Top 5 Goals – NorCal High Schools, Part 1

<p><strong>Featuring some top-level goals from the Winter Soccer season in Northern California</strong></p>   <p><strong>USE THE PROMO CODE almasin30 for a discount on your first subscription</strong></p>   <p>Here's Part 1 of the Top 5 Goals of the 2025-2026 boys high school soccer in the Bay Area, CA. The first half of the winter soccer season consisted of tournament and non-league matches.  There are basically 3 levels of competition, with the top level listed as “A Leagues,” followed by B and C.  The opportunity for the lower league teams to get a chance to play teams in the higher divisions can be rewarding, which makes for some exciting soccer.</p>   <p>Most of the scorers on this edition play club soccer, with a few of them playing at its highest level (MLS Next).  The above-average fan will easily figure out which players I'm referencing based on their skill level.</p>   <p>The first two goals were from Piedmont Hills forwards Franko Gonzalez and Ilijah Galban.  Harker High School in San Jose, CA, played its first match of the season at home against Piedmont Hills High School, also from San Jose.  Harker had an overall 9-8-1 record last season, while going 7-7 in league play for a 4th place finish.  Many of the players are multi-sport athletes and may not necessarily have soccer as their main sport, but they look really athletic, and some of the players may choose to put soccer in their collegiate career.  Franko's goal came from their next match during tournament play against A-Division Willow Glen High School. Piedmont Hills showed that their B-Division standing didn't matter as they tied WG 1-1 in that match.</p>   <p><strong>Goal #1 - Franko Gonzalez - 2026 - Forward - Piedmont Hills High School</strong></p>   <p>He scored the first goal of the match against Harker. His ability to find open spots in the 18 is where he is most dangerous. In the two matches I've covered him, he scored once in both and had a few more that were close to getting in. Franko has a good touch and can make quick one-two passes to get by defenders. He is patient with his shots and has a good follow-through technique. With his style of play and skill sets, he should be getting looks from scouts at the next level. His goal against Willow Glen was off a deflected shot, and he was “Johnny-on-the-spot” to level the score 1-1.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">He scored the first goal of the match against Harker. His ability to find open spots in the 18 is where he is most dangerous. In the two matches I've covered him, he scored once in both and had a few more that were close to getting in. Franko has a good touch and can make quick one-two passes to get by defenders. He is patient with his shots and has a good follow-through technique. With his style of play and skill sets, he should be getting looks from scouts at the next level. His goal against Willow Glen was off a deflected shot, and he was “Johnny-on-the-spot” to level the score 1-1.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1997886911290192363?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>Goal #2 - Ilijah Galban - 2027 - Forward - Piedmont Hills High School</strong></p>   <p>Ilijah had one of the best goals I've seen in a while. Definitely worthy of an ESPN highlight reel. The 40-yard-plus shot was nearly perfect, as he received the pass outside the box before shaking off a few defenders to get him some breathing room. Once he saw an opening, he knew exactly what to do. He also showed great ball control, quick cuts, and found open pockets. Ilijah also had other scoring opportunities, with one just pinging off of the crossbar. He will be a player scouts should be looking at.  His calm demeanor, high-level dribbling skills, and ability to finish from range will get him to the next level.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Ilijah had one of the best goals I've seen in a while. Definitely worthy of an ESPN highlight reel. The 40-yard-plus shot was nearly perfect, as he received the pass outside the box before shaking off a few defenders to get him some breathing room. Once he saw an opening, he knew exactly what to do. He also showed great ball control, quick cuts, and found open pockets. Ilijah also had other scoring opportunities, with one just pinging off of the crossbar. He will be a player scouts should be looking at.  His calm demeanor, high-level dribbling skills, and ability to finish from range will get him to the next level.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1997888718208905607?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>Goal #3 comes from Reed Sunwoo of Menlo School.  The Menlo School Knights in Atherton, CA, are the runners-up to the 2025 Central Coast Section (CCS) Division II boys championship.  They had an overall 16-4-3 record last season, while going 12-1-1 in league play for the 1st place finish in the West Bay League.  They had an amazing run and lost in an exciting penalty shootout to Hillsdale High School in the final.  They looked when facing off with another A-Division team, and I believe they are looking to do one better this time around. Sunwoo's corner kick goal was spot-on.  Hitting the inside of the back post was simply epic.  The tall players from both teams made the goalpost look small, but with the slightest of margins, Reed was able to magically bend it like Beckham for the opening goal of the match.</p>   <p><strong>Goal #3 - Reed Sunwoo - 2026 - Midfielder - Menlo High School</strong></p>   <p>He scored Goal #1 for the Menlo Knights with an almost perfect corner kick. The bending kick to the far post was worthy of a Bend It Like Beckham award. It went just over the top of the goalkeeper and bent back towards the goal, hitting the inside post. His top-level serves throughout the match almost added a few more points on the board. This level of skill should definitely get him to the next level. Reed also made quick and precise passes in the attacking third while finding players in open pockets. Very calculative in his corner kick calls and delivery. He is definitely going to be an asset to any collegiate team, just based on his ability to turn every corner kick into a high-percentage scoring opportunity.</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">He scored Goal #1 for the Menlo Knights with an almost perfect corner kick. The bending kick to the far post was worthy of a Bend It Like Beckham award. It went just over the top of the goalkeeper and bent back towards the goal, hitting the inside post. His top-level serves throughout the match almost added a few more points on the board. This level of skill should definitely get him to the next level. Reed also made quick and precise passes in the attacking third while finding players in open pockets. Very calculative in his corner kick calls and delivery. He is definitely going to be an asset to any collegiate team, just based on his ability to turn every corner kick into a high-percentage scoring opportunity.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1998887817439793465?s=20 </div></figure>   <p>The next two goals come from the Silicon Valley Cup tournament. The founder/director of the cup is an old-time Bay Area fixture. Luis Comesana, a veteran of 33 years at Homestead and now the Branham Boys Varsity coach, has brought his experience as a tournament director to form the Silicon Valley Cup. I knew Coach Comesana back in the day when I coached the Prospect High School boys team at the Homestead Cup. A lot of players through the years were featured and got the exposure needed to get to the next level, purely on his tournaments.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2004282406690607410?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>Goal #4 - Toma Iwase - 2026 - Attacking Mid - Milpitas High School</strong></p>   <p>His goal was simply electrifying. Once he received the ball on the right wing, the crowd started cheering his name. His cutback to the right opened up a spot for him to chip the ball from his left foot into the upper far inside post. It was clearly a top-level score, both literally and figuratively. Throughout the match he won most challenges on the right wing and made strong crosses to players in the box. His dribbling skills are also top-level. When paired with his speed and ability to turn on a dime, he can get by defenders in a heartbeat. </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">His goal was simply electrifying. Once he received the ball on the right wing, the crowd started cheering his name. His cutback to the right opened up a spot for him to chip the ball from his left foot into the upper far inside post. It was clearly a top-level score, both literally and figuratively. Throughout the match he won most challenges on the right wing and made strong crosses to players in the box. His dribbling skills are also top-level. When paired with his speed and ability to turn on a dime, he can get by defenders in a heartbeat. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2001128646254456854?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>Goal #5 - [player_tooltip player_id='335380' first='Anthony' last='Garcia'] - 2028 - Midfielder - North Salinas High School</strong></p>   <p>He has a strong presence in the middle, as he made clean tackles on defense and provided height and technical skills up top. His goal came off of a crossing rebound. The quick one-touch shot froze the goalkeeper as he sent it to the right side post. Anthony also made quick and precise passes to players in open pockets and found players making overlapping runs to the box. He won most of the 50/50 challenges and excelled as a box-to-box player. Definitely a player scouts should be looking at. </p>    <p class="text-gray-700">He has a strong presence in the middle, as he made clean tackles on defense and provided height and technical skills up top. His goal came off of a crossing rebound. The quick one-touch shot froze the goalkeeper as he sent it to the right side post. Anthony also made quick and precise passes to players in open pockets and found players making overlapping runs to the box. He won most of the 50/50 challenges and excelled as a box-to-box player. Definitely a player scouts should be looking at. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/1999918384658694418?s=20 </div></figure>

Featuring some top-level goals from the Winter Soccer season in Northern California