Sac-Joaquin boys DI, DII finals a Clash of Titans

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Division I and II boys finals in the Sac-Joaquin Section should be absolute doozies. All four programs involved are cream of the crop programs, which have recent history as well as a past history to lean on in terms of their impact on high school soccer in Northern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Division I features the defending SJS and NorCal State champs Whitney as they face a perennial powerhouse in Davis. The two faced-off in early December and fittingly finished in an explosive 3-3 draw. Both teams were highly ranked in the most recent PrepSoccer State rankings (Davis No. 8, Whitney No. 11) as this is set up to be an epic matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division II, defending SJS champs Rio Americano is back in the finals as the Raiders take on a team that is synonymous with excellence in Sacramento in Jesuit, a team that has many Section title banners hanging. Rio Americano entered the playoffs ranked No. 2 in the State of California. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaleb Afsari, Jesuit, Senior, Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Afsari is committed to USF and is the driving force in the midfield. He is very creative and is hard for teams to stop when he's moving forward. He has three goals and three assists in this playoff run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andy Collins, Rio Americano, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collins can score in a variety of ways, but what he does best is makes runs behind the defense and puts himself into good positions to score. Once there, he finishes very well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='7389' first='Darius' last='Dukes'], Whitney, Senior, Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dukes, who plays ECNL for the Placer United 04/05 team, has had a nice run in the playoffs. He's got three goals and two assists and has been controlling the midfield and connecting in all three phases of play. He has been finding the space and matchups where the team has an advantage and putting himself and his teammates in those areas or places to be successful. He has 16 assists this year and also has 11 goals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>JJ Guerra, Davis, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guerra is a left-footed No. 11 who is great going down the left side, but is good with both feet. He has a lot of speed and ability to get around defenders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MJ Guilherme Gilles, Jesuit, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guilherme-Gilles is having a great playoff run with seven goals and three assists. He is an attacking player with great feet and a great ability to finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nate Heron, Rio Americano, Senior, Keeper</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heron is a big keeper who is a big presence. He makes very timely saves and can really deflate an opponent's confidence. He's really an excellent shot stopper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryan Lee, Jesuit, Senior, Central Defender</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lee has meant a lot to this team as a senior and to the program. He has been a stalwart defender all season long and on top of that he is excellent going forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='8152' first='Lucas' last='Liu'], Davis, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liu is part of the excellent Davis front line. As the No 7, he comes down the right side with pace and power and puts heavy pressure on the defenders. He's very good at putting the ball away when he gets an opportunity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='75351' first='Quinn' last='Mahoney'], Rio Americano, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mahoney has been the leader for the Raiders all season long. He has an unparalleled ability to score and create goals. He's such a force for the Raiders and has been their talisman all season. He is committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryan McAdam, Whitney, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of only two players on the Whitney roster to not play club, but he is playing Division I lacrosse next season. In three playoff games he has eight goals, so clearly he has the ability and could play high level club soccer if he desired. He is doing a good job of finding pockets of space to connect in the buildup and then creating the little bit of space he needs to finish. He was excellent this year with 22 goals and also had five assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everett Shanklin, Whitney, Junior, Holding Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shanklin is a true No. 6, and what that means most times is that when a defensive mid is doing their job, they go unnoticed. He's been incredible this season at disrupting attacks and blowing things up that opponents are trying to build. He also serves as a pivot, meaning he can control and dictate play, and switch the point of attack quickly with his passing ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='8674' first='Simon' last='Vaca-Lorenzi'], Davis, Senior, Striker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sacramento State commit generally plays as the No. 9 for the Blue Devils but he is a versatile player that is dynamic and explosive. He is excellent at going at defenders, and he not only scores goals, but is great about setting up his teammates. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='7305' first='Cody' last='Wagner'], Whitney, Sophomore, Forward/Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wagner, the Placer United 07 ECNL player, has had a nice run of form in the playoffs with three goals and four assists. He's working well with the wide players with combination play and getting himself where he needs to be. He's good at identifying a potential 1v1 matchup that he can win and will take advantage of those in the final third. His ability to do that has led to 12 goals and 11 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='7213' first='Caleb' last='Yoon'], Davis, Senior, Holding Midfielder</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yoon provides more than meets the eye for the Blue Devils. He provides leadership and 100 percent effort from the No. 6 spot, and he provides the mentality that others follow which is show up every day and work hard. He's very good defensively, but he can transition and play offense as he has a great ability to spray balls all over the pitch and help Davis move forward quickly. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Danny Yoon, Whitney, Senior, Forward</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yoon plays on the 04/05 Placer United ECNL team with Dukes and has set his teammates up so far in these playoffs. He's had four assists to go with a goal. He has taken on that role as a facilitator since he is getting so much attention from defenses. He's been good at inviting the pressure and then finding his teammates in space. He scored six goals on the season and had seven assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->