ALL-NORTH COAST SECTION
Player of the Year
MAX PETERSON, BERKELEY
By NATE SMITH
Prep2Prep
When it comes to ball handling, setting up the offensive attack, and quickly disrupting any attacks at his own end, there were few in the class of Max Peterson, the skilled midfielder from Berkeley who is headed to the United Kingdom for college and continuing his soccer career after this season.
Despite leading the Yellowjackets to their first NCS title in 13 years, some of Peterson’s best contributions might have even come during the league schedule, which had a couple hiccups. After one of those hiccups, a draw with San Leandro, Peterson set the tone in the next match against second-place Bishop O’Dowd, drilling a free kick for a lead going into the half, one which Berkeley would maintain in the second half.
Later, after a shocking loss to Mt. Eden, Peterson made sure the offense caught fire, leading the Yellowjackets to score nine times in the final three regular-season matches, and multiple goals again in the first three rounds of the post-season. That led to the NCS title game against De La Salle, where Berkeley prevailed in a shootout, with Peterson drilling his kick into the net during the second round.
Now, after a standout three-year varsity career which has culminated with 43 wins in the last two seasons, a berth in the 2016 section semifinals and a 2017 section title, Peterson is headed to York St. John University in England, and will also join the i2i International Soccer Academy.
For his standout career and senior season, Max Peterson is our 2017 Prep2Prep Player of the Year.
Coach of the Year
PAUL CURTIS, ACALANES
Paul Curtis is Prep2Prep's NCS Coach of the Year.
By NATE SMITH
Prep2Prep
Just like his first year at the helm of the Acalanes program, the second seed proved kind to Paul Curtis, as he led the Dons to their first section title since 2009, defeating Montgomery, 1-0, to win the 2017 North Coast Section Division II championship.
After the Dons failed to post a winning record in each of the last three seasons, this title might be a bit sweeter, combined with a 20-win season. The 20 wins posted by Acalanes is the second-highest in Curtis’ tenure as head coach, but this season ended with something even better than the 23-win campaign in 2012-2013 – a section title.
Having struggled for the previous three years, Acalanes was sent to the DAL-Valley Division in the structuring of the newly aligned Diablo Athletic League. Considered the ‘B’ Division, the Dons steamrolled to the division title, going 9-1 in league play and overcoming an early loss to division foe Concord. After the 2-0 loss to the Minutemen on January 20, the Dons never lost again.
Acalanes did not allow a goal in its final six division matches, rolling into the post-season with some serious momentum. The Dons routed Casa Grande in their first round match, 4-1, before facing DAL-Foothill counterpart Campolindo, one of the teams placed in the ‘A’ Division. The defense continued to play stout against a strong Cougars’ attack, making Gabe Singer’s first half goal stand up in the 1-0 victory.
After the quarterfinal win over Campolindo, Curtis’ coaching and preparation were tested in a pair of double overtime matches. The first game, in the semifinals against 2015 NCS and 2017 TCAL-Rock championship Richmond, resulted in a 2-1 win for the Dons, which placed them opposite Montgomery in the title game. Again, the Acalanes defense held strong, and the offense did just enough, scoring in double overtime for the 1-0 victory, once again using a goal from Singer to make the difference.
For his ability to turn back around the Dons’ program, and lead them to their fourth overall section title and second during his tenure, Paul Curtis is our 2017 Prep2Prep North Coast Section Coach of the Year.
Other coaches considered for this award: Berkeley’s Andre Hebert, Marin Academy’s Josh Kalkstein, University’s Deejae Johnson, and Montgomery’s Jonathan Schwan.
FIRST TEAM ALL-NCS
Justin Bedig, College Park
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
The Sacramento State-bound Bedig was the MVP of the DAL-Foothill Division, Bedig led the Falcons to a second-place finish in the difficult division and a berth in the Division I playoffs. He finished the year with a team-high 27 points scored.
Ryan Leake, Tamalpais
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Leake was named Player of the Year in the Marin County Athletic League after leading the Red-Tailed Hawks to their first league tournament title in three years, and scoring two of the team’s three goals in the title game victory over Terra Linda.
Mario Gomez, Rancho Cotate
Position: Foward
Year: Senior
Gomez was named the MVP of the North Bay League as a prolific goal scorer for the Cougars. The Cal State Fullerton commit opened the season with a five-goal performance and never looked back, leading Rancho Cotate back to the Division II playoffs.
Garrett Howell, Amador Valley
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
The MVP in the East Bay Athletic League, Howell was a premier attacking mid for the Dons, notching 12 goals and eight assists. That included the go-ahead goal in an early-season win over eventual NCS champion Berkeley and multi-goal performances late in the season against both Livermore and Dublin.
Max Peterson, Berkeley
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
Regarded as the most skilled ball handler in the section, Peterson is headed to York St. John University in the United Kingdom, also joining the i2i International Soccer Academy. The first-team All-WACC selection converted his penalty kick in the title game win over De La Salle, and controlled the middle of the field in every match this season.
Grant LaFleur, Freedom
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
Freedom had three of the top leading scorers in the section at the front of its attack, but for that to happen, someone had to set things up, and that was LaFleur, a first-team All-BVAL selection. The senior had six goals and eight assists, but also 52 steals to help control the ball for the Falcons.
Drew Wondolowski, Acalanes
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
The Most Valuable Offensive Player in the DAL-Valley Division, Wondolowski led the Dons to a Division II championship, and his ability to create the offensive attack was key for the Valley Division champions. In the Division II semifinals, he scored a key goal in the first half against Richmond, a match which resulted in a double overtime victory for Acalanes.
Arlo Moore-Bloom, Berkeley
Position: Defender
Year: Senior
The skilled defender was the backbone of the Yellowjackets’ stingy defense, one which allowed just 17 goals all season long, and no more than one in any of their post-season matches, resulting in a Division I section title. He was also named Player of the Year for the WACC-Foothill Division.
SECOND TEAM ALL-NCS
Ryan Murray, Dublin
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
The first-team All-EBAL defensive mid controlled the back third for the Gaels, and became an offensive force when needed, scoring the game-tying goal in an early-season draw with Santa Rosa and another in a key 2-1 win over Granada in February.
Bryan Rosales, Montgomery
Position: Midfielder
Year: Junior
Rosales’ ability to control the ball in the midfield and use crisp passing to set up his teammates on the attack led the Vikings to the Division II championship game, and resulted in a first-team All-NBL selection for the speedy junior.
Adrian Ortiz, Northgate
Position: Defender
Year: Senior
The Broncos may not have won a match in the DAL-Foothill, but there was little more that Ortiz or the Northgate defense could have done. The Most Valuable Defensive Player of the DAL-Foothill led a defense that allowed just 13 goals all season long.
Sam Pinto, Miramonte
Position: Defender
Year: Junior
Pinto was named the DAL-Valley’s co-Most Valuable Defensive Player, as the rangy sweeper anchored a Matadors’ defense which excelled down the stretch, shutting out San Rafael in the first round of the playoffs and allowing just one goal in the quarterfinals against Bishop O’Dowd.
Andrew Guertin, University
Position: Goalkeeper
Year: Senior
Guertin allowed just 10 goals all season, getting the Red Devils to the Division III championship game, where he held Marin Academy scoreless through regulation and overtime. University lost just once in regulation with him in goal, and he posted eight clean sheets.
THIRD TEAM ALL-NCS
FORWARDS
Daniel Cervantes (Freedom), Jose Gomez (De Anza), Edwin Montoya (Pinole Valley), Ben Blackfield (Amador Valley), Rupert Dusauzay (Campolindo), London Lombana (Newark Memorial), Omar Jiron (De La Salle), Pedro Hernandez (Clayton Valley), Gabe Singer (Acalanes)
MIDFIELDERS
Asib Khamush (Dublin), Alan Soto (Montgomery), Arian Mogharel (Monte Vista), Joseph Ciobanu (Castro Valley), Peter Carroll (Drake), Ramon Briseno (Tennyson), Ryan Anderson (Bishop O’Dowd)
DEFENDERS
Kevin Bobadilla (Rancho Cotate), Trent Wakaluk (Dublin), Jacob Wright (San Ramon Valley), Jesus Aguirre (De Anza)
GOALKEEPERS
Jacob Bauer (Monte Vista), Roin Flynn (Berkeley), Javier Hernandez (Pittsburg)
HONORABLE MENTION:
ACALANES:
Bryan Bamford
ALAMEDA:
Nicholas Nguyen, Owen Sowerwine
ALBANY:
Pedro Moura
ALHAMBRA:
Jack Fuller, Corey Drevno
AMADOR VALLEY:
Nick Mann, Jimmy Thompson
AMERICAN:
Bruno Sanchez
ANTIOCH:
Carlos Lopez
ARROYO:
Julio Pena
BEREAN CHRISTIAN:
Jack Sodergren
BERKELEY:
Arturo Verdin, Darius Wekwerth
BISHOP O'DOWD:
Liam Carmody, Max Deck
BRANSON:
Callan Capitolo
CALIFORNIA:
Blake Hazelton
CAMPOLINDO:
Matt Ringquist, Seppi Ortman
CARDINAL NEWMAN:
Rupert Holden
CASA GRANDE:
David Luis, Danny Ajquiy
CASTRO VALLEY:
Sergio Cortez, Caleb Mendoza
CLAYTON VALLEY:
Taylor Heuerman
COLLEGE PARK:
Sean Roarty, Dylan Ban
CONCORD:
Roberto Barahona, Edilsar Melendres-Gomes
DE ANZA:
Juan Alejandre
DE LA SALLE:
Luke Giusto, Wyatt Hattich
DEER VALLEY:
Fabian Wence
DOUGHERTY VALLEY:
Laith Anqud
DRAKE:
Ian Sobral, Sasha Tcherepanov
EL CERRITO:
Kevin Navarrete
ELSIE ALLEN:
Jesus Torres
ENCINAL:
Luca Altaffer
FOOTHILL:
Imran Matir, Mike Desisto
FREEDOM:
Eruvey Arceta
HAYWARD:
Ramses Perez
HERCULES:
Ali Kostali
HERITAGE:
Jihobanny Lopez
IRVINGTON:
Armon Olaee, Andrew Chen
JAMES LOGAN:
Jason Martinez, Jonathan Argueta
KENNEDY-FREMONT:
Jesus Loiza
KENNEDY-RICHMOND:
Anthony Gamez, Edwin Perez
LAS LOMAS:
Tim Weidinger, Ben Borglin
LIBERTY:
Cohen Mix, Alexis Alvarez
MARIA CARILLO:
Henry O’Donnell, Josue Cabrera
MARIN ACADEMY:
Stefan Jung, Leo Biral
MARIN CATHOLIC:
Miguel Maldonado
MIRAMONTE:
Ben Hodder, Michael Ramirez
MONTE VISTA:
Cameron Atkinson
MONTGOMERY:
Carson Wyatt, Alejandro Oliveras
MOREAU CATHOLIC:
Jacob Kilmartin
MT. DIABLO:
Aryan Hissan
MT. EDEN:
Ignacio Moreno, Brian Torres
NEWARK MEMORIAL:
Omar Jauregui, Jesse Esparza
NORTHGATE:
Zachary Lamb
NOVATO:
Lawrence Dickow
PIEDMONT:
Eduardo Calvo-Salinas, Dara Kasrovi
PINOLE VALLEY:
Sal Rodriquez, Franklin Suazo
PITTSBURG:
Brian Frias, Miguel Romo
RANCHO COTATE:
Adrian Fontanella, Martin Flores
RICHMOND:
Adrian Gonzalez, Santos Argueta
SAINT MARY'S:
Cristian Garcia, Jose Villanueva
SALESIAN:
Jaime Rodriguez, Eugenio Coronel
SAN LEANDRO:
Feliciano Cardenas, Raul Moreno
SAN LORENZO:
Shadrack Adom, Jorge Martinez
SAN MARIN:
Kevin Briggs
SAN RAFAEL:
Bryan Dardon, Randy Beltran
SAN RAMON VALLEY:
Austin Jamati
ST. PATRICK-ST. VINCENT:
Marcus Gay
TAMALPAIS:
Owen Schwartz
TENNYSON:
Salvador Navarro
TERRA LINDA:
Osbaldo Zacarias, Joe Archer
WASHINGTON:
Muhammed Salam
WINDSOR:
Carlos Rosas, Rigo Barragan
YGNACIO VALLEY:
Pepe Diaz, Jairo Alas
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