Boys’ Soccer Preview: Chavez looks to take Flintridge Prep to next level wearing two hats
Expect Esteban Chavez to be a busy man throughout the next few months.
Chavez will serve as head coach for the Flintridge Prep boys’ and girls’ soccer teams. Chavez has guided the girls’ program to plenty of success, which included the Rebels winning the Prep League title outright before marching on to the CIF Southern Section Division III and CIF Southern California Regional Division III semifinals last season.
Chavez replaces AJ Yates, who led the Rebels to the league crown last season for the first time since 2005.
Chavez previously coached the boys’ team from 2006-10. He’s been the girls’ coach since 2007.
Wearing two hats isn’t a concern for Chavez.
“It’s a challenge and I love coaching,” said Chavez, who was selected the All-Area Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year last season. “It’s not all about the games, but finding ways to make them better.
“Both programs are so special to me and I want to make them that much better. There’s been a lot of success and we can build off of that and try to get each team to the next level.”
Flintridge Prep went 10-2-1, 5-1 in league before suffering a loss to Azusa in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs after reaching the semifinals a season earlier. Though CIF underwent a second straight year of realignment, the Rebels will remain in Division VI.
Flintridge Prep brings back an impressive core, including senior midfielders Tim Treinen and Andrew Lathrop, senior forwards Garrett Gaines and Ramzi Beshir, senior goalkeeper Aidan Scheaeder and junior defender Spencer Harris, in their quest for another league championship. Treinen (seven goals in 11 matches) and Gaines (team-high 10 goals) received All-Area accolades last season.
“I think we’ll be better and deeper,” Chavez said. “It’s already an expectation trying to win league again and we’ll try to make a deep run in the playoffs.”
Crescenta Valley finished second in the Pacific League behind Burroughs last season. The Falcons were upended by Camarillo in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
There’s plenty of optimism for Crescenta Valley, which will look to win the league title for the first time since 2012, when it won the program’s only CIF championship.
The Falcons lost All-Area picks Henry Barkhordarian and Jonathan Han to graduation, yet won’t be bereft of talent. They return senior midfielder/forward Ayden Blackwood, senior midfielder Dallas Kaauwai (10 goals), senior defender Tomik Baghramian (five goals) and junior midfielder/defender David Villaseñor.
“It’s a good group that’s got some experience,” said Crescenta Valley coach Grant Clark, whose team will stay in Division III. “We lost some starters, but it’s an opportunity for the next group to take advantage. We need to have one of our goalkeepers step up.
“All of the teams in our league should be good again. We all have two league games in December, so it’s important to try to get a couple of wins there so you have momentum when league resumes in January.”
Last season, Hoover took third in the Pacific League and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Hoover fell to Glendora in the first round of the Division IV playoffs.
Things will be quite different for the Tornadoes moving forward, following the graduation of standouts Romio Sislian, Jonathan Hernandez and Jesus Rodriguez. Sislian was selected the All-Area Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year after finishing with 26 goals and 17 assists to earn the league’s player of the year and All-CIF accolades.
“It’s going to be hard to replace a great player like Romio,” Hoover coach Ace Metallinos said. “We have to look at turning it into a positive because it allows us to find a group who want to be that next guy.
“We have players who have developed and we have balance. We have the potential to do some good things.”
Hoover, which will remain in Division IV, will look to senior midfielders Steven Avelar and Tigran Hovhannisyan, junior defender Vladimir Centeno and sophomore defender Kevin Mitzakhanian to pave the way.
St. Francis also advanced to the playoffs last season. The Golden Knights finished fourth in the Mission League and fell to Paramount in the first round of the Division I playoffs.
St. Francis, which was transferred to Division II, will feature a senior core looking to lead the Golden Knights back to the postseason. They are goalkeeper Michael Bazarevitsch, forwards Colton Ramirez and Nicholas Maldonado, midfielder Sebastyan Enriquez and defender Taylor Bosveld. Bazarevitsch had nine shutouts last season and picked up All-Area recognition.
“We have a good core and we just need to fill in a couple of spots,” St. Francis coach Glen Appels said. “I think we’ll be a competitive team and we want to use that to our advantage.
“We know league will be very tough again and there are not going to be any easy games.”
Glendale was the lone area squad to miss the playoffs last season, following a seventh-place finish in the Pacific League. The Nitros will stay in Division IV this season, while looking to return to the postseason.
Under coach Artur Aghasyan, Glendale will feature senior defender Chris Atikian, senior midfielder Hovik Ktikyan and junior defender/midfielder Andrew Alexander.
“We’ll look for our returners to lead the way because we’ll have a pretty young team,” Aghasyan said. “We want to have everybody on the same page before we start the season and we’re going to to our best to challenge in what I think we’ll be a very good league again.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
