Boys soccer has a great tradition in the Santa Barbara area. The public schools Santa Barbara High, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and Carpinteria have all produced CIF championship teams over the years.
This season, Cate School will be looking to win a third straight CIF title, albeit in a higher division. The Rams were moved from Division 7 to Division 6.
Player-wise, the area has been blessed with tremendous talent, with several student-athletes moving on to play at collegiate level. Last year, Cate?s Ema Boateng was honored as the Gatorade National Player of the Year. He?s now playing at UCSB.
Two years ago, Johnny Requejo of Carpinteria was recognized for his talent and received an invitation to the U.S. Under-17 national team program to train for the U-17 World Cup next year. He?s been a starter in nearly every international match the U.S. has played since he joined the program in Florida after his freshman season at Carpinteria.
With the kick off of the 2012-13 season upon us, Presidio Sports takes a quick look at some of the impact players in the area.
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012-13 SEASON:
Cate School’s Joshua Yaro
JOSHUA YARO?& ?GEOFFREY ACHEAMPONG, CATE SCHOOL? Cate has another standout senior with National Player of the Year potential. Yaro has all the tools to play at the next level. A center back during his first three years, the heavily recruited Yaro moves into the midfield for his final season at Cate. He?s also the team captain. ?Joshua’s work ethic is beyond compare,? coach Peter Mack said. ?He’s the fasted player on the field. He has great field vision, and I have yet to see a high school player with his defensive abilities and instincts.?
Acheampong, like Yaro and Boateng, is part of the Right to Dream Academy from Ghana. The sophomore is a slick, speedy forward for the Rams who will be drawing the attention of college recruiters. Cate, which moves up a division this year, begins its season as the No. 1 ranked team in CIF-ss Division 6.
Santa Barbara’s Jelan Hutton
PETER GAMBOA & JELAN HUTTON, SANTA BARBARA HIGH ? The Dons will be relying on a pair of veteran defenders to lead the team. Both center backs?are three-year varsity players and team captains. ?They are tremendous defenders, great in the air and both do an excellent job of organizing our team and defense,? coach Todd Heil said. ?We’ll be looking to them both heavily this season, and they’re both up to the task.?
GENARO HURTADO/LUCA RIGATONI/ANGEL VERELA/OMAR VASQUEZ, CARPINTERIA HIGH ??First-year Carpinteria coach Leonardo Quintero steps into a program that is loaded with experience. All four seniors?started as sophomores and have played on back-to-back Tri-Valley League championship teams and in the 2011 CIF final.
