Earlier this week, I tried to handicap the county basketball season. Today, we’ll look at the soccer races as the league season gets underway this week — as long as teams and fields can stay above water.
Let’s start with girls’ soccer, because the competitive balance has never been better. The PAL Bay Division is shaping up to a wild ride to the end of the regular season. Menlo-Atherton is already in the early driver’s seat. The unbeaten Bears squared off with unbeaten Burlingame in the Bay Division opener Tuesday, with the Bears emerging unscathed following a 1-0 win.
And then you have Hillsdale with a 2-1 win over Sequoia, which was in the race for the PAL Bay Division title until the last week of the season last year.
Carlmont and Woodside, a pair of perennial division contenders, also met in the Bay Division opener Tuesday, with the Scots coming away with a 3-2 win.
To make a long story short, all six teams in the Bay Division should be in the mix for the division crown.
In the Ocean Division, Aragon is out to prove that it should have stayed in the Bay. The Dons are off to a 5-1 start and opened Ocean play with a 3-0 win over Capuchino. Head coach Michael Flynn said early in the season his Dons were looking to make a statement this season and so far, the Dons are living up to their coach’s expectations.
San Mateo looks like the Dons’ biggest challenger as the Bearcats opened league play with a 3-1 win over South City. Half Moon Bay is the only other team in the division that did not have a losing record going into league play.
Mills should be the favorite in the Lake Division. The Vikings’ six games going into the league opener were more than the games played by Oceana, Jefferson and Westmoor, combined.
In the WBAL, Notre Dame-Belmont, Menlo School and Sacred Heart Prep should all be in the mix for the Foothill Division title, along with an undefeated Harker squad.
In the Skyline Division, Eastside College Prep is the early season favorite.
Like the girls’ PAL Bay, the boys’ Bay Division race should be wide open. Aragon, Burlingame, Carlmont and Hillsdale all have .500 or better records going into Wednesday’s league openers. Menlo-Atherton and Woodside both have only one win in non-league play, but the Wildcats showed it has some talent in a draw with Serra and was in the CCS Division III championship game last season. Meanwhile the Bears, no matter what their non-league record says, always factor into the Bay Division race. They were in the CCS Division II title game in 2022.
In the Ocean Division, Half Moon Bay has shown to be the team to beat. The Cougars went 8-1-1 in non-league play, outscoring their opponents 41-8.
But Sequoia, which finished in the middle of the table in the Bay Division last season on its way to the CCS Division IV finals, is off to a solid start this season. San Mateo has a new coach, but is only two years removed from a CCS finals appearance, while South City and El Camino are always solid squads.
In the WBAL, Sacred Heart Prep, the defending CCS Division III champs, are always in the mix for the league title, finishing second to rival Menlo School in 2022. The Gators played four non-league games ahead of the start of league play and are unbeaten thus far. Crystal Springs is off to a solid 4-2-1 start, although the Gryphons opened WBAL play with a loss to Menlo.
The Knights have gotten off to a slow start, but have won two of their last three games.
After that, there is a big dropoff in the level of play, with Priory, Pinewood and Eastside College Prep having combined for just one win.
Serra is already three games into the West Catholic Athletic League season and is off to a 1-2 start. The Padres buried Riordan, 9-0, amid a pair of losses to St. Ignatius (1-0) and Mitty (6-0).
The usual suspects should vie for the WCAL title, with St. Francis, SI and Bellarmine all expect to challenge for the title. Serra’s biggest goal is simply to qualify for the postseason.
San Mateo County wrestling coaches: This season, more than ever, the Daily Journal will have to rely on you guys and gals to keep us updated on county wrestlers.
CCSrank.com, a part of “The California Wrestler,” will no longer rank Central Coast Section grapplers. CCSrank.com was where the Daily Journal sports staff would go to get section rankings and track wrestlers from the PAL.
While CCSrank.com will still provide state rankings, there are not a lot of Peninsula Athletic League athletes listed in those rankings.
So I’m asking coaches to provide not only final scores, but also results of actual matchups from dual meets. That way we won’t go into the postseason blind.
There are a couple of coaches out there who do provide the information we need and we appreciate that. But if you want consistent wrestling coverage, the Daily Journal is going to need your help.
.