 | | | Cam Carda at a head shot Photo Doug Kohen
| | | | | | The Acalanes Dons boys' soccer team finished as NCS and DFAL champions last year and entered the post season looking to repeat their success by winning the NCS title.
Led by a talented trio of senior co-captains - midfielders Nic Carrillo and David Kloth, and goalkeeper Logan Spittler - the team has been impressive throughout the season, finishing with a 19-3-3 record.
Sophomore Dylan Autran led the Dons with nine goals on the season.
One of the main reasons for their success has been their solid defense (only nine goals scored against them in 25 games) composed of two experienced seniors in Brett Cantrell and Ben Ewing, and a very mature sophomore in Jacob Carroll.
With this remarkable and diverse cast, Acalanes was able to beat Division I opponents Irvington, Clayton Valley, Berkeley, College Park and Pinole Valley. They also tied San Ramon Valley on their home field, when they were ranked #40 in the country by ESPN. In DFAL play, the Dons won against traditional rivals Las Lomas & Alhambra (once), Campolindo, Miramonte and Dougherty Valley (twice) to end with an 8-3-1 record and second place finish only one point behind Dublin. Seeded #4 in the NCS Championship series, Acalanes defeated #13 Concord 1-0 on February 17th in the first round on a goal by Autran, then went on to beat Piedmont 2-0 in the quarterfinals with goals from Ewing & Kloth on February 20th. Acalanes next moved into a rematch against #1 Bishop O'Dowd in the semifinals but fell 1-2.
Cougars Advance to Play-offs
Campolindo also made it to the post season. They faced fellow DFAL opponent Las Lomas, and defeated them 2-0 on February 17th. The Cougars progressed to the next round to face Bishop O'Dowd. Campolindo could not out last the eventual NCS Champions and lost 1-0.
C. Graveson
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA