Mallory Hromatko concluded an amazing four years at Monte Vista this season, finishing her career with 36 goals and 98 points playing for the Mustangs’ varsity. She also finished as a two-time section champion, having helped lead Monte Vista to the section title game all four years, and a number one national ranking by Student Sports at the end of the 2014 season.

For her efforts, Hromatko is the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

Headed to UC Santa Barbara next season, Hromatko was named the East Bay Player of the Year in both her junior and senior seasons, and is a four-time first-team all-league recipient in the East Bay Athletic League. She was also named the TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Player of the Week in January of this past season after the attacking midfielder scored three of the team’s four goals in wins over Foothill and San Ramon Valley, and is rated as a four-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer.

Despite all the accolades and statistics which jump out at you, Monte Vista coach Brett LeQuesne feels it is her everyday approach which will be missed most after four years in his program.

“I actually don’t think she gets enough respect for what she does for our program, on and off the field,” said LeQuesne. “Everyone really loves playing with her, and it is so difficult to pinpoint athletes who carry her intangibles.”

That statement is especially resounding considering the amount of honors that Hromatko received over the past couple years. But despite being the marquee name for a perennial power in the section, much of Hromatko’s game was easily overlooked with the amount of other potential scorers in the Mustangs’ lineup.

“As good as her numbers were, they could have been much better,” said LeQuesne. “We took her out of a lot of games early, and she never once complained about it.”

Beyond her scoring prowess, however, was Hromatko’s impact throughout the field. Playing as an attacking midfielder and forward for the Mustangs, she became known on her team as someone worked tirelessly to get the ball back, pressing hard up the field, and working hard on the defensive end.

“It will extremely tough for us to replace what she did for us off the ball,” said LeQuesne. “We will be forced to change the way we play, without her speed and ability to win a lot of the long balls.”

As with many elite athletes, Hromatko was also prasied by LeQuesne for forcing everyone else’s level of play to rise to another level, and for being an everyday leader by example in practice. These are all qualities which make UC Santa Barbara coach Paul Stumpf excited to get the 2014-15 Prep2Prep Player of the Year in his lineup next season, even if he isn’t yet sure where exactly she will play.

“Mallory is maybe one of our more dynamic and versatile recruits for the 2015 class,” said Stumpf, who will be going into his 17th season at the helm of the Gauchos program in the fall. “She can play in the midfield or up front, and will be spending time at both.”

For a player described by her high school coach and teammates as “selfless”, that likely sounds like the perfect arrangement.

At the start of the 2015 North Coast Section playoffs, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Monte Vista would raise its third section championship banner in the last four years. Martins and his young Liberty High School squad had other ideas, however, as the Lions downed the Mustangs, 2-1, on a cold and rainy night at Dublin High School to win their first-ever section title.

For Martins, who took the helm of the Liberty girls’ program in 1994 and was coaching his 450th match in that position, the victory served as a watershed moment to conclude his 21st season. The Lions had qualified for the post-season on numerous occasions, but had never made it past the quarterfinals.

After going unbeaten in Bay Valley Athletic League play, with a 1-0 loss to Monte Vista in the Tri-Valley Classic serving as its only loss to a section opponent, Liberty received the third seed in the playoffs behind Castro Valley and Monte Vista, neither of whom had a regular-season loss.

With 16 underclassmen, including seven sophomores in the starting lineup, many around the East Bay and the section had tabbed the Lions as a team to beat for the next couple years. Instead, they knocked off the veteran Mustangs, who were playing in their fourth consecutive title game.

Featuring standouts such as sophomores Delanie Sheehan, Devyn Gilfoy, Robyn McCarthy, and Lauren Sisneros, to go with veteran leadership in the form of senior Megan Monier, Martins changed the style of play to suit his talent this season, and the changes paid huge dividends.

Previously characterized as a team which favored playing long balls to get shots on goal, this year’s team moved the ball beautifully through the midfield, featuring precision passing, strong throw-ins, and numerous players attacking from different angles. The end result was a team that was able to attack the goal against an elite Monte Vista squad, overcoming a neutralizing goal late in the game to create its own game-winning opportunity.

For those adjustments, and the ability to keep a young and talented team on the rise throughout the year, Martins is our choice for the North Coast Section Coach of the Year.

Brooke Cilley

Delanie Sheehan

Chelsea Barry

Brooke Cilley

Kaylee Collins

Lindsay Rood

Delanie Sheehan

Kylie Long

Jade Rafallo