From the time that Live Oak junior Karlie Lema entered the Acorns’ program, she has been marked as one of the top threats in the Blossom Valley and the Central Coast Section. Her junior year was no different.

The Cal commit accounted for half of Live Oak’s goals during the season, despite missing a handful of games when she was with the US national team. The team held up its end of things while Lema was gone, and she got back to her usual scoring ways upon her return.

Unlike many players who rack up large goal totals while playing inferior competition, Lema finished the season with 21 goals and a pair of assists, all while playing in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley, and each of her tallies was critical to the end result of the match.

Early in the season, it was Lema scoring the Acorns’ only goal in a 1-1 draw with Los Gatos. In the two league matches with unbeaten champion Leigh, Lema had three goals and an assist, factoring into all four Live Oak goals to come away with a 2-2 draw and a 3-2 loss to the Longhorns. Down the stretch, Lema’s ability to score enabled the Acorns to snag a berth in the prestigious Open Division of the section playoffs.

In late January, Lema provided the only goal in a pair of 1-1 draws against Leland and Westmont. She notched a hat trick during a big win over Piedmont Hills, then scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over Pioneer. Another draw with Leland came courtesy of Lema finding the back of the net, and she added a brace during a victory over Westmont.

Since Lema joined the Acorns’ program, they have gone unbeaten in the Santa Teresa Division when she was a freshman and have now accumulated an 11-5-7 mark in the Mt. Hamilton over the past two years, a stark contrast from their last promotion to the highest division, where they went 2-10-2 back in 2014-15.

For her efforts this season, we are pleased to recognize Live Oak’s Karlie Lema as the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Junior of the Year.

Other players considered for this award include Mitty’s Alexa Arancio, Mountain View’s Erin Coyne, Presentation’s Lauren Zontos, Saint Francis’ Isabella Panaccione and Los Gatos’ Emily Nedom.

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.