Competitive races are expected in the region’s three biggest leagues.
As North Bay League play kicks off this week in girls soccer, it’s high time to take a look around the North Bay region at what we learned from nonleague action so far this season.
The NBL Oak and Redwood divisions should each feature competitive league races, as should the Vine Valley Athletic League, which started league play a week prior.
Last season was the first since 2018 that a local girls team did not bring home a North Coast Section title, but as the 2024-25 season hits the midway point, a few teams appear poised to correct that this coming postseason.
Here’s a closer look at the races among the local leagues and which teams could be the last standing in the playoffs next month.
The league race could be very competitive this year, as a few teams emerged from nonleague play looking like legit contenders.
Cardinal Newman is coming off a runner-up finish in the North Coast Section Division 3 playoffs last year and is the defending league champion, but wins were hard to come in a challenging nonleague schedule. The Cardinals return five of nine all-league players from a year ago but enter league play this week with a 2-5 overall record.
Montgomery, meanwhile, will enter 6-3-1 even after a tough nonleague schedule. The Vikings, who return three of their five all-league players from last year, haven’t hit 10 wins in a season since 2019-20 but appear on their way to pass that mark this winter.
Ukiah could also be a contender this year. The Wildcats jumped up to the Oak division this year after consecutive 10-0 seasons in the Redwood and returned a ton of talent from last year’s 14-win team, including last year’s NBL-Redwood MVP Lillianne Thies and Defensive MVP Alivia Iversen. The Wildcats will open league play on Tuesday against Cardinal Newman in a match that could set the tone for the title race.
Analy could also be a team to keep an eye on. The Tigers have already equaled last season’s win total at 3-2-2 and ended nonleague play with a huge 2-0 win over Sonoma Academy, which defeated Cardinal Newman a week ago.
With Ukiah out of the picture, a few new teams could make a run at the league crown.
Healdsburg is in the midst of a massive resurgence and finished nonleague play undefeated at 10-0-2, with a 42-9 scoring differential.
Piner and Rancho Cotate look to be the two other main contenders. The Prospectors were runners-up to Ukiah last year and return five of their six all-league players, including all three first-team selections.
Rancho Cotate is still searching for its first win but played the toughest nonleague schedule of any of the Redwood teams.
After the first week of league play, the VVAL looks to be a two-team race between Casa Grande and Petaluma.
The Vintage Crushers positioned themselves as the early contender to unseat the three-time defending champion Gauchos after opening league play with wins over Petaluma (2-0) and Sonoma Valley (3-2). Vintage may have graduated three first-team all-league players, including the Offensive Player of the Year in Sofia Reiswig, but returned two rising stars in sophomore Liberty Truchard and junior Maia Goss, both second-team selections last year.
Casa Grande has yet to lose this winter and boast solid wins over Maria Carrillo (2-1) and Ukiah (5-2). The Gauchos are a bit on the younger side this year after graduating four of their six all-league players but return one of the top offensive players in the county in junior Bailey Guerrero.
While it dropped two of its first three league games, Petaluma could give Casa Grande and Vintage a challenge in their second meetings of league play later this year.
Like they’ve been the last three years, Sonoma Academy will be the team to beat in the North Central League I. The Coyotes are 26-0 in league play over the past three seasons and are off to a 4-2-1 start this winter with a marquee win over Cardinal Newman (2-1) last week.
Sonoma Academy won 16 games last year and returns eight of its nine all-league players, including reigning Co-MVP Kate Bruntlett.
Giselle White, Jr., Analy
Sofia Kerrigan, Jr., Cardinal Newman
Bella D’Amico, Jr., Cardinal Newman
Siena Roy, Sr., Cardinal Newman
Bailey Guerrero, Jr., Casa Grande
Amy Oros, Jr., Elsie Allen
Julia Dolph, Sr., Healdsburg
June Sullivan, Fr., Healdsburg
Vanessa Castro, Jr., Healdsburg
Madeleine Munselle, Sr., Healdsburg
Bella Fernandez, Jr., Justin-Siena
Kalli Cho, Sr., Maria Carrillo
Sloane Crocker, Jr., Maria Carrillo
Sienna Pierre, Jr., Montgomery
Jasmine Mansfield, Sr., Montgomery
Brooklyn Smith, So., Montgomery
Grace Forney, Sr., Petaluma
Brianna Hlebakos, Jr., Petaluma
Kaitlyn Kensinger, Jr., Petaluma,
Gabriel Mendoza, Sr., Petaluma,
Sierra Olvera, Sr., Piner
Atiana Santoyo, Sr., Piner
Kamila Olvera, So., Piner
Olivia Hannon, Sr., Rancho Cotate
Sophia Santana, Sr., Santa Rosa
Elaina Bruntlett, So., Sonoma Academy
Kate Bruntlett, Sr., Sonoma Academy
Kate Bilal, So., Sonoma Academy
Dahli Scanlon, So., Sonoma Academy
Brianna Jurasek, Jr., Sonoma Valley
Lillianne Thies, Jr., Ukiah
Alivia Iversen, Sr., Ukiah
Allie Iversen, Sr., Ukiah
Molly Huff, Jr., Ukiah
Addison Huff, Jr., Ukiah
Gabriella Damian, Jr., Ukiah
Maia Goss, Jr., Vintage
Liberty Truchard, So., Vintage
You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.
