BOYS’ SOCCER PREVIEW : Players to Watch

Top boys’ soccer players in the region:

David Cervantes of Rio Mesa, a senior striker, scored 29 goals in 23 games last season. . . . Bryan Borreson, a sophomore sweeper, is Chaminade’s best player. . . . Abdullah Safdari of Chatsworth is underrated but one of the City’s best midfielders. . . .

At Crescenta Valley, junior forward Lindon Pecorelli is a candidate for the U.S. under-18 national team. . . . Itzik Rappaport, 5 feet 5, scored 14 goals for Calabasas last season and was leading scorer for Los Angeles in the Maccabi Games last summer. . . . Danny Ermolovich, a junior midfielder, and David McCoy, a sophomore stopper, lead Thousand Oaks in pursuit of consecutive Marmonte League titles. . . . Senior forward Sergio Renes was Simi Valley’s leading scorer last season.

Crespi welcomes senior midfielder Jeff Okerman, who is completing rehabilitation from a knee injury. . . . Rolando Lira could help Santa Paula win its first Frontier League title in four years. The senior midfielder had 11 goals and 15 assists last season. . . . Taft’s hopes for climbing out of the Northwest Valley Conference cellar rest in part with midfielder Craig Levy, the team’s only freshman starter. . . . Matt Jordan, a senior goalkeeper and four-year varsity player, backstops Canyon’s quest for consecutive Foothill League titles. . . . Senior sweeper Eric Henderson of La Canada was a second-team All-Southern Section Division IV selection last season. . . . Glendale missed the playoffs last season for the first time in three years. The Dynamiters’ drive for a postseason return is led by senior Artour Mirzakhanian, a 6-foot-3 senior forward and midfielder. . . . Raul Meneses, a senior goalkeeper at Burroughs, was 12-2 with an 0.97 goals-against average last season. . . .

Despite only three victories last season, Hueneme is showing signs of improvement and the forward tandem of senior Salvador Hernandez and junior Evaristo Leon will be counted upon heavily. . . . Buena depends on senior midfielder Ariel Hurtado and junior goalkeeper Lani Kaluna. . . .

Brad Griffiths is the player to watch at Paraclete. The senior forward had 10 goals and five assists as a junior. . . . Diminutive midfielder and forward Mike Enfield is a rising star at Ventura and in the state’s Olympic Development Program.