The San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley high school boy’s soccer teams are into their preseason schedules and will start league play in January. They have high hopes for the upcoming season.
San Lorenzo Valley Cougars
Under third-year head coach Nathan Hill, the Cougars return a well-seasoned team in the hunt for the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title.
Hill has nine returning seniors, including captains and returning 2009-10 all-league team members Thomas Macintosh and Alex Lopez.
“We’re not going to have many holes out there,” Hill said. “We have really talented players at every position.”
SLV finished last season with a 2-7-3 league record, 3-10-4 overall.
The 1-3 Cougars will have to press on without fellow team captain Nate Wood, who ended his senior soccer season before it started. Wood, a 2009-10 All-SCCAL first-team selection, blew out his knee during football season and will sit out the soccer year nursing an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
The talented Cougars will have to top last year’s SCCAL and Central Coast Section champions, the Santa Cruz High Cardinals, if they are to be counted among the section’s elite.
SCCAL play begins for the Cougars on Jan. 7 at home, where they will host Scotts Valley High at 3:30 p.m.
Scotts Valley Falcons
The Falcons, who have kicked off the year with a 3-2-1 record in non-league play, are returning copious talent this season, as well. The Falcons have team captains Tyler Edwards and Stephen Doub back on the defensive side of the field.
Head coach Jeremy Ross has noticed the defensive strengths of his team.
“We’re a young and passionate team” Ross said “These guys are very passionate about improving and growing. It is impressive — we are really fast.”
The Falcons have nine returning seniors as they go into the season, numbers that most coaches normally can only hope to see. However, this year, it seems to be the status quo in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League.
Santa Cruz, Soquel, Harbor, Scotts Valley and SLV highs all have 10 or more returning players this season.
The Falcons have already matched last year’s win total — the Falcons finished 3-7-2 in league and 3-10-4 overall in 2010 — and league play has yet to begin.
“They are as solid as it gets,” Ross said “They can play toe-to-toe with anyone in this league.”
Scotts Valley will play several more preseason games before opening SCCAL play Jan. 5 against St. Francis.
