Here’s a closer look at where things stand across the region’s soccer leagues at the end of nonleague play.
It was a banner season last winter for boys soccer teams, with two North Bay squads bringing home North Coast Section titles.
Ukiah and Cardinal Newman will look to defend their NCS championships in Divisions 3 and 4, respectively. The Cardinal and Wildcats will also be league foes this year in the North Bay League Oak division, which should provide some exciting matches in the coming weeks.
With Ukiah being elevated to the Oak division, the NBL-Redwood title race could feature multiple teams jostling for position. League matches in the Oak and Redwood are set to start this week.
The Vine Valley Athletic League, which just completed its first week of league action, should also see a competitive multiteam race. Vintage and Napa look to be the early favorites, but Petaluma and Casa Grande should make each week interesting.
Here’s a closer look at where things stand across the region’s soccer leagues at the end of nonleague play.
Most league coaches believe that the NBL-Oak race will come down to Cardinal Newman and Ukiah. Windsor could be a dark horse and while Maria Carrillo, Rancho Cotate and Montgomery are sure to be tough outs, they each lost a lot of key players to graduation last year.
The Cardinals return reigning league MVP Nate Lubega and three of their four first-team all-league players. Jude Stone, the lone exception to that group, is not suiting up for Newman this year as he had the opportunity to play for a high-level club team associated with the Oakland Roots this winter.
Even without Stone, the Cardinals return most of their impact players from last year’s team that won the North Coast Section Division 4 title and was the NorCal Division 3 runner-up. They’re off to a 3-1-2 start and played one of the hardest nonleague schedules in the NCS.
Ukiah, the reigning NCS Division 3 champion and NorCal Division 3 semifinalist, jumps up from the NBL-Redwood. The Wildcats return a few major impact players — highlighted by Rios Munoz and Adrian Vasquez — and have started the year 8-0-1 with a 27-7 scoring differential.
Windsor has also gotten off to a stellar start at 8-2-1, including a 3-1 win over reigning NCS Division 2 champion Las Lomas. The Jaguars boast one of the top offensive players in the county in junior Yahir Trejo, who has 10 goals and seven assists in nine games.
Cardinal Newman and Ukiah are set for their first of two league meetings this Friday at Cardinal Newman.
Analy will be looking to defend its league title but will face some stiff competition from several teams. Piner, Elsie Allen and Healdsburg all had strong showings in nonleague play.
The Tigers graduated eight of their nine all-league players, including league MVP Elliot Meechan, but haven’t missed a beat to start the 2024-25 season. They’re 5-2-2 heading into league play this week.
Piner, which dropped down from the Oak division, played a tough nonleague schedule and already has five ties, including in their last four matches — three of which came against NBL-Oak teams. The Prospectors have a 16-7 scoring differential heading into league play this week and are coming off ties against Rancho Cotate (1-1) and Montgomery (0-0).
Elsie Allen also faced some tough competition in nonleague, including a handful of NBL-Oak teams. The Lobos have a 0-0 draw against Montgomery and a 1-1 tie with Maria Carrillo on their resume so far and return three of their four all-league players from last year.
Healdsburg has started the year strong at 5-4-2, a record which includes a 3-1 win over Windsor — the Greyhounds’ first win over the Jaguars since 2006. Healdsburg was also challenged in nonleague play and should be a tough team for any opponent.
Vintage and Napa established themselves as the early front-runners with strong nonleague showings, but the first week of league play last week provided a few surprising results. Most notable was Petaluma’s 3-0 upset of the Grizzlies in what was the first win of the season for the Trojans.
After the first week of play, Vintage was 1-0, Casa Grande was 2-0-1, Petaluma was 1-0-1 and Napa was 2-1. The Crushers still look like the early favorite in the league race, but we’ll find out for sure when they face Napa for the first time this season in Tuesday night’s game.
Casa Grande, a historically strong program, is under new leadership this year after Jordan Schlau and Kevin Richardson stepped down at the end of last season. The Gauchos also graduated all six of their all-league players from last year, including league Co-MVP Hugo Rodriguez, Co-Offensive Player of the Year Sammy Coopersmith and Defensive Player of the Year Hayden Holbrook.
Opposing coaches have all walked away from matches against Roseland University Prep impressed with the Knights’ talent and toughness. RUP challenged itself in nonleague play, facing three teams from both the NBL-Redwood and NBL-Oak. The Knights head into North Central League I play this week at 2-2-2 and as the team many expect to bring home the league title.
Mateo Cortez, Jr., Analy
Nathan Lubega, Sr., Cardinal Newman
Nacio Gutierrez, Jr., Cardinal Newman
Saul Cuellar, Jr., Cardinal Newman
Giovanni Dimauro, Sr., Cardinal Newman
Erik Hernandez, Jr., Casa Grande
Alex Maravilla, Jr., Elsie Allen
Nicolace Avalos, Sr., Elsie Allen
Maica Rivas, Sr., Maria Carrillo
Nathan Arendt, Jr., Maria Carrillo
Carson Hubenette, Sr., Maria Carrillo
Miles Bergum, Sr., Montgomery
Gio Cannella, Sr., Montgomery
Salvador Gutierres, Jr., Napa
Giovanni Flores-Leon, Sr., Piner
Santiago Valadez, Piner
Grevin DeShazer, So., Rancho Cotate
Luis Angel Guzman, Sr., Roseland University Prep
Miguel Valenzuela, Sr., Roseland University Prep
John Flores, Jr., Roseland University Prep
Manny Vargas, Sr., Santa Rosa
Griffin Brophy, Sr., Sonoma Valley
Ian McCampbell, Jr., Rancho Cotate
Rios Munoz, Jr., Ukiah
Adrian Vasquez, Jr., Ukiah
James Rodrigue, Sr., Ukiah
Henry Drozdowicz, Jr., Vintage
Jose Ramirez, Sr., Vintage
James Stuart, Sr., Vintage
Danny Lopez, Sr., Windsor
Yahir Trejo, Jr., Windsor
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
