De La Salle Showcase features some of California’s finest
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The De La Salle Soccer Showcase certainly never disappoints, and this year is no exception. The two-day event in Concord at De La Salle High’s legendary Owen Owens Field features excellent teams from all over the state of California. It…
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Continue ReadingThe De La Salle Soccer Showcase certainly never disappoints, and this year is no exception. The two-day event in Concord at De La Salle High’s legendary Owen Owens Field features excellent teams from all over the state of California.
It features five North Coast Section teams which are traditionally very good, along with a Southern Section powerhouse, a Sac-Jaoquin Section powerhouse, two very good Central Coast Section teams and an excellent Central Section team.
Here is a quick look at each team and some players to watch from those teams.
Acalanes
The Acalanes Dons are off to a nice start, racing out to a 4-1 record with only a very close loss to a very good Ygnacio Valley team as a blemish. This team is coming together nicely with a good mix of experience and younger talent. It is a roster that has five sophomore, with at least three of them starting each match.
However, the Dons can toe the line between competing and developing because of co-captains Eli Roth and Dylan Olson, who have helped build a unified group that is working to complement each other’s abilities. Roth is a gifted striker for the Dons, while Olson is a very athletic keeper with excellent leadership qualities.
Olson has an identical twin brother, Cooper Olson, who is also a keeper on the team, giving them two good-sized, athletic keepers capable of leading the defense. Also, watch this weekend for central defender Eitan Romick, a sophomore, who is becoming an integral part of the back line.
Amador Valley
Amador Valley has won three of four to move its record to 3-2 on the season, including a 2-1 win over a Castro Valley team that just beat highly-ranked and highly-regarded Berkeley. The only two losses for the Dons are to two teams ranked in the NCS’s top 15… the aforementioned Berkeley and to Freedom.
Amador Valley has a lot of solid talent this season, and at the Showcase, fans should keep an eye out for these two players.
Elliot De La Torre, Freshman, Keeper
De La Torre is starting between the posts for an East Bay Athletic League team as a freshman. That pretty much tells you what you need to know. He is a very big keeper, he moves well and stops shots well. For a freshman, he is very composed and very mature.
Allen Zhou, Senior, Midfielder
Zhou is a very selfless player, liking to set up his teammates as much as he scores. He’s versatile as well as he can play pretty much anywhere on the pitch. He is technical, coachable, and can use both feet to score or distribute with. He has five goals and four assists so far this season.
Archbishop Mitty
The Monarchs recently lost a tough match to Prospect, falling 3-2, splitting their first two matches of the season. A tough tasks lies ahead with De La Salle on Day 1 of the Showcase.
For Mitty, watch out for three very stellar players to show well on Friday night against the Spartans.
Manuel Portillo Manuel Portillo F #155 Nation CA , Junior, Midfielder
Portillo is in his second year on varsity, and is a playmaking, creative player. He started every match as a sophomore and led the team in assists. He was second-team all-WCAL a year ago and is a very important piece of this Mitty attack.
Giuseppe Sigala, Sophomore, Midfield
Another motor in the midfield, along with Portillo, is Sigala, who is a sophomore in his first year on varsity. He is a very good playmaker giving the Monarchs two excellent players in the midfield that can be dangerous with the ball.
Reiji Susuki, Senior, Outside Back
Susuki is a wingback, playing on the outside and deep, like an outside defender, but he is more attack minded and likes to get up the side. When he does, he gets creative in the final third and he is very fun to watch watch.
Cathedral Catholic
The Phantoms are consistently one of the very best teams in the entire state of California, and this year will be absolutely no exception. They are a senior heavy group, so they will have leadership and composure. They have very talented players like Angel Guerra Angel Guerra 5'9" | F Cathedral (CA) | 2023 CA , Alexander Bastidas Alexander Bastidas F Cathedral | 2023 CA and Aaron Espana, who all made the Los Angeles All-Metro Preseason team.
However, there is another player for the Phantoms that spectators should keep an eye on.
Chris Martinez, Senior, Central Defender
Martinez is an outstanding defender who plays high level club for Orange County SC. He was formerly with the LA Galaxy Academy. He is the leader in the back line, he has a lot of experience and brings stability for Cathedral.
De La Salle
Expect the Spartans to show well at their showcase. Full stop. Not only will they be fired up to play two top teams like Mitty and Turlock, but this team, on paper, looks very good. Also, they beat a really good Wilson-Long Beach team, 3-0, to start the year. Wilson is one of the top teams in Los Angeles County.
De La Salle has a lot of very good players, but watch out for these two this weekend.
Diego Heredia, Junior, Keeper
Heredia has asserted himself as a vocal leader for the Spartans this season. Not only does he lead with his voice, he leads with his actions, making key saves and distributing the ball well.
Leo Bravo, Senior, Attacking Midfielder
Bravo is one of the key senior returners for the Spartans. He is a driving force in the midfield, doing anything that is needed from him from distribution, to tracking back to switching the attack.
The Spartans have a ton of potential with this group, hence the No. 1 NCS ranking. What is scary is to think that they are still waiting for a few players to join the team, as well as having a couple of players who should return from injury soon. As usual, this team plays a brutal schedule in December (all season, really) and they will be tested.
“With two tough matches on the horizon, we relish the opportunity to compete,” De La Salle coach Derricke Brown said. “And get to know ourselves a little better at this early point in the season.”
Junipero Serra
The Serra Padres are off to a very nice start this season, winning one and drawing two, going undefeated in their first three matches. The win was against a good San Mateo team and the draws were against very good Mills and Burlingame squads.
The Padres will be led by senior Dylan Joudieh, who is a very neat story. He is the kicker on the football team, winning the NorCal title and playing in the State title game. He will be the leader for the Padres. He is athletic enough to play anywhere, but will likely be used as a central midfielder.
Serra has another player who was excellent last year as a junior, making first-team all-West Catholic Athletic League, and was selected to the PrepSoccer Preseason All-Metro team for the San Jose area. Xavier Van Loben Sels is a forward who scores a lot of goals for the Padres, but unfortunately won’t be available this weekend because of injury.
Napa
Napa has already played seven matches heading into the Showcase, winning two and drawing two of them against a pretty good schedule. For this weekend, there is an exceptional player playing for the Grizzlies who everyone should keep an eye on.
Israel Luevano, Senior, Forward
Luevano is the captain for Napa, plays forward but can play anywhere on the pitch. In the last five matches, he has scored four goals. He is the heart and soul of the team. He has great leadership skills, killer soccer instincts and is easily the team’s MVP.
Richmond
The Oilers are one of the premier programs in NCS, and on paper, this could stand to be one of the better Richmond teams in recent memory. That’s saying a lot for a team that went 17-4-1 last season, reaching the DII final and making the NorCal tournament. They have started out 2-0 already, heading into De La Salle.
They have a ton of talent, including Kevin Romo and Andres Araujo, who have been mentioned at length in previous stories. For this weekend, keep an eye on these two players.
Jaime Frias, Senior, Central Defender
Frias is new to the Oiler program, but is fitting in quite nicely and offers quite a lot for the back line. He is very skilled and anticipates play quite well. He is also very calm on the ball, meaning he has the smoothness of a midfielder, and is as cerebral as one as well.
Rafael Olivarez, Sophomore, Central Midfielder
Olivarez played varsity as a freshman and is now going to be leaned on more to be an impactful player. He is a very technical player, a very gifted passer with a great shot from mid-range distance. He is also very unselfish.
Turlock
The Bulldogs come into the Showcase riding very high, going undefeated in their first eight matches. This includes five wins. They have shown well in all eight matches, which includes a tournament in the Central Valley.
They have many players who are making a difference, but there are four to keep an eye on this weekend. All four are seniors. Obed Bravo is a center back who leads the defense, while midfielders Nico Pelayos and Eduardo Zamudio lead the way in the middle of the pitch. Striker Ibrahim Sherzad is counted on up top to bang in goals.
These players are very versatile and dynamic, giving the Bulldogs hope that this will be a great season, one that sees them fighting for a league title and a playoff spot.
Whitney
To say that Whitney had a good year last season would be quite the understatement. The Wildcats went 21-2-2, won the SJS Division I title, then went on to win the NorCal DI title, topping a very good Watsonville team 3-1.
That team had 14 seniors, so the Cats certainly lost some key players, but they return a ton of top players who play high-level club soccer. They will be one of the very top teams in Northern California once again.
“We’re going to be strong again this year, but we definitely are playing a different style,” Whitney coach Joel Williams said. “Where last year we controlled possession to dictate the match, we are a more explosive team this year in attack and especially in counterattacks. We don’t have the midfield depth we had last year, but we are extremely strong up the middle with really good pace on both flanks.
“We are still putting things together and will continue to get better over the next couple of weeks, but we should be pretty strong and hopefully make another good run at it.”
Whitney has many players worth keeping an eye on at the DLS Showcase, allowing us to focus on one per grade level on this roster.
Darius Dukes Darius Dukes M CA , Senior, Midfielder
Dukes is a dynamic player. Very explosive. He’s also versatile in that he can play anywhere in the midfield and as a wide attacking player. He already has three goals and two assists in the team’s first three games. He plays ECNL with Placer United, and this will be his first time at the Showcase because he was out sick last year.
Jake Tyberg, Junior, Central Defender
Tyberg is a defender that is very strong in the air and challenges the ball on the floor as well, doing so with perfect timing to break up play. He is also very good playing line breaking balls when needed, and has started this season well. He was matched up with Simon Vaca-Lorenzi Simon Vaca-Lorenzi F CA of Davis and had a very good match, recently. He plays for the San Juan ECNL team.
Cody Wagner Cody Wagner M Whitney | 2025 State CA , Sophomore, Forward
Wagner is a versatile player. He typically plays out as the No. 11 for Whitney, but can play as an attacking midfielder or a striker, displaying great technical ability. He plays ECNL for Placer United, and is one of four sophomore on the roster. He has been PDP in the past and is a dynamic player, using both feet with great pace. In his first three games out wide, he has two goals and an assist.
Showcase Schedule
Friday, December 16
Acalanes v. St. Mary’s-Berkeley, 4:00
Whitney v. Cathedral Catholic, 6:00
De La Salle v. Archbishop Mitty, 8:00
Saturday, December 17
Napa v. Amador Valley, 12:00
Cathedral v. Richmond, 2:00
Serra-San Mateo v. Whitney, 4:00
De La Salle v. Turlock, 6:00