Move to Blossom Valley Athletic League adds new challenge
Morgan Hill – The Live Oak boys soccer team is looking to return to the Central Coast Section playoffs and avoid another first-round exit.
Standing in the Acorns’ way is a new crop of teams they will face in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division.
Coach Tony Goble said one of the biggest differences for the team is they will have to contend with the entire division, rather than just a couple of teams in the Tri-County Athletic League.
“Being in the A-league in the BVAL, there are eight in the league that are top playoff contenders, including us,” Goble said. “There are seven very, very good teams.”
Goble said there has been a large crop of kids who have tried out for both the junior varsity and varsity squads. He said he has six starters returning and around 12 players overall coming back from last year.
“We have a good core of starting players coming back,” Goble said. “We have one at each position.”
Goble said he will be short his regular goalie, Sheldon Steenhuis, for the first three games of the season. In his place he will have a German exchange student, Christof Lauper.
Overall, Goble said the team has come together well since practice began in mid-October.
“Things have really clicked well,” Goble said. “As always, I have high expectations of them. … It’s hard to be gone from high school (play) for nine months. But after five-and-a-half weeks of practice, I think they are ready to play.”
The Acorns will open the season at home against Homestead on Nov. 28 in the Homested Cup.
