Vine Valley Athletic League Girls Preview
The Vine Valley Athletic League, simply put, was outstanding last season. Of the seven girls teams in the league, six of them finished with at least seven wins, all six of them finished with 15 points or more in league…
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Continue ReadingThe Vine Valley Athletic League, simply put, was outstanding last season. Of the seven girls teams in the league, six of them finished with at least seven wins, all six of them finished with 15 points or more in league play and four of those six reached the North Coast Section playoffs.
This season, there is no reason to expect anything less as several teams appear to be strong and there is a lot of returning talent.
Casa Grande
Casa Grande won the league last year, and the Gauchos lost only two matches all season, one of them being a tough matchup with a good Las Lomas team in the playoffs.
They lose league MVP Taylor Ingram to graduation, along with six other seniors and there are two other players out with longterm injury. But with that said, they should be solid as they had 14 underclassmen on the roster last year.
There are four returning players that will bey very key for Casa Grande.
Katie Hancock, Senior, Central Defender
Hancock is a very solid center back, who is very comfortable on the ball and can start many of the team’s attacks. She has a willingness to drive forward with the ball and the ability to then find free players.
Lauren Reposa, Junior, Midfielder
Reposa is a very strong midfielder, who does what you want to see from a skilled player such as herself. She can score goals from outside the box, and she is incredibly skilled and adept at playing teammates into great positions to score goals.
Isabelle Thors, Senior, Outside Defender
Thors is a very speedy outside back, who loves getting forward. She will create and join in the team’s attacks and she is very creative without the ball, making overlapping runs, creating overloads and giving the Gauchos an attacking advantage.
Natalia Young, Senior, Midfielder
Young is a very creative player with the ability to breakdown defenses with her dribbling skills and she has the ability to pick out the final pass when she has the ball at her feet.
Justin-Siena
Fresh off finishing in a tie and reaching the NCS playoffs, the Braves will look to build off that momentum. They do lose two first-team all-league players and a second-team selection as well. However, they do return two key players in senior Olivia Janerico and junior Thais Thomson-Rangel who were all-league selections last season.
Petaluma
The Trojans finished in a second-place tie last season with Justin-Siena and reached the NCS playoffs, winning a game against Rancho Cotate, before bowing out against Archie Williams in double overtime.
Petaluma returns only eight of 23 players from last season, and only four of those eight were starters. There will be a rebuilding element to this season’s iteration of the Trojans. They have only three seniors, meaning they will be taking steps to building for the future.
Despite all of that, the four returning players will be very key and could help Petaluma have a very good season once again.
Kenly Eskes, Junior, Midfielder
Eskes is a tough, left-footed midfielder who is very skilled and will be looking to become more of a goal-scoring presence for Petaluma this season.
Katie Hale, Senior, Midfielder
Hale is going to be the senior leader for the Trojans. She is going to do it all for them. She is a very well-rounded player that will help in all aspects of the game.
Gianna Richardson, Junior, Defender
Richardson will be a key to the back line for Petaluma. She will be relied on for her strong play and for her leadership in the back.
Sunny Schultz, Junior, Forward
Schultz plays out wide for the Trojans and is very dangerous out on the wing. She is a player who can get down the outside quickly and contribute with crosses in or get into the box and score.
Natalia Efhan Natalia Efhan F Petaluma | 2025 CA deserve a mention as well. She is a sophomore who would have played a key role for the team, but hurt her knee and will miss the season. Expect her to support her teammates every step of the way.
Sonoma Valley
The Dragons will be looking to build off last season’s seven-win and .500 season, but return only eight players from last season’s team. The key player will be midfielder Lauren Johnston who was a captain last season as a junior and a first-team all-league selection.
Vintage
The Crushers finished alone in fourth place last season, and with eight players who were freshman or sophomore last season, and 10 total underclassmen, they should be challenging to finish higher.
One of those juniors is Sofia Reiswig who was a first-team all-league player a year ago. Fellow junior Leila Newberry was a second-team performer last season.