If you drive by one of your school’s soccer fields this winter, you are likely to see a number of boys and girls competing for league crowns and CIF titles.
The 2013-14 scholastic soccer seasons continue at three area schools, with action on both the boys’ and girls’ sides.
At La Jolla High, the Vikings recently sat with a 1-4-1 record under head coach Josh Conner.
According to Conner, key players to date have included senior forward Edgar Salamanca, junior defender James Penner and sophomore midfielder George West. “This year is a rebuilding year for the program,” Conner said. “The team has a lot of talented players and potential for success in the conference. Our goals this year are to improve on last year’s record and establish ourselves as a competitor for the Western League title.”
Meanwhile, the Lady Vikings under head coach Kristen Jones stood at 4-3-2 after recent play.
According to Jones, the team is well balanced, with Phoebe Riley and Lillian Raffetto leading the way. After nine games, nine players had scored goals.
“La Jolla High soccer is back this year with something to prove,” Jones said. “We have a great combination of young energy and strong determined leadership. We are still trying to find our groove but we will be the team late in the season that no one wants to play. This group has the talent and potential to win it all.”
Over at The Bishop’s School, the Lady Knights under head coach Brian Quinn, were 3-0-2 in the Coastal League as of recent play.
At that time, the team’s two leading scorers were Sarah Chase and Lucy Rickerson. According to Quinn, both have been dangerous in every game and are the team’s go-to players.
Helping them in the forward department have been Barret Kearney and Gabi Smith, while great defensive performances have come via Evan Rossin, Vanessa Walther-Meade, Sabrina Straus and Sera Stotelmyre.
Quinn also noted the excellent play of freshman goalkeeper Jasmyn Gordon, along with strong midfield performances from Chi Chi Chang, Rhiann Holman and Serina Curtis.
“The team graduated nine seniors last year, so we have a very talented core of freshmen players that include Julia Ralph, Rachel Hong and Annika Kjos,” Quinn said.
On the boys’ side under head coach Malcolm Tovey, Bishop’s sported a recent record of 6-1-3, the only setback coming to Cathedral Catholic.
According to Tovey, the defense has been led to date by captains Matt Healey and Chris Aleyn. Meanwhile, Grant Brutton had recorded three game-winning goals from more than 25 yards out while also being dominant in the center of the field.
The Knights have won games despite injuries to Ian Caples, Charlie de le Llama, Matt Mamood and Daniel Cohen.
At La Jolla Country Day School, girls’ head coach Dave Jenkins and his Lady Torreys have battled with rebuilding after graduating a number of seniors from last season’s squad.
Key players to date have included senior captain Arielle Schechtman (four-year starter, committed to UCLA next school year), along with juniors Lindsay Gatto and Juju Dessert, who have battled illness and injuries to date.
“Our goals for the season are to get healthy, have our injured players return and continue to improve the second half of our league season,” Jenkins said.