Boys’ Soccer Preview: Revived Flintridge Prep looking at bigger picture

After finishing fourth in the Prep League, the Flintridge Prep boys’ soccer team found itself waiting to see if it would be a part of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

When the Rebels learned they would be a part of the playoff picture, their outlook turned bright. The at-large squad pulled off several upsets, including a stunning victory against second-seeded and defending division champion Monrovia in the first round before ultimately advancing to the semifinals.

The lengthy playoff run has lifted Flintridge Prep and given the program more optimism moving ahead.

“Things came together at the right time after we made the playoffs,” said Flintridge Prep Coach AJ Yates, the reigning All-Area Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year, who guided the Rebels to a 13-win campaign. “It left a very good taste in our mouths with what we were able to accomplish.

“We have almost all of our starters back and they are excited to try to achieve more success. They are confident knowing they want to at least match what they did last year and maybe take another step or two. We like what we have and how we are building the program.”

Flintridge Prep will bring back senior center back Aidan Boyle, juniors midfielders Tim Treinen and Andrew Lathrop and junior forwards Garrett Gaines and Ramzi Beshir. Treinen and Lathrop picked up All-Area first-team honors, while Boyle and Beshir earned spots on the second team.

The Rebels, who lost to runner-up Shadow Hills in the semifinals, will look to find a replacement at goalkeeper after Hamilton Evans, an All-CIF selection, graduated.

“We have some people in mind who can do well in goal,” said Yates, whose team will remain in Division VI after the CIF Southern Section office realigned each division. “We have about 95% of the guys who scored goals last year back and our defenders, midfielders and forwards will all contribute. We just want to be better in league and make another playoff run.”

St. Francis needed to win its final two Mission League games to qualify for the Division I postseason. St. Francis rallied to beat Chaminade and Alemany to take third in league and ended up reaching the second round of the playoffs where it fell against Warren.

St. Francis will remain in Division I this season under coach Glen Appels, who has led the Golden Knights to three CIF championships and one Southern California Regional crown.

“One of the things we learned from last season is that there are a lot of close teams in our league and that leads to lots of close games,” Appels said. “We definitely want to get out the gate early this time around and try to build a cushion so we aren’t playing for our playoff lives, because you know going in the league will be very tough again.

“We got some more excellent playoff experience. That’s a positive for our returners and we’ll look to take another step or two.”

St. Francis will bring back plenty of key returners, including senior midfielders Liam Snashall, Christian Ibarra, Michael Guzman and Riley Baz. They will be joined by center defender James DeRose and junior goalkeeper Michael Bazarevitsch. Snashall, Guzman and DeRose picked up All-Area recognition last season.

Crescenta Valley was the other local team to reach the playoffs. The Falcons lost to Pioneer in a Division III wild-card match. Crescenta Valley, which will stay in Division III, didn’t make it easy after it lost its first five league matches before regrouping to place third in league.

Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark, who led the Falcons to a CIF title in 2012, said it’s vital for the Falcons to begin league with some early victories.

“We’re going to have our hands full in league, because you know Pasadena and Burroughs will be extremely tough,” Clark said. “I think the thing we learned from last year was that you can’t look past anybody or you’ll pay the price. We had to make a huge run just to get back into things.

“We have guys who have come to practice excited and you like to see that happen. I feel confident with the players they have and they want to play the system that will rely on ball possession.”

Crescenta Valley will bring back senior forward Henry Barkhordarian, senior midfielder Alex Atanackovic and junior forward Kyle Quesada. Barkhordarian, a reigning All-Area first-teamer, finished with a league-leading 18 goals last season.

Hoover and Glendale will look to bounce back after placing sixth and seventh in the Pacific League, respectively. The Tornadoes and Nitros didn’t reach the Division III playoffs. Both squads have since been shifted to Division IV.

Hoover appeared on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs, but lost three of its final four games. The Tornadoes would like to avoid a repeat of that misfortune.

“We did so many things well by winning nonleague games and going far in tournaments and then starting off pretty strong in league,” said Hoover Coach Anastasios “Ace” Metallinos, who was tabbed the league’s coach of the year. “We went out and beat some good teams in [league champion] Pasadena and Muir, but I think we didn’t realize that every game was so important. That’s the lesson we learned.

“We believe we can make the playoffs and we have to stay balanced and grind. That’s what we do best. We’re still building because we have an eye on the program’s future.”

Hoover will return senior midfielder Romio Sislian and senior forward Jesus Rodriguez. They will be joined by senior midfielder Jonathan Hernandez and junior midfielder Steven Avelar. Sislian and Rodriguez were bestowed with All-Area second-team recognition.

Glendale struggled throughout league last season and will look to head in the other direction under coach Artur Aghasyan.

It will probably be a rebuilding campaign ahead for the Nitros.

“We lost a lot of players to graduation and we’re going to bring up a lot of players who were on junior varsity last year,” Aghasyan said. “We’re still going to shoot for a top-four finish in league.

“We want them to get more experience. We’ll try to move the ball around a lot and create scoring chances.”

Glendale will rely on senior midfielders/defenders Shahe Tomas and Aaron Alexander, junior defender Chris Atikian and junior center midfielder Allen Sorlisyaghoub.