Boys’ Soccer Preview: La Cañada’s depth might be key to winning Rio Hondo League title

In a concentrated effort to return to the top of the Rio Hondo League and go far in the postseason, the La Cañada High boys’ soccer team will look to carry more depth and versatility.

In recent seasons, the Spartans have carried 18-20 players. Expect that number to rise for the Spartans, who took second in league last season and qualified for the playoffs.

“We’ll have a different look now,” La Cañada Coach Alex Harrison said. “I think you’ll see about 24 players who can bring different elements from size to speed.

“I’m definitely expecting us to be better than last year. I think there’s so much potential in that we have guys who can fill up different positions. I think that will give us an edge in terms of trying to win league. We’ll see how it goes.”

The Spartans spent the past several seasons playing in CIF Southern Section Division V. La Cañada will now be a part of Division VI.

Among those expected to provide significant contributions throughout the lineup are senior forward/midfielder JP Schadel, who missed most of last season with an injury. He will be joined by junior forward/midfielder Lawrence Ku, senior midfielder Nicholas Pereira and junior goalkeeper Michael Selsor.

At Flintridge Prep, the Rebels will be mostly revamped after losing 14 players to graduation. Flintridge Prep qualified for the playoffs last season before being eliminated by Firebaugh, which will join the Prep League this season.

Despite the volume of losses, Flintridge Prep will still bring back several standout athletes, including senior center back Tim Bates, junior goalkeeper Hamilton Evans, senior forward Ari Baranian and senior midfielder Riley Jones.

While it might take the first part of the season for a chunk of the players to adjust to the varsity level, Flintridge Prep Coach AJ Yates said there’s potential for the Rebels to jell by the time league begins in early January.

“It’s tough when you lose that many players,” said Yates, whose squad tied for third in league last season and reached the Division VI playoffs. “At the same time, we get to see right away what our younger players are capable of doing and seeing how they fit around our core group of returners.

“With our league, it’s very direct and especially physical. One of the things we’ll be keeping an eye on is the challenge to be able to match up physically with teams in our league. That’s something we’ll be working on improving.”

St. Francis missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1997. The Golden Knights would like to begin another lengthy string of postseason appearances while competing in the ultra-competitive Mission League.

St. Francis didn’t have many seniors last season, perhaps playing a role in missing the postseason following a fifth-place finish in league. Now, the Golden Knights will have seven or eight seniors who have multiple years of varsity experience on their resume.

“We have a lot of leadership now and a nice foundation,” said St. Francis Coach Glen Appels, who led the Golden Knights to three CIF championships between 1996-2003. “We just can’t look back at what happened last year.

“We know it’s going to be a learning process. If we do things right with our style of play, then we can take care of a lot of things.”

St. Francis will figure to have an experienced group of defenders that will include seniors Jason Carmody, Michael Cirannq, Paolo Ramirez and Glenn Ramos. Senior Benji Gabella will be one of the Golden Knights’ top midfielders and junior Mark Garcia will likely be the starting goalkeeper.