2026-2027 CIF Girls High School Soccer NorCal – Preseason Top 10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top-level, nationally ranked teams and USYNT players are ready for another year of prep soccer.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>USE THE PROMO CODE almasin30 for a discount on your first subscription</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Winter 2026-2027 high school soccer season is merely a couple of months away.&nbsp; Top-tier teams are hoping their 2028s are making their commitments soon or have already locked in their college pick.&nbsp; Many coaches, even myself, will have a sigh of relief as the players get to choose whether they will do one or even two more years to compete and put their future college careers on the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although most club coaches would rather the players sit out, even if they have already made their commitments, some take it upon themselves to play their last or final two seasons with their best friends.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Given the opportunity to rest and prepare for their next level of their soccer journey, some feel the need to take the leap of faith and commit themselves to the ups and downs of high school soccer.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Along with the risk of injuries, they know that they could also elevate their status through exposure and recognition.&nbsp; Who knows, this group of 2028's from the NorCal region has some of the best players in the state as well as in the nation.&nbsp; USYNT players are in abundance, and one particular team has at least 4 players in the USYNT pool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's right, without further ado, my pick for the #1 team coming into this winter season's NorCal Top 10 list is the Saint Francis Lancers.&nbsp; The team coached by Carlos Barboza is definitely the team to beat.&nbsp; Although they lost in the first round of the NorCals last season, they will be a force to be reckoned with as they return USYNT callups [player_tooltip player_id='111087' first='Anneliese' last='Braun'] (Texas), [player_tooltip player_id='111094' first='Sophia' last='Malloy'] (Colorado), [player_tooltip player_id='187366' first='Kiyomi' last='Yoshimura'] (Texas), and [player_tooltip player_id='199889' first='Tori' last='Williams'] (Texas).&nbsp; If that's not enough, they could also return [player_tooltip player_id='206664' first='Lynn' last='Byun'] (Arizona State) and [player_tooltip player_id='19465' first='Grier' last='Gowdy'] (West Virginia).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br>Without a doubt, the Lancers are stacked and ready for their quest in the ultimate prize of a state title.&nbsp; Coach Barboza's teams have won back-to-back NorCal titles, and although the inaugural state title was out of their reach last season, this could be the one where they are the last team standing.&nbsp; Last season, the Lancers went 19-2-1 overall, 11-01 (1st) in the league, and were ranked #13 in CA and #64 in the nation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Highlights -</strong> <strong>Saint Francis is up 3-0 at the half</strong> <strong>vs. St. Ignatius</strong>.&nbsp;The first goal came on the 14th.&nbsp; Two minutes later, it was #2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2026505760012906670?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2026505760012906670?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The number 2 team on my list is San Ramon Valley.&nbsp; I covered them in a few matches last season, and they always seemed to get better.&nbsp; Their team chemistry was what stood out the most.&nbsp; I saw them win a CCS section championship as well as play a close-fought match against Carondelet early in the season.&nbsp; They will return their star goalkeeper [player_tooltip player_id='111231' first='Emma' last='Henzi'] (California), [player_tooltip player_id='19123' first='Ashley' last='Dodson'] (Boston College), and [player_tooltip player_id='336411' first='Morgan' last='Van Puffelen']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Van Puffelen was named the MVP by scoring the golden goal as the San Ramon Valley Wolves captured the CIF NorCal Division 2 Championship against Ach Bishop Mitty.&nbsp; Last season, SRV went 17-3-2 overall, 5-2-2 (4th) in league.&nbsp; They ended the season as the #2 ranked team in CA and the #12 ranked in the nation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Highlights -</strong> <strong>Co-players of the match are [player_tooltip player_id='336411' first='Morgan' last='Van Puffelen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='111231' first='Emma' last='Henzi'] - </strong>CIF NorCal Division 2 Championship</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2030445183205322965?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BayAreaSocScout/status/2030445183205322965?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was mainly due to them getting hot at the tail end of the playoffs by winning a Division 2 CCS section championship and a Division 2 State Title.&nbsp; This team could easily take the top spot if they start the way they left off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On my second edition of this preseason list, I will go over the other teams in contention and highlight some of the key players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Rankings - 2026-2027&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1. Saint Francis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2. San Ramon Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3. Buchanan</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4. Cardinal Newman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5. Bishop O'Dowd</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6. Archbishop Mitty</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7. Los Gatos</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8. Carondelet</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9. Vista Del Lago</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10. St. Ignatius</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>—-</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>11. Amador Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>12. Salinas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->