At Midpoint of the Season, It’s Quite a Race in Channel
With most leagues ready for the second round, there are few surprises in the girls’ ranks while the boys’ races have plenty of fresh contenders.
The strongest boys’ league is the Channel, with Buena and Ventura, last a year ago, battling San Marcos and Santa Barbara.
Coach Sean Roche thought he was going to have a mediocre year at Buena, but the play of defender Josh Boys and forwards Chris Parkin and Brad Workman have kept Buena in the hunt for the title.
In other leagues:
* Calabasas is the only undefeated team in the region and the Coyotes are cruising to their first Frontier League title since 1997, but will have to wait until playoffs to face its first strong opponent.
* The Mission League has a new contender, Chaminade, which is going to have a tough time beating St. Francis in a regular-season finale that should decide the title.
* The West Valley League has been very competitive, but El Camino Real and Birmingham will play Tuesday for the league title.
* Reseda is a favorite to win the Valley Mission although its offense has yet to play near its potential, allowing Monroe, San Fernando and Kennedy to stay in the race.
Birmingham and El Camino are on pace to go deep into the City playoffs. The leadership of defender Mike Erush has given the Patriots discipline and confidence. Midfielder Ian Kogan has El Camino playing consistently well.
John Wall is the top goalkeeper in the region. Wall has shown he has the ability to play in college but plans to play football instead. When Birmingham was in the midst of 10 suspensions, Wall kept the Patriots in games.
* Thousand Oaks has rebounded from a fourth-place finish last year and is the only undefeated team in the Marmonte League.
* Rio Mesa started 1-6 but is 9-2-1 since and atop the Pacific View League.
* No team has established itself in the Foothill League. Hart was the early favorite but the Indians were beaten, 4-0, by Burbank, which lost its next three games. Valencia, Canyon and Burroughs have also seen time in first.
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In girls’ play, Buena in the Channel, Westlake in the Marmonte and Harvard-Westlake in the Mission are set to repeat.
Forward Natalie Sanderson of Buena has helped keep the Bulldogs (22-0) as the only undefeated girls team in the region. Sanderson is the most talented offensive player on a team full of scorers.
Buena has outscored opponents, 87-13, and could eclipse its 112 goals of last season.
Forward Ashleigh Garmon is second on the team with 15 goals and 11 assists, midfielders J.J. Toohey and Brittney Mcdonald have combined for 21 goals and Lisa Engel has nine goals and nine assists.
Despite a lack of scoring, Westlake has remained among the elite with a strong defense. If the Warriors are to last in the playoffs, midfielder Jenna Wirtz will need to get healthy. With Wirtz directing traffic, it takes a load off forward Sara Silver-Hill.
Much of Harvard Westlake’s success can be attributed to a lineup shuffle. Imani Dorsey, who played sweeper last year, was moved to forward and Jill Oaks, one of the top stoppers in the region, has been moved to center midfield.
The play of midfielder Molly Cahan has kept the Wolverines from relying too much on defense.
Surprisingly, Valencia and Agoura are challenging for league titles, while Crescenta Valley could win its third Pacific League title in four years if it can defeat Arcadia next Thursday.
With forward Kelli Cox nursing an ankle injury, Quartz Hill hasn’t been able to walk through the Golden League as expected.
Cox is expected to return next week but Quartz Hill is challenged by Highland and Lancaster.
There have been a few disappointments, too. Hart will have no problem winning the Foothill League, but its performance in nonleague play has been subpar. The talented Indians have weathered losing streaks of three and two games.
Chatsworth is far from the form that won it four consecutive City Section titles. Even without the premier players the Chancellors had in the past, nobody in the City can compete with them.
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The Top 10
Rankings of region soccer teams
BOYS
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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Birmingham (West Vly) 12-4-2 2 2 Buena (Channel) 12-4-4 3 3 El Camino Real (West Vly) 13-3-4 4 4 Ventura (Channel) 14-1-6 5 6 St. Francis (Mission) 16-3-3 6 9 Calabasas (Frontier) 15-0-1 7 7 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 11-2-4 8 9 Reseda (Valley Mission) 8-3-2 9 9 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 10-1 10 10 Chaminade (Mission) 12-4
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GIRLS
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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Buena (Channel) 22-0 2 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 13-2-3 3 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 12-2-2 4 4 Louisville (Mission) 10-4-8 5 5 Chaminade (Mission) 13-4-3 6 6 Crescenta Valley (Pacific) 11-2-3 7 7 Hart (Foothill) 8-4 8 8 Agoura (Marmonte) 10-3 9 9 Chatsworth (West Valley) 7-3-1 10 10 Flintridge SH (Mission) 11-4-2
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