You would be hard pressed to find a player who did more for his team than the Newark Memorial junior who led the Cougars in scoring and earned Mission Valley Athletic League MVP honors. Due to the excellent play of Samuel Kanghere, Newark stormed to a 13-0-1 record in league play, capturing the outright MVAL championship in the process.

Not only did Kanghere get it done against MVAL opponents all season long, he also showcased his scoring prowess against the Cougars’ top non-league foes. When playing a trio of playoff-bound Division I opponents, the junior forward shined with two goals in a 3-2 win over Granada, a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Heritage, and another goal in a 2-2 draw against Berkeley. For the year, he racked up 25 goals and eight assists, making his selection as league MVP an easy one.

Kanghere also impressed with his ability to come through in the matches when his team needed it most. In a draw against Kennedy-Fremont early in the league season, he had one of the two Newark goals to preserve an unbeaten mark in league play. And facing second-place Logan late in the year, with the MVAL title on the line, he came through again, finding the back of the net in a 3-2 victory to clinch a league title.

Most amazing about the year Kanghere had might have been his consistency. The junior did not pad his overall totals with any large numbers against overmatched opponents, and instead contributed to nearly every match. In the month of January, he found the back of the net in eight of Newark’s 10 matches, and scored in the final three regular season matches in early February, heading into the section playoffs.

For his efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Samuel Kanghere as our North Coast Section Junior of the Year.

Other players considered for this award include Las Lomas’ Tim Weidinger, Montgomery’s Alan Soto, and University’s Max Edelstein.

NOTE: We would like to thank our media partners, coaches, parents, players and fans for contributing photos for our all-section features. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS soccer.