Boys: Is this Clayton Valley Charter’s year?
Clayton Valley Charter went unbeaten during the regular season, making the Concord school an easy choice for the No. 1 seed in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs. Aside from going 9-0-3 in Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division play, the Ugly Eagles also claimed wins over playoff teams Vintage, Foothill, James Logan and Berkeley. Clayton Valley (17-0-3) knows how to survive the close ones as 11 of its 17 victories are by one-goal margins. The Ugly Eagles also appear to have avoided the tougher side of the bracket, where six East Bay Athletic League teams reside. Should it advance past No. 16 seed Heritage, Clayton Valley will play the winner of No. 8 Freedom and No. 9 Berkeley in the next round.
Girls: EBAL continues to flex its muscle
For the second straight year, five of the top six teams in Division I hail from the EBAL. Carondelet is the No. 1 seed, followed by San Ramon Valley, Amador Valley and Monte Vista. Berkeley from the West Alameda County Conference is the No. 5 seed, and then another EBAL school, California, rounds out the top six. Foothill of the EBAL is the No. 9 seed. Two other schools from the EBAL, Livermore and Dougherty Valley, are in Division II. Granada and Dublin were the only EBAL teams to not make the playoffs.
Boys: De La Salle has a tough road to repeating
De La Salle enters the NCS Division I playoffs in a much different spot than last year. The Spartans were seeded sixth Sunday. Last season, they were the No. 1 seed en route to capturing the section championship. It’s not hard to see why the Concord powerhouse dropped. The Spartans went 3-3 down the stretch this season to finish third in the East Bay Athletic League, behind champion Dougherty Valley and runner-up Monte Vista, a team that looms in the quarterfinals. De La Salle opens the playoffs Wednesday at home against No. 11 San Ramon Valley, an opponent the Spartans beat 2-0 this season. If De La Salle advances, the road to a repeat will likely require multiple victories on the road, possibly against not only Monte Vista but also No. 2 seed Dougherty Valley.
Girls: Looking ahead
Defending Division I champion and No. 1 seed Carondelet has a first-round bye, but there are still plenty of strong teams in action. No. 14 Heritage at No. 3 Amador Valley could be competitive, with Heritage entering the playoffs with on a five-match win streak. Early in the season, Heritage lost three consecutive matches to EBAL teams by one goal each. Division II’s No. 1 seed Acalanes, led by senior Jacque Peacock’s 11 goals, was the runner-up in Division III last season. Its first-round matchup will not be easy, as Washington-Fremont scored 61 goals and tied matches against Division I’s No. 13 seed, James Logan, and Division II teams Newark Memorial and Livermore. If No. 7 seed College Park, which has a nine-match unbeaten streak, defeats No. 10 Castro Valley, the Pleasant Hill school could face second-seeded San Ramon Valley in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Boys: Looking ahead
A possible quarterfinal between De La Salle and Monte Vista on Saturday could be one of the best matches of the entire playoff. The defending champions are probably eager to face their EBAL rivals, given how Monte Vista won the last match between the teams: a 4-0 rout on Feb. 2 … No. 12 James Logan could make a deep run if it gets past No. 5 Vintage in Division I. The Colts have two explosive threats on offense. Taj Gil has has 14 goals and Ricky Butron has 10 assists. … In Division II, No. 5 Bishop O’Dowd hosts No. 12 Livermore, a team that may be better than its record indicates. Livermore ended its EBAL schedule on a three-match win streak, and also beat Division II playoff team Alameda this season. In Division IV, No. 4 St. Mary’s-Berkeley might be peaking at the right time. The Panthers defeated Richmond, the No. 2 seed Division II, 1-0 to finish the regular season. The path to the final could include a semifinal at top-seeded Cardinal Newman.
Boys and girls: Scheduling notes
In the boys and girls brackets, Divisions II and III begin on Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals on Friday. Divisions I and IV start Wednesday, with the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Source: www.mercurynews.com