Among Division I sides, a handful of attackers are carrying their teams, and several of them were far quieter a year ago.
A year ago, Judah Mukome was a productive part of Athenian's attack. This fall, the Owls run through him. The senior has been involved in 71 percent of Athenian's recorded goals, and his 5.7 points per game is more than double the 2.6 he managed as a junior.
What stands out is the balance. Alongside his 15 goals sit 10 assists, already two more than he recorded across 10 games last season, which makes Mukome as much the creator of Athenian's attack as its finisher. He had five goals and an assist against Brave Christian on Sept. 8, a 7-2 win, and four goals and two assists at California Crosspoint two days later. In his final season, he has become the player everything else is built around.
At College Preparatory School the dependence is starker. Pelayo Llamas III has 14 goals in four games, 70 percent of the Cougars' recorded total, and 12 of them have come in the last three. That run includes six at Redwood Christian on Sept. 15, an 8-0 win, and five at St. Joseph Notre Dame three days later, a 7-1 win. His 7.0 points per game leads this list, and it has come against one of the tougher schedules.
Few players have come further in a year than Eli Rothschild. As a junior he scored three goals in eight games for The International School of San Francisco. As a senior he has eight in six, all of them in the last three games, including four goals and an assist against Drew on Sept. 21, a 5-1 win. He has been involved in 60 percent of the Jaguars' recorded goals, and his 3.3 points per game compares with 0.8 a year ago.
Two Credo juniors have shared much of the scoring for a team that are 9-3-1. Braedan Swift has 13 goals and has scored in five straight games. Oliver Graziani has 10 in only four, up from 2.1 points per game last fall to 5.5. Sophomore Denali Larkins has joined in too, with four goals in three games after scoring two across all of last season.
McKinleyville spread the work on the way to a 10-3-0 record. Gaelen Creighton, a senior, has 12 goals and five assists and has been involved in half of the Panthers' recorded goals. Junior Becker Rine also has 12, in seven games against one of the tougher schedules, and senior Lucas Jones has set up 12 more without scoring one himself.
Arcata's attack is the youngest on the page. Sophomore Isai Aguilar has already passed last fall's total of 13 goals, with 17 in 11 games, and six of them have come against sides in the top third of the field. Soren James, a freshman, has 12 goals and nine assists. He had four goals and two assists against Ferndale on Sept. 26, a 13-0 win, and three goals and four assists against St. Bernard's on Sept. 1.
Lower Lake has their own pair of sophomores. Adrian Guzman spent his freshman season as a creator, with 17 assists across 17 games. This fall he has added goals to that, eight of them to go with six assists, and he has been involved in 74 percent of the Trojans' recorded goals. His teammate Yael Viverios has climbed from 0.3 points per game as a freshman to 3.0 now.
At Middletown, freshman Xavier Yebra has six goals and five assists and has been involved in 55 percent of the Mustangs' recorded goals. Behind him, junior David Reyes has made 62 saves and stopped 93 percent of the shots he has faced.
As league play deepens, the question for College Preparatory School and Athenian is whether one player can keep carrying them. McKinleyville and Arcata, with the goals spread wider, have not yet had to answer it.
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