May 24, 2010
Mission League Soccer stands alone
The Southern California Boys 2009-2010 Soccer All CIF Southern Section Selection came out with a lot of mission league players such as Grant Hoxworth from Loyola, Victor Kroh from Harvard Westlake, Max Cadena from St. Francis and Craig Nitti from Crespi.
The league not only is one of the toughest leagues in southern California, but it also produces players that are among the top few in the state. This league sent the CIF Southern Section its finalist when Harvard Westlake went on a playoff run that was ended by JSerra. The Defensive player of the year and goalkeeper for Harvard Westlake, Senior Alex Silverman was another one of the Mission League stars. He led his team to an astounding (8-4-0) league season and finished with a record of (21-7-3).
The Mission League along with all of its players has been an important part to the Division I playoffs for the past years. Teams such as Loyola, Crespi, Harvard Westlake, and St. Francis continue to cause problems for many of the Champion hopeful schools. These teams have produced many college athletes such as Chris Cummings of UCLA. These types of players are what come out of such a tough league. Coach of the Crespi Carmelite Celts, Rob Kodama said “It’s a fun league to play in. No matter who you play you always have to bring your best game if it’s either home or away.”
There were many upsets that affected this league and they continue to happen with such quality teams. This league will continue to be one of the toughest leagues around for many years to come.
by Chip Dapello
