East Bay Athletic League 2022 Valley Division Boys Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Make no mistake about it... just because teams that finish in the top two get moved to the Mountain Division of the East Bay Athletic League does not mean that the Valley is not strong. In fact, every team in the EBAL Valley would either win, or finish very highly, in any other North Coast Section League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Amador Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dons were an NCS Division I snub last season, after finishing third in the Valley standings. They return a pair of senior midfielders in Fionn Conway-Ponzanelli and Andrew McMasters who were second-team all-league selections a year ago. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dougherty Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking for a sneaky favorite to win the Valley, to get a high seed in the NCS playoffs and make a run? Then look no further than the Dougherty Valley Wildcats. The WIldcats return a large portion of last year's team that finished .500 overall despite a brutal schedule, reached the NCS playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We return almost everyone and have gained some pieces this year as well," Dougherty Valley coach Bijan Sadeghy said. "We return nine starters from last year and now that our young team has had some experience, we are expecting even more. We have a junior heavy team but still think there's enough quality there to challenge the top programs in the EBAL and DI."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats return many very good players, and there are five that are very much worth keeping an eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Justin Ghobrial </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ghobrial is a senior midfielder who is technically and tactically sound. When he's on the pitch, it is like having a coach in game which helps him dictate play and he brings senior leadership as one of the captains.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='147474' first='Shota' last='Lam']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lam is a junior defender, and is very solid in that role, but is also very technical which allows him to help out when it's time to build up an offensive attack. He is a deep-lying playmaker who distributes the ball very well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Juan Sanchez</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Only a sophomore, this midfielder was an outright starter last year as a freshman. Since the beginning, he has not played like an underclassmen. He is very well-rounded and helps tremendously on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keyan Shaughnessy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shaughnessy is a senior forward, and a well-rounded one at that. He is an excellent finisher, but also very good at distributing the ball. He's also not afraid to track back and display his defensive qualities. He has great ability on the ball, and this is what makes him so dangerous. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='8095' first='Kyle' last='Young']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A junior defender, Young is a workhorse. He does not back down from any player who is on the attack. He also has great pace and will get involved when his team is going forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Foothill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons are looking to bounce back from a three-win season and the building blocks to do so appear to be a couple of juniors that were selected honorable mention all-EBAL last season. Zach Watson, a defender, and Fernando Cavazos, a midfielder, should be the leaders of this team as they look to get back to being a threat in the EBAL and DI.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Granada</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Matadors were another surprise omission from the NCS playoffs a season ago, considering the strength of their schedule and some of their results, and after finishing fourth in the league, this year looks like it should be much better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They return nine starters, and have a team that consists of 11 seniors, and only seven underclassmen. The team is full of experience and full of older players. They have a more balanced team this year with players that can play multiple positions, as well as boasting good size, speed and technical ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>San Ramon Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A perennial powerhouse in the North Coast Section, the Wolves had an uneven year last year, finishing with nine wins and nine losses (to go with six draws) and slipped to fourth in the Mountain, and moved into the Valley. However, this program does not go through too many seasons that are less than stellar, and a bounce back should be expected.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year's team will be a balance of senior leadership and experience combined with skill from younger players. They will led by senior Charlie Haines, a forward, and junior [player_tooltip player_id='8635' first='Sawyer' last='Hodson'], a midfielder.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='6934' first='Aidan' last='Molloy'], a senior defender, was second-team all-league a year ago while Jake Hensley, a junior holding mid, was second-team as well as a sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->