The Division II Golden Boot race is not close anymore.
This is our third and final Division II list of the fall, with the playoffs next. When we last checked in, on Oct. 20, Sonoma Academy's Marcel Nsizoa Ndi led Calistoga's Leo Ramos by a single goal. Ramos finishes the…
The Division II Golden Boot race is not close anymore.
This is our third and final Division II list of the fall, with the playoffs next. When we last checked in, on Oct. 20, Sonoma Academy's Marcel Nsizoa Ndi led Calistoga's Leo Ramos by a single goal. Ramos finishes the regular season 10 clear.
Calistoga and Sonoma Academy, rivals in the North Central League II, have three of the top four places between them. Further down, three players are tied on 15, and two freshmen made the top ten. Two more players sit just outside, and several coaches told us what these players mean to their teams.
Here is how the top ten finished.
His coach saw this coming. Earlier this month, Calistoga coach Cristian Escobedo described Ramos as a midfielder "competing for the Golden Boot in our division while contributing a significant number of assists." The senior finishes the regular season with 38 goals and 20 assists in 18 games, 5.3 points per game, and he has been involved in 56 percent of Calistoga's recorded goals. A year ago he scored 21 goals in 11 games and did not record an assist. He had four goals and two assists in a 10-0 win over Laytonville on Oct. 23, and Escobedo credits him with two in the 3-2 win at Credo two days earlier. Ramos won a championship with Calistoga as a freshman, and his coach says he is determined to bring another one back before he leaves. Escobedo is just as quick to say the goals have not come from one player: "Rather than relying on one individual to carry the attack, we have developed a more collective approach." Two of his teammates are on this list.
Nsizoa Ndi finishes second, but his side have had the better of the season. Sonoma Academy are 18-0-0, and both of Calistoga's defeats came against them, 2-1 on Sept. 11 and 4-3 on Oct. 13. "Our talisman," Sonoma Academy coach Roy Vega calls the junior. He has 28 goals and 12 assists in 14 games, and his 4.9 points per game is more than double the 2.4 he managed as a sophomore, when he scored 12. He had five goals and two assists against Point Arena on Sept. 9, a 16-0 win, and four against Geyserville five days earlier. Asked what his side were still working on, Vega answered: "Raising the standard. Not getting comfortable."
When Clear Lake coach Anthony Duncan listed the players having a big season, Ewing came first, and opponents have noticed too. After Clear Lake's 3-0 win at Middletown, Middletown coach Katie Robinson called him "a top-tier striker who made the most of his breakaway opportunities, even when marked closely." The senior has 25 goals and three assists in 20 games, 48 percent of Clear Lake's recorded goals, and two of them have been game-winners. He had five against Cloverdale on Sept. 22, a 7-4 win, and four against Upper Lake on Aug. 25, an 8-0 win. Clear Lake are 11-7-4 in the North Central League I.
Sarabio is the highest-placed freshman on this list, in his first varsity season. He has 21 goals and three assists in 16 games, including two in an 11-0 win over Anderson Valley on Sept. 25. Escobedo thinks there is a lot more to come. "His potential is tremendous," he said, "and as he continues to develop throughout his high school career, I can see him becoming a 30-plus-goal scorer."
Yang's 5.3 points per game matches Ramos for the best rate in the top ten. The junior has 19 goals and four assists in eight games, up from 14 goals in 13 a year ago, and he has scored 45 percent of Quarry Lane's recorded goals. Twice he scored four in a game: at Brave Christian on Sept. 25, a 5-3 win, and at Fremont Christian on Oct. 9, a 4-0 win. Quarry Lane are 7-4-1 in the Bay Counties League, and junior Jesse Wu has set up 11 goals.
Alvarez has 15 goals in six games, 5.0 points per game, and six of them came in a 10-0 win over St. Joseph Notre Dame on Oct. 15. He also scored three in a 6-2 win over Quarry Lane on Sept. 1. The senior has been on the team since his freshman year and is now its captain, for a Cristo Rey De La Salle side that are 8-2-0 and only have their full team on Fridays because of the school's work study program. Coach Julio Orozco pairs him with freshman David Duenas, who is 10th on this list. "Omar and David have been holding it down on the offensive side," Orozco said, though the goals have been shared around: 13 Cristo Rey De La Salle players have scored two or more.
Donley finished the season strong. The senior has 15 goals and five assists in 14 games, and in the last two weeks he had two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win over Point Arena on Oct. 21 and a goal and two assists in a 6-0 win over Geyserville on Oct. 28. He and Gavin Evans give Mendocino two of the top ten.
Bierman has been involved in 47 percent of Jewish Community's recorded goals. The senior has 15 goals and three assists in 17 games, including two in a 3-2 win over Brave Christian on Sept. 1 and one in a 3-2 win over International on Oct. 22. Jewish Community are 10-6-1 in the Bay Counties League - Central.
Evans is as likely to set a goal up as to score one. The senior has 14 goals and 11 assists in 19 games, two of them game-winners, and he has been involved in 42 percent of Mendocino's recorded goals. He has three goals and four assists in the last three, including two goals and two assists in a 4-2 win over Technology on Oct. 23.
Duenas is the second freshman in the top ten, and he is already a captain. Orozco calls him "a very talented player who stepped in early in the season in a big role." He has 12 goals in six games, 4.0 points per game, including three in a 9-1 win at Fremont Christian on Sept. 8.
McCauley has passed last fall's numbers. As a freshman he had seven goals and three assists in 15 games; as a sophomore he has 11 goals and 10 assists in 14, and his 2.3 points per game is up from 1.1. He scored three at Tomales on Sept. 25, a 7-2 win. Vega names his whole sophomore class as the prospects to watch, "a talented, hardworking group," and McCauley is its leading scorer.
Navarette makes it three Calistoga players in the top 12. The sophomore has 11 goals and seven assists in 15 games in his first varsity season on record, including three goals and two assists in a 15-1 win over Geyserville on Sept. 9. Calistoga assistant coach Jeremy Grove calls the midfield of Ramos, Navarette and Mateo Medina "the heart and soul of our team." With Ramos and Medina graduating, Escobedo said, "Uli will have an opportunity to take ownership of the midfield and step into a leadership role next season."
Editor's note: Inside The Ninety wants to tell more stories like this one. Records and results only go so far, and the best stories come from the people closest to the game. We thank Coach Escobedo and Coach Grove of Calistoga, Coach Vega of Sonoma Academy, Coach Orozco of Cristo Rey De La Salle, Coach Duncan of Clear Lake and Coach Robinson of Middletown for sharing their thoughts on their players.
If you coach a team with a story worth telling, we want to hear from you. There might be a breakout player, a season that turned around, or a group doing more with less. Email us at insidetheninety@gmail.com or send us a DM.
