Plenty of Pacific League honors to go around in boys’ soccer
Hoover High senior Mathew Hartounian was named to the All-Pacific League first-team after helping the Tornadoes improve from 1-12-2 last season to 10-9-3 this past season.
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A Pacific League playoff race that was in doubt until the final afternoon of the regular season made this just-concluded boys’ soccer season one to watch.
As the league’s awards were recently released, Burbank High, Burroughs, Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Hoover all scooped up multiple honors and accolades, including a top prize for the improving Tornadoes.
While league champion Pasadena (12-1-1 in league play) locked up Pacific League co-Players of the Year honors for Scott and Duncan Schwart, Hoover’s Anastasios “Ace” Metallinos was voted the Pacific League Coach of the Year.
“I’m honored to win and I think my hard work is paying off,” said Metallinos, whose team was the only squad in league to defeat Pasadena this season. “I’m glad that somebody appreciates my work and this is extra special because it comes from your peers. I’m very satisfied with this season.
“Yes, we just missed the playoffs, but we also improved a lot.”
Hoover finished 10-9-3 overall in Metallinos’ first year after switching from coaching the Tornadoes’ girls’ team. That winning record came a season after the Tornadoes finished 1-12-2 overall and didn’t post a win within league play.
Hoover tallied a 6-7-3 league record and finished sixth, but was only two points out of fourth place and the final automatic playoff spot.
Hoover boasted one league first-teamer in senior Mathew Hartounian (two assists), one second-teamer in junior midfielder Romio Sislian (nine goals and 10 assists) and an honorable mention in junior forward Jesus Rodriguez (12 goals and three assists).
“I think some people are surprised that Mathew is on the first team, but I like rooting for the guys who don’t always get the credit,” Metallinos said of his defensive center midfielder. “He’s so sound and he understands the game. When you think about it, he’s the heart and soul of the team.”
Crescenta Valley senior halfback Joshua Moran, who finished with five goals and nine assists, teamed with junior striker Henry Barkordian to form one of the Pacific League’s best duos.
Burroughs finished runner-up in the Pacific League with a 14-7-2 overall mark and a 10-3-1 record within the league.
The Indians’ success translated into a high number of selections, as defenders Cade Borland (four goals in 17 matches), Josh Sanchez (three assists in 23 matches) and Diego Galaviz (team-leading six goals in 19 matches) were all selected to the first team.
“Cade was our center defender and one of the leaders on the team. He also provided a lot of speed,” Burroughs Coach Mike Kodama said. “Josh went from a guy who didn’t handle the ball well to one of our best dribblers and Diego is the rare defender to lead a team in goals.”
Kodama had three more honorees in second-team defensive midfielders Mitchell Kodama (one goal and three assists in 21 games) and Cameron Kelly (three goals and four assists in 18 games) and honorable mention Richard Alonzo (four goals and two assists in 19 games).
Maybe nobody was a bigger surprise in 2015-16 than Crescenta Valley.
The Falcons opened the league season with a 0-5 mark and didn’t appear to be going anywhere.
“We were in dead last,” Falcons Coach Grant Clark said. “You couldn’t get any lower than us. We had a nice little chat after that fifth loss and I pleaded with them to stay in and stay composed. Those guys showed me a lot of heart.”
Crescenta Valley finished the season with a 9-9-7 record and a 6-5-3 mark in league. The Falcons blasted Arcadia, 6-0, in the season finale to move from outside the playoff picture to in as the squad tied Muir (6-5-3) with 21 points in league and took third due to a tie-breaker.
The Falcons boasted one of the league’s top one-two punches in junior striker Henry Barkordian, who tallied a league-leading 18 goals and seven assists, and senior halfback Joshua Moran, who finished with five goals and nine assists.
Burroughs High defender Cade Borland, left, along with teammates Josh Sanchez and diego Galaviz, were named to the All-Pacific League first team.
“It took a while for Henry to get going, but I think when Josh was able to find him, that really got Henry going,” Clark said. “That gave him confidence and he started taking on people one-on-one and taking advantage of his opportunities.”
Crescenta Valley senior defender Augustine Ahn (one goal and one assist) was tabbed to the second team, while junior fullback Alex Atanackovic was named an honorable mention.
While Crescenta Valley clinched a playoff spot late, league fifth-place Burbank (6-7-1) was denied a postseason berth on the last day of the season via a 4-0 loss to archrival Burroughs.
Despite the setback, the Bulldogs received some attention with a first-team pick in senior goalie Andrew Hank, a second-team choice in junior sweeper Kenneth Rovira and an honorable mention in midfielder Fernando Chavez.
“Andrew has been on varsity for four years and he’s kept us in a lot of games,” Burbank Coach Loi Phan said. “He made some great saves throughout the year and he’s just gotten better and better. He’s a great kid.”
Glendale finished with a 3-12-3 record and a 2-9-3 league record for seventh and received two selections in second-teamer Josh Arevalo and honorable mention Adeh Vartanian.
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
