Just in case you missed them, here are The Press Democrat's All-Empire soccer selections for the 2008-09 high school season.
The picks for the MVPs and the 1st and 2nd teams were made by our staff with input from coaches around the Empire.
There were multiple choices in all of the MVP races, but we decided to limit it to one, rather than co-MVPs on any of the four teams.
We also, for the most part, placed what we considered as the top players at their positions, not necessarily the best 11 players regardless of position. We felt that made it a more meaningful team.
Following is our large-school boys team:

MVP: Zac Olson, Maria Carrillo, Sr., midfielder

Olson's energy was about as consistent as the Pumas' winning ways.
Led by Olson's frenetic pace " not to mention his five goals and four assists " Maria Carrillo went 20-0-3 and won its second North Coast Section title in the past three years.
Olson is expected to play at Sonoma State.
"He had an incredible work rate," Pumas coach Mike Mastin said. "He just would not stop during practice and games. In soccer, we call guys like Zac box-to-box players. He really ran from penalty box to penalty box."

First team

Goalie- Chris Hernandez, Windsor, Jr.
Forward- Kyle Marsh, Santa Rosa, Sr.
Forward- David Mendez, Windsor, Jr.
Forward- Cody Levar, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Midfielder- Austin Meyer, Maria Carrillo, Jr.
Midfielder- Octavio Estupinan, Montgomery, Sr.
Midfielder- Eric Bolen, Analy, Sr.
Defender- Riley Kovatch, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Defender- Andrew Owenson, Cardinal Newman, Jr.
Defender- Michael Powell, Casa Grande, Sr.
Defender- Hector Morales, Elsie Allen, Sr.

Second Team

Goalie- Chris Kelly, Montgomery, Soph.
Forward- Cortland Forsyth, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Forward- Taylor Varnadore, Analy, Jr.
Forward- Ricardo Flores, Sonoma Valley, Sr.
Midfielder- Nico Spann, Montgomery, Sr.
Midfielder- Tito Ramos, Windsor, Sr.
Midfielder- Joe Alexander-Short, Sonoma Valley, Jr.
Defender- P.J. Seiffert, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Defender- Zack Perry, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Defender- Bryan Jamero, Cardinal Newman, Sr.
Defender- Tyler Conner, Windsor, Soph.

Coach of the Year: Mike Mastin, Maria Carrillo

Just in case you missed them, here are The Press Democrat's All-Empire soccer selections for the 2008-09 high school season.
The picks for the MVPs and the 1st and 2nd teams were made by our staff with input from coaches around the Empire.
There were multiple choices in all of the MVP races, but we decided to limit it to one, rather than co-MVPs on any of the four teams.
We also, for the most part, placed what we considered as the top players at their positions, not necessarily the best 11 players regardless of position. We felt that made it a more meaningful team.
Following is our small-school boys team:

MVP: Edwin Meza, Calistoga, sr., forward

Meza scored a CIF-leading 50 goals to lead Calistoga to a 20-2-2 record and the NCL II title. Meza, the NCL II MVP, scored 55 goals as a junior. Calistoga lost to Branson, 3-2, in a double-overtime shootout loss in the NCS semifinals.
Meza will attend Jefferson College, a community college in Hillsboro, Mo. Jefferson won the mythical Division I junior college national championship in 2006.
"The second time around in league, Edwin would have three or four guys surrounding him," Calistoga coach Juan Carlos Garcia said. "Other teams didn't care if we scored, they just didn't want Edwin to score."

First team

Goalie: Hector Machuca, Roseland Prep, sr.
Forward: Sergio Gutierrez, Anderson Valley, so.
Forward: Jorge Mora, St. Helena, Jr.
Forward: Tyler Vichi, Fort Bragg, sr.
Midfielder: Mitchell Arroyo, Calistoga, so.
Midfielder: Gustavo Moreno, Roseland Prep, Sr.
Midfielder: Hugo Vargas, Calistoga, sr.
Defender: Alex Carlton, Mendocino, sr.
Defender: Domingo Ferreyra, Anderson Valley, jr.
Defender: Jairo Perez, Anderson Valley, sr.
Defender: Erick Ramos, Fort Bragg, sr.

Second Team

Daniel Almanza, St. Helena, sr., midfielder
Logan Baumgartner, Fort Bragg, sr., goalie
Diego Canales, Sonoma Academy, jr., midfielder
Darwin Cortez, Tomales, jr., forward
Daniel Cunnigham, St. Vincent, sr., defender-midfielder
Jose Estrada, Cloverdale, sr., midfielder
Tony Manzo, St. Helena, sr., defender
Kendall McIntosh, Sonoma Academy, fr., goalie
Nick Owen, Fort Bragg, sr., forward
Ivan Sanchez, Clear Lake, jr., defender-midfielder
Oscar Sanchez, Tomales, so., forward
Nestor Santillon, Point Arena, jr., midfielder

Coach of the Year: Juan Carlos Garcia, Calistoga

Just in case you missed them, here are The Press Democrat's All-Empire soccer selections for the 2008-09 high school season.
The picks for the MVPs and the 1st and 2nd teams were made by our staff with input from coaches around the Empire.
There were multiple choices in all of the MVP races, but we decided to limit it to one, rather than co-MVPs on any of the four teams.
We also, for the most part, placed what we considered as the top players at their positions, not necessarily the best 11 players regardless of position. We felt that made it a more meaningful team.
Following is our large-school girls team:

MVP - Christina Tognetti, Ursuline, Sr., forward

Tognetti, a four-year starter, was named the North Bay League MVP after leading the Bears to an 11-7 record and a spot in the North Coast Section semifinals.
She verbally committed to the University of San Diego, but is now looking at other schools, including St. Mary's.
Tognetti had 21 goals and seven assists for Ursuline.
"Christina had a unique ability to change a game because she was so dangerous up front," Ursuline coach John Gilson said. "Other teams reacted to her and it allowed us to do a lot of different things."

First Team

Goalie- Ashley Luis, Casa Grande, Jr.
Forward- Selam Solomon, Montgomery, Sr.
Forward- A.D. Bertoli, Ursuline, Sr.
Forward- Kirsten Hilbert, Petaluma, Sr.
Midfielder- Melissa Madrid, Casa Grande, Sr.
Midfielder- Carli Johnson, Maria Carrillo, Jr.
Midfielder- Michelle Flores, Maria Carrillo, Jr.
Defender- Ali Archer, Montgomery, Sr.
Defender- Taylor Gehring, Petaluma, Jr.
Defender- Taylor Derby, Casa Grande, Soph.
Defender- Haley Johnson, Maria Carrillo, Sr.

----------------------------

Second Team

Goalie- Megan Herring, Montgomery, Jr.
Forward- Kareli Rodriguez, Montgomery, Soph.
Forward- Elen Everidge, Sonoma Valley, Jr.
Forward- Sara Tosti, Maria Carrillo, Fr.
Midfielder- Lexi Humphrey, Rancho Cotate, Jr.
Midfielder- Natalee Simon, Petaluma, Jr.
Midfielder- Noelle LaPrevette, Casa Grande, Fr.
Defender- Emily Mitchell, Montgomery, Sr.
Defender- Lauren Polson, Maria Carrillo, Sr.
Defender- Lizzie Mitchell, Petaluma, Jr.
Defender- Julianne McFarlin, Santa Rosa, Jr.

Coach of the Year: Vinnie Cortezzo, Casa Grande

----------------------------------------

Just in case you missed them, here are The Press Democrat's All-Empire soccer selections for the 2008-09 high school season.
The picks for the MVPs and the 1st and 2nd teams were made by our staff with input from coaches around the Empire.
There were multiple choices in all of the MVP races, but we decided to limit it to one, rather than co-MVPs on any of the four teams.
We also, for the most part, placed what we considered as the top players at their positions, not necessarily the best 11 players regardless of position. We felt that made it a more meaningful team.
Following is our small-school girls team:

MVP: Lexie Nadeau, Sonoma Academy, jr., forward

Nadeau had 29 goals and 17 assists to lead Sonoma Academy to its second straight North Coast Section title. Nadeau had three goals in the NCS playoffs for the 18-2 Coyotes, including one in their 3-2 double-overtime against St. Vincent in the title game.
"She was probably the one player all year that seemingly every team tried to adjust to to shut her down," Sonoma Academy coach Chris Ziemer said. "For her to be involved in about 50 goals over the course of the season, that's pretty impressive."

First team

Goalie: Kelsey Welton, Middletown, sr.
Forward: Kate Bayes, Sonoma Academy, fr.
Forward: Natalia Surnojo, St. Vincent, so.
Forward: Sally Williams, Sonoma Academy, sr.
Midfielder: Katie Bruce, Fort Bragg, sr.
Midfielder: Ashley Cliver, Sonoma Academy, jr.
Midfielder: Danielle Garcia, St. Vincent, sr.
Defender: Bianca Farrow, Sonoma Academy, sr.
Defender: Anisa Green, Clear Lake, sr.
Defender: Sierra Nadeau, Sonoma Academy, jr.
Defender: Danielle Stave, St. Vincent, jr.

Second team

Lina Davis, Fort Bragg, goalie, jr.
Jackie Dixon, Fort Bragg, forward, sr.
Erica Greer, Rincon Valley Christian, defender, sr.
Lucero Guerrero, Roseland Prep, midfielder, sr.
Dawny Lee, Potter Valley, forward, sr.
Mae McAleavy, Sonoma Academy, goalie, jr.
Margie Muto, Mendocino, defender, jr.
Amanda Wisdom, Rincon Valley Christian, midfielder, sr.

Coach of the Year: Chris Ziemer, Sonoma Academy

Pat Sigler, a 2007 Cardinal Newman High grad, a Santa Rosa United and Sonoma County Alliance and Sonoma County Sol product, has received an invitation to join the U.S. Men's U-20 team in a training session from Dec. 15-22 at Sunset, Fla.

Pat is a redshirt freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and he just completed a stellar season with the Mustangs as a central defender.

Following is the complete press release from Cal Poly....but first...

Now, here is the rest of the story....as well as Pat has done so far, he might not even be the best soccer player in his family. That honor might go to older brother, CJ, a Newman and Cal Poly grad...

No, really, Pat might only be the third best player in the house, older sister Cat played at Ursuline and Notre Dame and Santa Clara and would probably run Pat ragged...

No, really, Pat might only be the fourth best player in the house, older sister Brittany played at Ursuline and SRJC and was much tougher on the pitch than Pat ever dreamed about!

Congrats to Pat and all the Siglers...

------

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. " Patrick Sigler was one of 26 players to receive an invitation to join the United States Men's National Team U-20 in their training camp in Sunset, Florida, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Monday morning.

The invitation was the first extended to a Cal Poly player in program history. The redshirt freshman center back will try out for a chance to make the U-20 player pool and a shot at eventually suiting up in the red, white and blue in 2009 World Cup qualifying matches.

"It's a huge honor. Playing for your country means a lot," Sigler said. "I'm going out to this training camp looking for experience and hopefully I can show well and represent not only myself but also Cal Poly and the great program have in San Luis Obispo."

The 26 invitees represent a mixture of professional, college and youth players. Nine will join the camp from the professional ranks, one from a youth academy and the remaining 16 from college. Sigler is the lone Big West Conference representative.

The eight-day camp, spanning Dec. 15 to Dec. 22, includes a heavy dose of training sessions as well as scrimmages against CONCACAF opponents Haiti (4:30 p.m. PT on Dec. 20) and Canada (7 a.m. PT on Dec. 22). If head coach Thomas Rongen and his staff like what they see from the Co-Big West Freshman of the Year and NSCAA All-West Region First Team selection, Sigler would earn an invite to the team's 2009 World Cup qualifying from Jan. 18-24 in Trinidad and Tobago.

The ultimate prize would be a spot on the active roster when the U.S. opens World Cup play in Egypt from September 19, 2009.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Patrick and he fully deserves to be given a run at this level," said third-year Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher. "He had a terrific year for Cal Poly and scored some big goals as a central-defender. He is continually learning as a player and he will no doubt come back a better, more mature player from this experience with the U-20 National Team and coach Thomas Rongen.

"One of our goals here at Cal Poly soccer is to become a program that does a good job of identifying and, more importantly, developing young players for our national programs and helping them reach new levels in their game," Holocher said.

Sigler scored five goals, all on set pieces, for the Mustangs in 2008. The former NSCAA High School All-American at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, Calif. also recorded an assist in Cal Poly's 3-1 win over Kentucky on Sept. 7. Sigler teamed with Eric Branagan-Franco (goalkeeper), Josh Didion, Cameron Walters and a mixture of Derek Brown and Daniel Gray at left back to allow just 23 goals in 23 games against one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Cal Poly played 11 matches against nationally ranked teams, three against

Sigler was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com College Team of the Week after heading in a pair in a 2-1 win at New Mexico on Sept. 14 and also earned CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week honors after helping hold then-No. 11 UCLA scoreless in a 1-0 NCAA Tournament win on Nov 21. In his match against the Bruins, Sigler won every 50-50 ball in the air and blocked a potential Bruin goal to preserve the clean sheet.

Cal Poly made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995 and advanced to the second round via a 1-0 win over UCLA on Nov. 21, the first College Cup win in program history. The Mustangs finished 11-6-6 overall and were 5-2-3 in Big West play, tied for second in the conference with UC Santa Barbara.

Large-school Men

1. Maria Carrillo (20-0-3)
One of the best teams ever? Maybe in the top 10.
2. Windsor (16-1-4)
Yes, Jags, you belonged in the final.
3. Montgomery (15-6-2)
Sweet season ended no a sour note.
4. Analy (16-5-3)
Tigers really were that good.
5. Sonoma Valley (12-4-5)
Dragons proved SCL wasn't weak at all.

OTHERS:

6. Elsie Allen
7. Cardinal Newman
8. Santa Rosa
9. Casa Grande
10. Petaluma
11. Healdsburg
12. Ukiah
13. El Molino
14. Rancho Cotate
15. Piner

-------------------------

Large-school Women

1. Casa Grande (19-1)
OK, it's Vinnie 2, NCS 0
2. Montgomery (19-4)
Unlucky? Certainly in the beginning.
3. Ursuline (11-7)
Long, unusual Bears' season.
4. Petaluma (14-6)
Mendes had Trojans in it to the very end.
5. Maria Carrillo (15-6)
Debra will them contending in '09.

OTHERS:

6. Santa Rosa
7. Sonoma Valley
8. Rancho Cotate
9. Windsor
10. Analy
11. El Molino
12. Piner
13. Healdsburg
14. Ukiah
15. Elsie Allen

Following are the first- and second-team all-North Bay League Boys Soccer selections for 2008 as picked by the eight coaches in the league.
Maria Carrillo midfielder Austin Meyer was named as the Most Valuable Player of the NBL while Montgomery head coach Mark Dunn was chosen as Coach of the Year.

NORTH BAY LEAGUE

2008 All-League Boy's Team

MVP: Austin Meyer, Maria Carrillo, Jr., midfielder

Coach of the Year: Mark Dunn, Montgomery

FIRST TEAM

Riley Kovatch, Maria Carrillo, Sr., defender
Cortland Forsyth, Maria Carrillo, Sr., forward
P.J. Seiffert, Maria Carrillo, Sr., defender
Zac Olson, Maria Carrillo, Sr., midfielder
Nicholas Spann, Montgomery, Sr., midfielder
Octavio Estupinan, Montgomery, Sr., midfielder
Chris Kelly, Montgomery, Soph., goalie
Hector Morales, Elsie Allen, Sr., defender
Luis Medina, Elsie Allen, Sr. defender
Leonardo Virelas, Elsie Allen, Sr., defender
Andrew Owenson, Cardinal Newman, Jr., defender
Bryan Jamero, Cardinal Newman, Sr., defender
Sergio Mosqueda, Ukiah, Sr., defender
Alex Reyes-Murillo, Ukiah, Jr., goalie
Kyle Marsh, Santa Rosa, Sr., forward
Jose Hernandez, Santa Rosa, Jr., forward
Will Paredes. Rancho Cotate, Sr., midfielder
Tyler Miramontez, Piner, Sr., def/forward .

SECOND TEAM

Zack Perry, Maria Carrillo, Sr., defender
Cody Levar, Maria Carrillo, Sr., forward
James Asena, Maria Carrillo, Jr., defender
Taylor Ramos, Maria Carrillo, Soph., midfielder
Diego Lopez, Montgomery, Frosh., forward/midfielder
Vincente Sosoa, Montgomery, Jr., midfielder
Zack Taylor, Montgomery, Jr., defender
Victor Sosa, Elsie Allen, Jr., forward
Jesus Garcia, Elsie Allen, Jr., forward
Jovany Hernandez, Elsie Allen, Soph., midfielder
Oscar Orozco, Cardinal Newman, Jr., forward
Gusto Andriano, Cardnial Newman, Sr., forward
Alex Gonzalez, Ukiah, Soph., defender
Raul Patel, Ukiah, Jr., defender
Jon McFarlin, Santa Rosa, Soph., midfielder
Jose Galindo, Santa Rosa, Jr., forward
Isreal Sandoval, Rancho Cotate, Sr., forward
Clemencio Lopez, Piner, Jr., def/midfielder

Woke up Saturday morning, 6 a.m., watched the Fox Soccer Channel pregame show and then Aston Villa's 2-0 win over Arsenal in the premiereship.

Walked over the Rincon Valley Park to witness a recreation game between the Sonoma Xtreme and the Rincon Valley Avalanche girls U14 teams. Xtreme won, 1-0, on a header goal by Kaitlyn Robles with about three minutes left in the match. (See attached photos. These are some of the girls you will be seeing in year's to come on a high school team somewhere.)

All that is a round-about way to tell you a couple of things:

1) Those two matches combined with the three high school games I'll witness tonight makes me an official soccer junkie. No other way to put it.

2) After tonight there will still be a wide array of soccer matches you can watch, and better yet attend ... from televised pro matches, to year-ending college tournaments, to SRJC in the postseason, to local club games involving SRU, SCA and Athletico and rec soccer. The SoccerBlog will try its best to keep you updated on the best of those matches and urge your attendance.

Oh, in between I talked to David Mendez, Windsor's star forward. He said the Jaguars are ready for tonight's championship game and the Pumas. No injuries, everyone healthy.

After talking to him briefly, it became apparent that the one huge thing to watch in tonight's game will be time of possession. If the Jags can hold on to the ball and limit Carrillo's chances, they'll have a chance. If not, that it could be a wide-open high-scoring mismatch.

Remember to check out the "live blog" of all three title games starting around 2:45 p.m. Saturday on PDPreps.

We don't know what the score will be Saturday night when Montgomery meets Casa Grande for the North Coast Section girls Class 3A soccer championship.
We don't know who will score.
We don't know how long the game will last.
What we do know is that Montgomery head coach Pat McDonald, at some point in the game, probably several points, will get excited.
He'll run. No, make that sprint, from one end of the Vikings' bench to the other.
He'll shout, usually instructions, until he is hoarse.
He'll cheer.
He'll applaud.
Face it, McDonald would be a great coach to be "miked" on the sidelines.
But prior to all that and prior to the excitement, he'll low-key his squad.
"We'll just kick the ball around for about an hour on Friday afternoon," McDonald said. "And talk about the game. Then we'll meet on Saturday at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The girls will go into the school gym by themselves and talk it over. That's what we always do. Then we'll leave for the field at about 3."
Game time is 5 p.m. Saturday at Ernie Nevers Field.
It's all getting old-hat for McDonald. Eight seasons as the Montgomery head coach, three NCS titles ('03, '04, '06).
His adversary Saturday night, Vinnie Cortezzo at Casa Grande, is one-for-one in terms of NCS crowns ('07) as the leader of the Gauchos. And that win came a year ago over McDonald and the Vikings.
"Absolutely, we entered last year's game overconfident. That team was more talented overall than this one, but we were way too sure of a win and Casa proved us wrong," McDonald admitted.
"This will really be a new experience for a lot of our girls. They haven't been involved in anything like this before. A championship game is something different altogether. Only (Selam) Solomon and (Emily) Mitchell started in last year's finals."
Saturday night he'll get a chance to see how good his 19-3 Vikings are against the 17-1 Gauchos.
The two teams played on Aug. 29th, before either coach had finalized a starting linup, and Casa won 3-2 on their home field by scoring a goal with 10 seconds left in the game.
The Vikings will be out to change that result Saturday night.
McDonald will probably field the following lineup for Saturday night's championship game:

Goalie: Alexis Sciacqua
Left back: Ali Archer
Center back: Alex Coffaney
Right back: Emily Mitchell
Right mid: Camy Pearson
Left mid: Mackenzie Komrij
Center mids: Breanna Taylor, Kelly Schnur, Julianna Kelm,
Forwards: Selam Solomon, Kareli Rodriguez.