Not only did Montgomery senior Cindy Arteaga dominate games as a top scorer, but she did so while leading the Vikings to a North Coast Section Division II title.

Arteaga, who had 30 goals as a junior, added 25 more as a senior, but also transformed her game into that of an all-around playmaker. She added 11 assists, getting teammates involved and serving as a leader on the attack, an evolvement of her game which resulted in even more team success.

“She really became a playmaker this year, as opposed to just looking to score,” said Montgomery coach Pat McDonald. “She became a much better passer, more than doubled her assists from the previous year, and her goal production didn’t decline.”

In fact, Arteaga came through with key goals in the biggest moments for Montgomery. Last year, the Vikings were red-hot and the top seed when they faced Livermore in the section semifinals. Despite out-shooting the Cowboys in that game by a large margin, they never found the back of the net and had their season end early with a semifinal defeat. This year, Arteaga helped keep the offense poised during a semifinal win over Northgate, and then scored twice in the rematch with Livermore, propelling Montgomery to a 4-2 win in the championship.

After the Vikings played a phenomenal defensive game in a regional quarterfinal win over Menlo, they found themselves trailing by three goals to Mountain View at halftime of the CIF NorCal semifinal game. The team, and Arteaga in particular, responded with one of their best halves of soccer. The senior scored twice in the final 40 minutes of regulation to help tie the game, and then drilled Montgomery’s final penalty kick in the shootout. It was not enough when Mountain View connected on its final attempt, but her effort and execution had been eye-opening for all of Northern California.

“Cindy scored a third of all our goals this year,” McDonald added. “She originally came to us from a small club, where she was always her team’s best player. She has always had an incredible motor and an incredible shot. This year, she took all that to another level, and was a team leader.”

For her efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Cindy Arteaga as the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Senior of the Year.

Other players considered include San Ramon Valley’s Kylie Kerr, Livermore’s Kamryn Farro and Northgate’s Carly Ortega.

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 NCS soccer.