East Bay Athletic League 2022 Valley Division Girls Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you'd like an idea of how good the East Bay Athletic League is on the girls side, then here is some perspective for you. The California High girls team has five (yes, five) college commits, four of them going to Division I programs. This team reached the North Coast Section Division I final and got moved down from the Mountain to the Valley Division. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Valley also includes Granada, the No. 16 seed last year that beat top-seeded Monte Vista, and Foothill which earned the No. 13 seed and flexed the league's power by upsetting No. 4 Tamalpais. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The EBAL is loaded and being in the Valley Division is not a Scarlet Letter. In fact, there is very little difference between the Mountain and Valley Divisions this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":64063,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/11/Iliana-Casiano.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64063"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Jason Weed</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>California</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Right out of the gate we start with the Cal High Grizzlies. As mentioned in the open, this team is loaded with talent with four seniors in Regan Stiner, Leah Sulzberg, Iliana Casiano and Alyssa Houlihan all having committed to college programs. Stiner is heading to UC Santa Barbara, Sulzberg to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Casiano to the University of Alabama and Houlihan is going to Sonoma State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oh ya, and let's not forget about the standout junior keeper, Layla Armas, who was first-team all-EBAL last year as a sophomore and has verbally committed to UCLA. Cal might also have the second best keeper in the Valley Division (maybe the whole league) with junior Emily Ellicott who is also excellent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stiner is a standout midfielder, who can do it all, Sulzberg is a goal scoring attacker, either playing as a forward or behind the striker, Casiano is another talented goal-scoring forward and Houlihan is another excellent forward. This team will not lack for creative options.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The roster has 12 returning seniors (and also three more that are currently injured) and with the exception of one freshman on the roster, every other player (seniors and juniors) played and contributed last season. This team has talent and experience and is going to be an absolute force not only in the Valley, but in Division I. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The program is excited to get the season going under the tutelage of new head coach Nina Cefalo and new assistant coach Luis Siu, as well as previous coaches on the staff in Mandy Gomez and Heather Kirschke.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team consists of players from clubs all over the 680 corridor (Rage, Mustang, San Ramon) and all that talent is coming together this high school season to form what should be a formidable foe for any team they play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dougherty Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats joined Cal in moving down from the Mountain to the Valley, and had an interesting season. They were winless in the EBAL, but had five draws in the league and were 3-1-0 outside of league play, which demonstrates how tough this league is. They return a junior who was honorable mention all-EBAL a season ago in Temi Okeowo, who is a forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Foothill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Foothill finished third in the Valley last year, just missing out on moving up to the Mountain, and entered the playoffs as a No. 13 seed and topped Tam before falling to Cal in penalties in the quarterfinals. The Falcons should be tough again as they only allowed eight goals in 15 games a year ago. They had 10 underclassmen on the varsity last year, and return senior keeper Katelyn Guerra.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Granada</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After their upset of top-seeded Monte Vista in the NCS playoffs last year, the Mats almost went on to win the quarterfinal game in the next round. At 2-2-2 outside of EBAL play against tough opponents, Granada showed the strength of the league. The Matadors return 11 underclassmen, but lost four all-league seniors and will need new players to step up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Livermore</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A traditional powerhouse, the Cowboys went winless in the EBAL last year. But don't expect that to happen again. They were the youngest team in the league last year, with only two seniors, so they return a lot of players who gained valuable experience. They took their lumps last year and are ready to dish them out this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='20339' first='Zoe' last='Franks'] returns for Livermore after she missed her junior season with injury. Livermore also returns [player_tooltip player_id='19402' first='Eva' last='Torrico'], a junior defensive center mid who is in her third varsity season, and she stabilizes the midfield. Watch out also for Adriana Paneda, a very quick player who can play in the attacking front, or move back and help defensively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->