Girl's NCS Division 2 Preview/Predictions

There are some interesting story lines in the Division 2 bracket this year. Some massive schools are in (Foothill, Granada, Dublin) and some really small schools (Head Royce, Urban) are in as well. It will be interesting to see if some of the bigger schools end up facing the smaller schools to see how the teams compare. Here is a little bit about each team and where I see the tournament going.   1 seed Marin Academy:   They sit at 17-2-1 and enter the tournament as one of the favorites. They are always a strong program and have incredible facilities for their athletes. They are becoming a place where athletes go to develop their game. With a strong athletics program all around the school's sports.   2 seed Branson:   Branson have a very complete squad. Defensively very solid. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='54278' first='Whitney' last='Collet'] has dropped 16 dimes this season and her Senior teammate [player_tooltip player_id='54238' first='Ally' last='Hsieh'] has scored 13 goals. The Bulls are my pick to win the tournament I think they have more depth and are the most battle tested of any of these teams.   3 seed Sonoma Academy:   Sitting at 12-2-3 Sonoma Academy enter this years Division 2 bracket with a lot to prove. A tiny student population of around 350 kids it will be interesting to see how this team does at this level.   4 seed Urban:   Lead by their Junior superstar [player_tooltip player_id='111255' first='Stella' last='Monberg'] who has scored an incredible 32 goals and has dished out 15 assists in my opinion is the best player entering this tournament. Her Urban side sit at 14-5 and have the ability to go on a deep run this year.   5 seed Marin Catholic:   [player_tooltip player_id='54217' first='Sloane' last='Carey'] has had a very good season. She has scored 10 goals and has 10 assists heading into NCS this season. Marin Catholic sit at 12-6-3 going into playoffs. They will have their hands full in their first round game against a very good Terra Linda team.   6 Seed Campolindo:   They are a well balanced team who play in a tough league. I can see this team making some noise this year. A player to watch out for is Junior Carina Trento.   7 Seed Dublin High School:   They sit at 7-5-3 and are a massive school with over 3,000 students attending. They play in a very tough league EBAL and would argue they are getting dropped down a division. Time will tell as they have University in the first round.   8 Seed Clayton Valley Charter:   Lead by Ava Jara who has scored 13 goals along with 5 assists so far this season. The Ugly Eagles (yes that is their mascot) sit at 7-4-6 this season and will be facing a tough challenge in Foothill high school in the first round.   9 Seed Foothill High:   They sit at 7-5-4 and are another EBAL school that are in this bracket. Other then that I couldn't find much on them.   10 Seed University:   Always competitive as a program and are making their way up to D2 this season. Lead by a Freshmen Ofeibea Dah with 9 goals and assists as well as Senior Sonja Anschutz. University will have to prove they belong in this bracket in the first round against Dublin and I think they will.   11 Seed Head-Royce   The tiny private school from Oakland are undefeated so far this season at 17-0-1. Freshmen Annie Kansas looks like a star in the making. However, they have never seen competition like the teams they are going to face in this tournament. Would be a cinderella run if they can keep their undefeated season in tact.   12 seed Terra Linda:   Lead by Rachel Diaz and Josie Quinby Terra Linda may be on Upset Alert in their first game against Marin Academy. Diaz has scored 12 goals and passed for 13 assists while Quinby has score 15 goals and has dished out 8 assists. They sit at 9-6-3 and look to of had a very up and down season this year.   13 seed Granada:   The public school from Livermore are lead by Senior Elle Eichenberg and Sophomore Jazmine Angel. They sit at 7-4-7 and face a very difficult first round game against Urban. And I think it ends their for them.   14 seed College Park:   With a very curious record College Park sit at 3-7-9. I'm not sure how you get into the playoffs with that record let alone a Division 2 competition. Regardless the Falcons who are lead by Junior Sophia Voorhies who has scored 9 goals so far this season will look to shock the soccer world in this tournament.   15 seed Cardinal Newman:   With a losing record at 7-10-1 Cardinal Newman don't look poised to win this thing. However, historically the Cardinals (very clever) are a very good program and I think that always make a team a threat in the postseason. They are going up against a very good Branson side unfortunately and I think their season ends early.   16 Seed Salesian:   Sneaking in to Division 2 this season is Salesian. They have a freshmen sensation in Julianna Campos who has scored a whopping 32 goals and 2 assists this season. Salesian have a great record at 12-1-1 although they have not faced a team quite like Marin Academy this season. If Campos wants to make a claim for Freshmen of the year she will have to perform well in this one.   Predictions   First Round:   Marin Academy 4 Salesian 2   Clayton Valley Charter 2 Foothill 3   Urban 3 Granada 1   Marin Catholic 1 Terra Linda 2   Branson 4 Cardinal Newman 1   Dublin 1 University 1 (University advances on pens)   Sonoma Academy 2 College Park 0   Campolindo 2 Head-Royce 2 (Campo advances on pens)   QUARTER-FINALS   Marin Academy 3 Foothill 1   Urban 3 Terra Linda 2   Branson 3 University 1   Sonoma Academy 0 Campolindo 1   SEMI-FINALS   Marin Academy 2 Urban 2 (Urban advances on pens)   Branson 4 Campolindo 2   CHAMPIONSHIP   Branson 3 Urban 0

There are some interesting story lines in the Division 2 bracket this year. Some massive schools are in (Foothill, Granada, Dublin) and some really small schools (Head Royce, Urban) are in as well. It will be interesting to see if some of the bigger schools end up facing the smaller schools to see how the teams compare. Here is a little bit about each team and where I see the tournament going.