The bar was already set pretty high for Mountain View freshman Allie Montoya, even before she had played her first high school game. Now expectations will be even higher after a phenomenal start to her prep career.

A member of the U15 National team, Montoya was an immediate boost to a Spartans’ team which has been a regional power, but had suffered some big losses to graduation. In her first game of the season, she showcased her ability to distribute, notching three assists in a win over Los Altos, and then displayed her scoring ability over the course of the remainder of the season.

“Allie created so many chances for us all season long,” said Mountain View coach Ivan Bandov. “The ball sticks to her foot like no other. Her technical ability is easily the best I have ever seen from a freshman.”

The verbal commit to Stanford started scoring at a rapid rate, against the Spartans’ top opponents, beginning with a goal during a 3-0 win over Christopher. Her next tally came in a 2-0 win over St. Ignatius, and she then scored both goals during a 2-1 win over Carlmont. As the season wore on, a trend emerged – if there was an important goal scored in a game, it seemed like Montoya either assisted or scored the goal herself.

“Her soccer IQ is just phenomenal, and she is also such a calm finisher,” Bandov added. “She’s not a huge girl who blows past people or dominates them with her physical stature. You would also never guess how good she is just being around her. She is a super humble, hard-working athlete who just wants to play with her friends.”

The girl who just wants to play with her friends would wind up totaling 20 goals and 17 assists for the season, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the SCVAL’s De Anza Division. She had a hand in all three regulation goals during a regional semifinal win over Montgomery, finding the back of the net twice. In a pair of 1-0 regular-season wins over Santa Clara, she scored the lone goal in the first meeting and assisted on the goal in the second match. Wherever one looked, Montoya was impacting the final outcome.

For her efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Allie Montoya as the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Sophomore of the Year.

Other players considered include Leigh’s Cadee Borg, Prospect’s Natalia Barrera, Burlingame’s Sofie Rodriguez, Santa Cruz’s Maya Moore, Leland’s Ruby Teixeira and Christopher’s Taylor Mejia.

NOTE: We would like to thank our media partners, coaches, parents, players and fans for contributing photos for our all-section features. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of CCS soccer.