ALL-CENTRAL COAST SECTION
Player of the Year
NATASHA HARRIS, MOUNTAIN VIEW
By NATE SMITH
Prep2Prep
When Mountain View lost to Woodside in the 2016 CCS Open Division championship game, it did so without the services of San Jose State bound Natasha Harris, who had torn her ACL in the semifinals. After her injury, whether she would even choose to play her senior year was all of a sudden in question, especially with a college scholarship hanging in the balance.
“I honestly thought she might not play her senior year,” said Mountain View coach Ivan Bandov. “I believed she wouldn’t risk her scholarship health-wise, and I would have completely understood that decision.”
Instead, in the Spartans’ September pre-season meeting, Harris instructed Bandov to save her jersey number 14 for her, telling him that she would be playing and that the team would win the CCS championship. She was right on both counts.
Harris was named the SCVAL-De Anza Most Valuable Player after a phenomenal season in which she scored 18 goals and 10 assists, one of which came in the Open Division title game victory against Mitty. Along the way, she continued to impress her coaches, teammates, and opponents.
“Everyone who watched us play always pointed out how much of a threat she was on the field,” Bandov said. “Her attitude in games is that she is winning the ball and she is running at you all day long. All great teams need a player with her mentality. She gives everything she has each time she steps on the field and that is something I respect most about her.”
Her work ethic may have become legendary in the now-storied Mountain View program, but she also turned heads with her ability to win one-on-one battles and to beat defenders with her change of pace on the field. She also showed up in the biggest games.
Harris not only set up a key goal in the win over Mitty, but she also scored in the quarterfinal win over Aptos, had two goals and an assist in a win over BVAL-Mt. Hamilton champion Leigh, set up a goal in a win over CCS Division II semifinalist Saint Ignatius, and scored in an early season draw with PAL-Bay champion Menlo-Atherton.
For her efforts throughout the season, the ability to perform on the biggest stage, and the perseverance to come back from a potentially devastating injury, Harris is our 2017 Prep2Prep CCS Player of the Year.
Coach of the Year
IVAN BANDOV, MOUNTAIN VIEW
Ivan Bandov posted his 100th victory while defeating Mitty in the CCS Open Division championship this year.
By NATE SMITH
Prep2Prep
The Spartans are no stranger to success since Bandov took over the program, starting in the 2011-12 season. Since then, Mountain View has gone 100-14-18, capturing SCVAL-De Anza titles in each of the last four season.
However, it is Bandov’s 100th victory at the helm of the program which will stand as a memory for the rest of his coaching career, defeating top-seeded Archbishop Mitty, 3-1, in the CCS Open Division championship game.
Last year, after going unbeaten during the regular season, the Spartans’ magical ride ended with a title game loss to Woodside. There would be no such derailments this time around.
“Coming into the season, I knew we had a talented group of girls who were really motivated,” Bandov said. “Early on, they set goals of winning league, getting back to the Open Division final, never losing at home, and being supportive and respectful of one another.”
The Spartans did lose one regular season this year, but it was on the road at Palo Alto on January 31, allowing Mountain View’s 40-game home unbeaten streak to stay intact. The loss to the Vikings also allowed the team to refocus on their goals.
“That (Palo Alto) game was interesting how it came together,” Bandov said. “In the last two minutes of the first half, they hit two bullets each from about 25 yards out. After the game, I told the girls not to worry about the one loss and to focus on what was next. It was more important to stay positive and to realize that a league title is not won in a single day, but over the course of months.”
Mountain View did just that, staying positive and picking up four wins and a draw in its final five regular season matches. With nine wins and two draws in SCVAL play, the Spartans were able to finish on top with 29 points, one point in front of Palo Alto for the league title. Then came the Open Division playoffs, where the Spartans dominated in a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Aptos, beat Saint Francis 2-1 in the semifinals, and then controlled the field against Mitty to capture the championship.
“We were able to get the ball into wide areas, and Natasha (Harris) and Laura (Carceroni) were both successful in their one-on-one opportunities,” Bandov said. “Another key component that day was how we pressed the ball after losing it, something we work on all the time in practice. The girls executed perfectly in that area of the game.”
For earning his 100th win at the helm of the Mountain View program, in the CCS Open Division title game no less, Ivan Bandov is our 2017 Prep2Prep CCS Coach of the Year.
Other coaches considered for this award: Salinas’ Ralph Bozzo, Menlo-Atherton’s Jason Luce, Mitty’s JT Hanley, and Palo Alto’s Kurt Devlin.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CCS
Laura Carceroni, Mountain View
Position: Forward
Year: Junior
Carceroni was a big part of orchestrating the Spartans’ attack, as the SCVAL-De Anza Offensive Player of the Year finished with 10 goals and 19 assists, including one of each in the title game win over Mitty. She is committed to UC Santa Barbara.
Natasha Harris, Mountain View
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Harris was named MVP of the SCVAL-De Anza after a season in which she tallied 18 goals and 10 assists, coming back from last year’s knee injury to lead the Spartans to the CCS Open Division title. She is headed to San Jose State next year.
Belinda Ascencio, Soledad
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
The MVP of the Mission Trail Athletic League led all of Monterey County with a whopping 48 goals scored, including 11 in back-to-back games against Stevenson and Pacific Grove late in the year. She also scored a hat trick in the playoffs against The King’s Academy. Ascencio is headed to UC Santa Barbara next season.
Luca Deza, Notre Dame-Belmont
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
The Cal-bound Deza earned MVP honors in the WBAL this season, and led the Tigers to the CCS Division II quarterfinals. She finishes her high school career with over 40 goals in three seasons, being utilized more as an attacking mid and forward in high school, though she will play as a midfielder for the Golden Bears.
Jayne Cowell, Presentation
Position: Midfielder
Year: Junior
The WCAL co-Midfielder of the Year tallied five goals and eight assists, leading the Panthers to the CCS Division II championship. She earned points in each of Presentation’s wins in league play, and in three of the four post-season victories.
Amaya Zabalza, Archbishop Mitty
Position: Midfielder
Year: Senior
The first-team All-WCAL selection led the Monarchs with eight goals scored, while also tallying four assists. She had a goal in Mitty’s semifinal win over Menlo-Atherton and an assist in a quarterfinal win over Salinas. Zabalza is headed to UC Santa Barbara next year.
Lauola Amanoni, Palo Alto
Position: Defender
Year: Senior
The San Jose State-bound Amanoni was the SCVAL-De Anza Defensive Player of the Year, anchoring a defensive unit which allowed just one goal during the regular season. Even her only goal scored during the season was a big one – the game-winner in a regular-season win over Mountain View, the first goal that the Vikings scored against the Spartans in two years.
Clara Luehrs, Palo Alto
Position: Goalkeeper
Year: Junior
Luehrs posted an astounding 16 clean sheets during the regular season, including 15 consecutive shutouts after allowing a goal against Gunn on December 1. That included not allowing a goal in two different matches against eventual CCS Open champion Mountain View. She earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors in the SCVAL-De Anza Division.
SECOND TEAM ALL-CCS
Monserrat Hernandez Marquez, Aptos
Position: Forward
Year: Junior
The Most Valuable Player of the SCCAL led the Mariners to an undefeated league season and a berth in the CCS Open Division playoffs. She finished the season with 20 goals and 11 assists, including the only scores in late-season wins over Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo Valley.
Emily Smith, Leigh
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Smith was named the Senior of the Year in the BVAL-Mt. Hamilton Division, leading the Longhorns to the league title and a berth in the CCS Open Division playoffs. The Cal-bound senior is also a member of the U-19 Women’s National Team.
Ellie Mujushi, Santa Clara
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Mujushi led the Bruins to a share of the CCS Division I title, and also earned SCVAL-De Anza Senior of the Year honors. In the Division I semifinals, Mujushi converted the game-winning penalty kick during the fifth
and final round. The multi-sport standout also played volleyball for Santa Clara.
Oryann Addison, Valley Christian
Position: Midfielder
Year: Junior
The WCAL co-Midfielder of the Year led a Warriors’ team which went unbeaten outside of the WCAL, and earned draws against Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral during league play. Her play in the middle also kept Valley Christian within striking distance during a trio of one-goal defeats.
Emily Tomz, Palo Alto
Position: Midfielder
Year: Junior
Tomz controlled the midfield for the Vikings, registering 16 assists during the season and earning SCVAL-De Anza co-Junior of the Year honors for her performance. She assisted on all six goals in a dominating win over CCS Division I co-champion Santa Clara, and scored the game-winning goal against Los Gatos in a late-season performance.
Paris Fox, Archbishop Mitty
Position: Defender
Year: Junior
A skilled defender, Fox also demonstrated her ability to attack through the middle of the field, and established her scoring prowess as well, especially late in the season. She finished the year with seven goals and nine assists, with three goals and two assists coming during the playoffs.
Ali Sivilotti, Menlo-Atherton
Position: Defender
Year: Senior
The Defensive Player of the Year in the PAL-Bay, Sivilotti captained a team which blanked Palo Alto in the Open Division quarterfinals and went unbeaten in league play. The fullback was adept at neutralizing threats all season, including in an early draw against Mountain View.
THIRD TEAM ALL-CCS
Position: Forwards
Joanne Norman (Overfelt), Gabriella Felix (Watsonville), Gennie Cheatham (Sequoia), Joelle Anderson (Harker), Holly Hopwood (Live Oak), Courtney Chan (Cupertino), Hannah Wendelken (Los Altos)
Position: Midfielders
Jaola Ware (Pacific Grove), Roxana Ortiz (Pacific Collegiate), Sonia Chan (Aragon), Shay Levy (Notre Dame-Belmont), Sofia Jones (Saint Francis), Giuliana Calia (Mitty), Paige Dueck (Aptos)
Position: Defenders
Laura Puentes (Soledad), Ella Hedrick (Santa Cruz), Alexa Aguirre (Salinas), Monica Hrncir (Mitty), Lily Perryman (Saint Francis), Devin Ferguson (Presentation)
Position: Goalkeepers
Delaney McDowell (Pioneer), Hailey Blackburn (San Benito), Natalie Brehaut (Mountain View)
HONORABLE MENTION:
ALISAL:
Karna Briseno
ALVAREZ:
Lorena Gonzalez
ANDREW HILL:
Melissa Molina
ANZAR:
Katia Dizon
APTOS:
Maya Pruett
ARAGON:
Jayla Stokesberry
ARCHBISHOP MITTY:
Hailey Prentice, Katelyn Meyer
BRANHAM:
Lauren Hogan
BURLINGAME:
Sophia Young
CAPUCHINO:
Amaya Tomlinson
CARLMONT:
Chiara Rigatuso, Kyla Orthbant
CARMEL:
Zoe Patterson, Paxton Ataide
CASTILLEJA:
Olivia Watson
CHRISTOPHER:
Aurea Martin
CRYSTAL SPRINGS UPLANDS:
Megan Duncanson
CUPERTINO:
Serena Kutney
DEL MAR:
Stephanie Jamez
EASTSIDE COLLEGE PREP:
Vannesa Gurrola
EL CAMINO:
Marcela Rivera
GILROY:
Luz Arreaga, Jessica Koppel
GONZALES:
Rianna Hernandez
GREENFIELD:
Delilah Rocha, Katie Martinez
GUNDERSON:
Shirley Gallegos, Tanya Avila
GUNN:
Natalie Hill, Hailey Leclerc
HALF MOON BAY:
Savannah Freitas, Sarah O’Keefe
HARBOR:
Mireya Villareal
HARKER:
Mailie Chung
HILLSDALE:
Ashlen Kelley
INDEPENDENCE:
Lolli Millan
JAMES LICK:
Alexis Romero
JEFFERSON:
Delilah Freitas
KING CITY:
Lizeth Garcia
LEIGH:
Danielle Wheeler
LELAND:
Jessica Simms
LINCOLN:
April Lopez
LOS ALTOS:
Sophia Smith
MARINA:
Maira Munoz
MENLO:
Claire McFarland, Cloe King
MENLO-ATHERTON:
Alissa McNerney, Josephine Cotto
MERCY-BURLINGAME:
Emily Naughton, Alyssa Parodi
MERCY-SAN FRANCISCO:
Antonia Maguire
MILLS:
Megan Montecino
MILPITAS:
Jessica Shin
MONTE VISTA CHRISTIAN:
Lauren Winkler
MONTEREY:
Arislady Cruz
MOUNTAIN VIEW:
Maddie Neidig, Nicole Bumgarner, Karissa Hayes
MT. PLEASANT:
Maya Favela
NORTH MONTEREY COUNTY:
Yasmin Valdez
NORTH SALINAS:
Dennise Torres-Alfaro
NOTRE DAME-BELMONT:
Caroline Kearney, Monet Mendenhall
NOTRE DAME-SALINAS:
Allison Gomez
NOTRE DAME-SAN JOSE:
Natalie Cornelison
OAK GROVE:
Kassandra Le
OCEANA:
Marina Bucini
OVERFELT:
Xitlali Venegas
PACIFIC COLLEGIATE:
Amaya Dennis, Gina Gwiazda
PACIFIC GROVE:
Kylie Koestner
PAJARO VALLEY:
Kylie Koestner
PIEDMONT HILLS:
Emely Ramirez
PINEWOOD:
Caleigh Page
PIONEER:
Sienna Campeza, Naomi Girma
PRESENTATION:
Jordan Karr, Amanda Avila
PROSPECT:
Julie Peach
SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL:
Sean O’Brien
SACRED HEART PREP:
McKenna Angotti, Caitlyn Perkocha
SALINAS:
Taylor Burbank, Alondra Partida
SAN BENITO:
Shantay Tamez
SAN LORENZO VALLEY:
Jenna Francis
SAN JOSE:
Julia Aquino
SAN MATEO:
Natividad Wadhams, Tasha Kravitz
SANTA CATALINA:
Allie Aiello
SANTA CLARA:
Shaelan Murison
SANTA CRUZ:
Guinevere Swiencicki
SANTA TERESA:
Alyssa Garcia
SCOTTS VALLEY:
Olivia Ross
SEASIDE:
Yvette Rojas
SEQUOIA:
Emma Leeper, Mady Fitzgerald
SILVER CREEK:
Catherine Ali
SOBRATO:
Emily Pfefferlen, Sarah Somavia
SOLEDAD:
Joanna Martinez
SOQUEL:
Linnea Blaustein
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO:
Alexandra Aoruxet
STEVENSON:
Kira Scheid
ST. FRANCIS:
Catherine Paulson, Mira Nepomuceno
ST. IGNATIUS:
Lauren Frohan, Brianna Bilter
TERRA NOVA:
Tori Jaques
THE KING'S ACADEMY:
Julianna Silkwood
TRINITY CHRISTIAN:
Juliann McGrath
VALLEY CHRISTIAN:
Kayla Ryan
WATSONVILLE:
Annalee Robledo
WESTMONT:
Katie Thompson
WESTMOOR:
Jackie Meza
WILLOW GLEN:
Alana Bernal
WOODSIDE:
Daisy Jimenez, Isabella Bascara
WOODSIDE PRIORY:
Alicia Talancon
YERBA BUENA:
Nayeli Garcia
YORK:
Laura Bauman
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