Coming off a SCVAL De Anza Division league title and a NorCal Division II playoff title last year, the Mountain View boys soccer team is hoping to follow up on last year with more success.
Although it lost several players to graduation, the team has been bolstered by the return of approximately a dozen players who played on the team two years ago and the return of several starters from last year.
“I think we are a very good team, for sure, and I think from top to bottom we are better than we were last year, but like I tell the guys, we’re not playing the same teams we played last year,” Mountain View head coach Jim McGuirk said.
The players returning to the team after a year’s absence are mostly seniors who only played for their club teams last year. Senior forward Nicholas Garzino is one of those players and will provide a valuable attack threat and be a primary goalscorer, while senior Valen Spade, the defensive player of the year his sophomore year in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, will also return. McGuirk will be responsible for mixing the two groups of new and returning together to create the best team.
“It’s a very strange phenomenon,” McGuirk said of his returning experience. “It’s very different than it’s ever been. I have fewer returning players from last year than pretty much ever, but I also have these guys; a good core of them played their sophomore year.”
Mountain View will still have several starters returning, including Patrick McGuirk, a defender last season who returns to his preferred goalkeeper position, starting centerback Brayden Graham, left back Ayan Kothari and leading goalscorer Cyrus Shafie. Mountain View will have several new contributors this year in outside back Jonah Fernandez and midfielders Marko Nedeljkovic and Michael Montoya.
The team will lean on its defense and the experience of the backline, a typical strength for Mountain View.
“That’s the way I coach, if you don’t give up any goals, you don’t have to score too many to win,” McGuirk said.
Mountain View was more direct last year, aiming to control possession at a higher rate this year as it looks to get the ball to Garzino.
Mountain View is the back-to-back SCVAL De Anza Division league champion and only lost one league game last season, but McGuirk expects a tough fight from Los Altos, Palo Alto, Los Gatos and Santa Clara.
“Nothing (is) easy in our league,” McGuirk said. “We can’t just say we are going to go out there and win. It’s not going to work that way. We’ve got to continue to work hard and play together and not get frustrated when things aren’t going well.”
Mountain View has opened the non-league portion of its season with a 4-0-1 record to start the season, and league play begins away at Santa Clara Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.
