Boys soccer preview 2023-24: Rankings, players to watch, more

Bay Area News Group boys high school soccer preview: Mountain View’s Sola Nishimura, Las Lomas’ Maverick Wilson, Archbishop Mitty’s Manuel Portillo are among the top returning players.

WHO IS NO. 1?

Mountain View is our first choice. Last season, the Spartans advanced to the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, defeating second-seeded St. Francis in the first round, third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals, and top-seeded Alisal in the championship match. It was the program’s first CCS championship. Mountain View returns midfielder Sola Nishimura, who shared MVP honors in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division with Palo Alto senior Dinu Deshpande last season. Mountain View kicks off the new season at Milpitas on Tuesday.

STORYLINES

Last winter, Bellarmine won the CCS Division I and NorCal Division II championships and had three players named to the West Catholic Athletic League’s first team and two named to the second team. They were all seniors. The Bells usually reload, which we expect to happen again this winter. The Bells begin our rankings at No. 7…. Last season, Monte Vista won its fourth NCS championship and first since 2016. But don’t expect a repeat. Nobody has won back-to-back NCS Division I championships since De La Salle won its fifth D-I title and sixth overall in 2014. … Archbishop Mitty is third in our preseason Top 15, but he could easily be first. The Monarchs return three first-team all-WCAL selections and two second-team selections. With the return of the league’s MVP, Sean Rante, Newark Memorial has a good chance to defend its Mission Valley Athletic League title. Dougherty Valley returns several key players from the team that advanced to the NCS Division I semifinals last season, including forward Matas Drevinskas and midfielder Praneel Siddireddy. By its lofty standards, De La Salle had a down season in 2022-23, but the Spartans are another program that reloads more than it rebuilds. After all, the Spartans are a 14-time NCS champion.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Matas Drevinskas, Dougherty Valley: As a junior last season, he scored 12 goals as the Wildcats finished 14-4-4 and advanced to the NCS Division I semifinals.

Colin Johnson, Sacred Heart Prep soccer: He was named first-team all-West Bay Athletic League last winter as the Gators went 16-2-2 and won the league title.

Odhran Kenny, St. Ignatius: As a sophomore, the junior earned first-team WCAL honors while leading the San Francisco school to a 14-5-3 record.

Beau Lopez, Monte Vista: As a junior, he helped the Mustangs win the NCS Division I championship and the No. 4 seed in the NorCal Division I regional. Was named to the East Bay Athletic League’s first team.

Ian Nasif, Bishop O’Dowd: The senior had 13 goals and five assists for the NCS Division II champions last season, according to MaxPreps stats.

Mountain View’s Sola Nishimura is a senior midfielder who helped lead the Spartans to the Central Coast Section Open Division championship last season and was named co-MVP of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division.

Archbishop Mitty’s Manuel Portillo was named West Catholic Athletic League midfielder of the year last season, as the Monarchs advanced to the CCS Open Division playoffs.

Alan Quintero, Archbishop Mitty: Named WCAL co-goalkeeper of the year last season as the Monarchs advanced to the CCS Open and NorCal Division regionals.

Angel Ramirez, South San Francisco: Finished his junior season with 63 points (27 goals, nine assists), good for second in the CCS according to MaxPreps stats.

Sean Rante of Newark Memorial led the North Coast Section in points among stats reported to MaxPreps as a junior last winter, finishing with 56 (20 goals, 16 assists). He was named Mission Valley Athletic League MVP.

Willow Glen’s Brian Solano was named first-team all-BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division last season as the Rams won the league title and advanced to the CCS Open Division playoffs.

Maverick Wilson, Las Lomas: The senior was named Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division defensive MVP as the Knights advanced to the NCS Division II playoffs and the NorCal Division III regional semifinals.

Others to keep an eye on …

Jesus Lua Amaya, Pittsburg, senior

Adahyr Arroyo, Hayward, senior

Alec Balica, Castro Valley, senior

Cruz Diaz, Richmond, sophomore

David Escobar, St. Francis, junior

Carson Gamble, Los Altos, senior

Jonah Guardino, Archbishop Mitty, junior

Jake Hensley, San Ramon Valley, senior

Sawyer Hodson, San Ramon Valley, senior

Arnav Mahadev, Monta Vista, senior

Matthew Rajecki, De La Salle, junior

Jonny Roth, Acalanes, junior

Praneel Siddireddy, Dougherty Valley, junior

Reece Wyatt, St. Francis, senior

Nathan Yousif, Silver Creek, senior

Bay Area News Group preseason Top 15

No. 1 MOUNTAIN VIEW (16-3-5 last season)

How it finished: Won the CCS Open Division championship as the No. 7 seed. Received a spot in the NorCal Division I regional.

No. 2 MONTE VISTA (21-2-5 last season)

How it finished: Won the NCS Division I championship before falling in the NorCal Division I regional.

No. 3 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (15-6-2 last season)

How it finished: Reached the semifinals of the CCS Open Division playoffs before losing in the opening round of the NorCal Division II regional.

No. 4 DOUGHERTY VALLEY (14-4-4 last season)

How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs after going 10-0-3 in East Bay Athletic League play.

No. 5 DE LA SALLE (13-9-1 last season)

How it finished: Lost to Monte Vista in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs after finishing 10-3 in the EBAL.

No. 6 ST. FRANCIS (12-3-5 last season)

How it finished: Was seeded second in the CCS Open Division bracket but fell in the first round to eventual champion Mountain View, 7-6 in PKs.

No. 7 BELLARMINE (17-5-4 last season)

How it finished: Had a terrific postseason run, capturing the CCS Division I championship and then winning the NorCal Division II regional.

No. 8 BISHOP O’DOWD (15-2-8 last season)

How it finished: Won the NCS Division II championship before getting beat by seventh-seeded Bellarmine in the first round of the NorCal Division II regional.

No. 9 LAS LOMAS (21-2-2 last season)

How it finished: Advanced to the semifinals of the NCS Division II playoffs and was seeded third in the NorCal Division III regional.

No. 10 SAN RAMON VALLEY (11-9-3 last season)

How it finished: Finished fourth in the EBAL behind Dougherty Valley, Monte Vista and De La Salle, then lost to De La Salle in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs.

No. 11 ST. IGNATIUS (14-5-3 last season)

How it finished: Seeded No. 1 in the CCS Division I playoffs, the Wildcats lost to eventual champion Bellarmine 4-2 in PKs in the semifinals after the teams played to a 2-2 tie.

No. 12 SACRED HEART PREP (16-2-2 last season)

How it finished: Lost 2-0 in the semifinals of the CCS Open Division playoffs to eventual champion Mountain View, then fell to Chico in the first round of the NorCal Division II regional.

No. 13 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER (19-2-3 last season)

How it finished: Lost to Vintage in the semifinals of the NCS Division I playoffs before a second-ending loss to top-seeded Davis in the first round of the NorCal D-I regional.

No. 14 WILLOW GLEN (15-3-4 last season)

How it finished: Won the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division title and made the CCS Open Division playoffs, losing to Sacred Heart Prep in the opening round.

No. 15 NEWARK MEMORIAL (17-7-1 last season)

It finished first in the Mission Valley Athletic League and advanced to the second round of the NCS Division II playoffs, where it was defeated 1-0 by Ygnacio Valley.