have bounced back with wins over Oak Grove, Carlmont and Leland.
Branham suffered all three of its losses in a four-day span in early December, falling 3-0 at Rocklin December 6 and suffering a hard-luck 1-0 defeat the next day against Sac-Joaquin Section power Jesuit. The Bruins were welcomed back to the Bay Area with a 2-0 loss against Carlmont December 9. Branham ended a three-game scoreless streak with a 5-1 win over Andrew Hill as juniors David Kim and Michael Murphy scored two goals apiece and senior Rocco Dressler added three assists.
Pioneer and Christopher make the leap to the “A” league this season after successful 2023-24 campaigns. The Mustangs are 2-2 including a win over rival Leland while Christopher (2-1-2) has conceded just three goals all season.
Willow Glen and Lincoln each participated in the Sunnyvale Cup. The Rams went 1-0-2 in the tournament, including an impressive 4-0 win over perennial power Burlingame and ties against Wilcox and Santa Clara. Lincoln suffered defeats against St. Ignatius and South San Francisco and tied Homestead.
Mt. Pleasant opened the season with an impressive 2-0 win at Carlmont before competing in the Lovato Cup against lower-division BVAL competition. The Cardinals, who have suffered just one defeat, 2-1 to Del Mar, are led by senior Joel Gonzalez, who has already tallied five goals this season.
In the lower divisions, the BVAL-ST West looks like the stronger of the two “B” divisions again this season. Del Mar (4-0-2) is off to a strong start, including the aforementioned win over “A” league rep Mt. Pleasant. The entire BVAL-ST East has only amassed three wins – two of them from Silver Creek (2-3-2). The rest of the division is a combined 1-16-2. Piedmont Hills (4-1-2) is on a four-game winning streak and could also contend in the BVAL-ST West.
Peninsula Athletic League
The PAL-Bay appears to be wide open as usual. Defending champ Burlingame is off to an uneven 2-2 start, including a surprising 4-0 loss to Willow Glen. Perennial contender Carlmont (1-4-1) is also struggling, having scored just three goals in six games. However, the Scots have played a difficult schedule with three of the losses coming against defending league champs Mountain View, Mitty and Leigh.
Meanwhile, Menlo-Atherton (5-0-1) and Aragon (4-0-2) are off to strong starts. The Bears, led by senior Nathan Thurlow (5 goals), have won five in a row, including a 2-1 win at WCAL power Serra last week. Aragon has played a softer schedule but does have a 1-1 draw against SCVAL contender Los Altos.
Pacific Coast Athletic League
Alisal is the two-time defending PCAL-Gabilan champs but it looks like Salinas rival Alvarez might be a contender to break the streak this season. The Eagles (5-0) are off to a flying start, including a big 2-1 win over Redwood-Larkspur, a perennial power from Marin County that went 17-3 last season. For its part, Alisal (3-1-1) is off to another good start despite a 2-1 loss to Gonzales. Monterey (6-0-1) also looks like a contender, heading into league play on a six-game winning streak. Senior Ethan Bonilla leads the way with nine goals and two assists.
Private School Athletic League
The PSAL continues to improve, notably in the south where teams like Latino College Prep and Cristo Rey are earning results against established programs from bigger schools. Cristo Rey (4-0-2) has ties against traditional BVAL powers Leland and Overfelt, both of which are in the “B” division. The Lions are led by sophomore Yosgart Barajas, who already has nine goals. Freshman Alex Garcia has chipped in with three goals and four assists. Defending PSAL-South champ Latino College Prep (2-1-2) picked up wins over Overfelt and James Lick in the Lovato Cup and has 1-1 ties against solid “B” level teams Piedmont Hills and Del Mar.
Santa Cruz County Athletic League
Based on preseason results, Harbor (5-1-1) appears to be the class of the SCCAL. Since opening the season with a tough loss to Branham and a 1-1 tie with Sacred Heart Cathedral, the Pirates have reeled off five wins in a row, including a 3-0 victory over Sacred Heart Prep in the championship of the Tom Moore Invitational at Stevenson. Senior Danny Garcia (7 goals) and junior Jair Martinez (5) have led the way, while speedy winger Alex Aparicio has chipped in with 2 goals and 2 assists. Defending champ Aptos (2-1) is likely to provide the most resistance; the Mariners already have an impressive 2-1 win over PCAL-Gabilan rep North Salinas on goals by Julian Torres and Josiah Siqueiros.
Santa Clara Valley Athletic League
The SCVAL-De Anza is shaping up as a bloodbath as five of the eight teams in the “A” league are still undefeated. Defending champ Mountain View (4-0-1) has yet to concede a goal, outscoring opponents 11-0. Oddly enough, the only game against a non “A” league opponent was a 0-0 draw against "B" division Milpitas.
Palo Alto (4-0-1) and Santa Clara (4-0-1) are also looking strong. Junior Ronan Teetzel leads the way with 5 goals and speedy winger Taishi Liu has added 2 goals and 2 assists for the Vikings, who pushed their winning streak to four with a 1-0 win at Westmont. Santa Clara has been led by senior Santiago Martinez (7 goals), who scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Burlingame. Los Altos (3-0-1) and Wilcox (3-0-2) are also undefeated and in total, SCVAL-DA teams are a combined 23-4-8.
West Bay Athletic League
Either Sacred Heart Prep or Menlo have won the last six WBAL titles and it looks like those teams are strong contenders yet again in 2024-25. The Gators suffered their first loss, 3-0, at the hands of a strong Harbor team, but prior to that had come away with a tie against SCVAL contender Palo Alto followed by four straight shutouts of Half Moon Bay, Christian Brothers, Stevenson and Valley. Menlo (1-1-2) is coming off a 1-1 draw at Wilcox on a goal by junior Declan Sitter, who leads the team with two goals. Crystal Springs Uplands (5-0) and Woodside Priory (3-0) are off to strong starts but have not played the level of competition of the co-favorites
West Catholic Athletic League
In the WCAL, Bellarmine appears poised to put last season’s disappointment in the rear-view mirror, as the Bells have opened 2-0, including an impressive 3-1 win over Marin Academy. Over the break, Bellarmine, which missed the CCS playoffs a year ago, will be traveling to Southern California for the SoCal College Showcase, where the Bells will face powerhouses Harvard-Westlake, Orange Lutheran and Servite. Defending CCS Division 1 champ Mitty is coming off a pair of ties in the De La Salle Showcase against Turlock and Dougherty Valley. Senior Seunghyn Kim scored in both matches at De La Salle and senior Nicholas Palomino scored 2 goals in the 3-3 tie against Dougherty Valley.
Meanwhile, defending WCAL champ Saint Francis (1-2) is off to a tough start, having been shut out by Mountain View and Westmont sandwiched around a 5-1 win over Homestead, in which senior Andrew Huber registered a brace. Perennial contender St. Ignatius is just 3-2 following a 4-1 win at Homestead. Serra (2-1) faces a huge test at Mountain View December 31.
