Nine La Cañada boys’ soccer players pick up Rio Hondo League honors
La Cañada High’s Armen Eyssakhanian, left, and Jack Meeker celebrate a goal during practice at La Cañada High on Monday, November 16, 2015. Meeker, a junior defender, was named to the All-Rio Hondo League first team.
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Perhaps to no surprise, the La Cañada High boys’ soccer team enjoyed another successful season in 2015-16.
The Spartans posted a 13-6-5 record, finished runner-up in the Rio Hondo League and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.
That success was accompanied by accolades, as the Spartans had nine players selected to the All-Rio Hondo League list.
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League champion Monrovia (19-4-5), which was seeded second in the postseason, but was upset in the first round by Flintridge Prep, swept the big awards.
Wildcats senior Miguel Ulloa was named the league’s player of the year, while senior Chris Wong was selected the league’s most valuable offensive player, senior Cameron Montano the league’s most valuable defensive player and senior Taylor Barstow the league’s most valuable goalkeeper.
As for the Spartans, junior defender Jack Meeker, junior midfielder Luke Bonham and senior goalkeeper Michael Selsor were selected to the league’s first team.
“I felt like we should have had more players on the first team than we did, but the Rio Hondo League is all politics,” said La Cañada Coach Alex Harrison, who finished his fifth and final season with the team. “The guys we have are more than deserving and I’m happy for them.”
Meeker tallied two goals and seven assists and was particularly adept at set pieces.
“Jack is a competitor, whether you’re talking about playing Monrovia or playing ping pong, foosball or [the EA Sports] FIFA [video game],” Harrison said. “He was a captain along with Lawrence Ku and they’re both leaders on this team.”
Bonham tallied nine goals and six assists, while Selsor finished with 94 saves and four shutouts in 14 matches as he was limited due to an injury.
“Those two guys are competitive and aggressive and they’re not going to take anything from anyone,” Harrison said. “Luke weighs like 150 pounds, but plays like a guy who weighs 220 because he’s so physical.
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“Unfortunately, we only had Michael for 14 games and we missed him in the playoffs. When he did play, I thought he was one of the best goalies this program has turned out in the last 10 years. He’s just a super important person.”
La Cañada High goalkeeper Michael Selsor makes a stop in a CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal game against Cathedral High in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Despite playing in only 14 matches his senior season, Selsor was named to the All-Rio Hondo League first team.
La Cañada boasted four players on the second team in junior defender Sam Adida (two goals and four assists), senior defender John Lee (five assists), senior midfielder Ryan Herron (one goal and five assists) and senior forward Nathan Oh (21 goals and 12 assists).
Harrison was particularly disappointed that Oh and Ku, who led the area with 25 goals and 19 assists, weren’t selected to the league’s first team.
Ku was an honorable mention along with Cody Vasquez (five goals and four assists).
“I’m not sure how two guys who combined for 46 goals and 31 assists are both left off the first team,” Harrison said. “It’s disappointing, but this doesn’t take away from what those guys and this team did this year. They did great.”
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports
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