Cloverdale ends season with league title; 15-1-2 overall record
Midnight finally struck for the Cloverdale High School boy’s soccer team in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs, falling in a heart breaker to No. 5 seeded St. Helena, 2-0.
The loss signaled the end for the NCL1 champion Eagles, giving them a final season record of 15-1-2.
“Our young team had a good run and were able to finish with a great season,” CHS coach Carlos Jimenez reflected. “The team’s hard work landed us with a great seed in the NCS playoff tournament.”
It was a watershed year for the Eagles, who started the season with the lofty goal of winning a league title and did just that, running the NCL1 table during the regular season.
“As a team we managed to have an undefeated season and were league champions by winning all 14 games and bringing home the pennant,” Jimenez said. That was the number one goal set at the beginning of the season by the team.”
Cloverdale falls to Saints
The Eagles clinched the league title with a hard-fought 2-0 win over St. Helena in the final week of the NCL1 season, but it was the Saints that returned the favor in the NCS playoff rematch on Nov. 6. This time around, Cloverdale could not repeat the magic of the previous meeting.
“Injuries, players recovering from a cold and a few players not being able to play really hurt our chances versus a very motivated St. Helena team,” Jimenez noted. “They were the better team and deserved to move forward in the playoff tournament. As my wife said, ‘The outcome does no justice to how hard the players all played on the field. It was a tough loss but we all enjoyed watching them all play an undefeated season.’”
All league honors
The Eagles were well represented at the all league meeting, as junior captain David Gonzalez and senior, Emmanuel Gonzalez were named NCL1 Co-Most Valuable Players. Other Cloverdale players named to the first team all league squad were junior captain Alexis Ceja, and junior Carlos Orozco and senior captains Alexis Leyva and David Alvarez.
“These four players stood out as great team leaders,” Jimenez noted. “Each one of them did their part to help this team succeed.”
The coaching staff and players also benefited from great school and community support throughout the season, and Jimenez was quick to thank all those that helped make it a championship year.
“I would like to thank Nancy Alvarez, Liz Jimenez, our wonderful high school administration, Eagle Pride Boosters and everyone who supported us and made this season a memorable one for everyone on the team,” he said.
