Atwater soccer looks like team to beat again

Christian Fuentes said the sting of last season’s semifinal playoff exit remains.

Time may have dulled the edges for Fuentes and his Atwater High School soccer teammates, but like the phantom pain of a missing limb, the thoughts of what might have been occasionally surface unabated.

The Falcons captured the 2014 Central California Conference title, earned the school’s first No. 1 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs and looked poised to square off against rival Merced in the championship game. A questionable late penalty kick on a hand ball at the left edge of the 18-yard box in Atwater’s semifinal match with Vintage of Napa brought those hopes to an end.

The only small consolation was the knowledge that Fuentes and the bulk of his teammates would have one more chance to finish what they started. The Falcons return 14 players from last year’s group and have jumped out to a 10-0-1 start. The path back to that elusive championship game – and Atwater’s CCC title defense – begins Tuesday, at home against Turlock.

“In the back of our minds, we knew we had another year, but the sting of coming up short hurt, no matter what,” Fuentes said. “We went with it. We felt it for a little bit, and we tried to put it behind us and focus on our goals for this season.

“We want to win a section title. Anything less is going to be a disappointment. We know we have the guys that can win it, but it’s up to us to come ready to play and make it happen. It all starts with hopefully winning back-to-back CCC titles.”

The CCC race has annually become one of the section’s best, as recognized by the extra playoff spot rewarded to it beginning last year.

With the triple-leg format, teams rarely go coast-to-coast atop the standings and, more often than not, the league’s winner and playoff representatives aren’t decided until the final week of the regular season.

It looks like the 2015 version will be no different.

Atwater enters as the team to beat, but Golden Valley (6-0-1), Merced (5-1-3) and Pitman (6-2-2) have turned in strong nonconference showings as well.

“It’s a strong league. It has been for a while,” Atwater coach Jimmy Brewer said. “The ultimate example was probably two years ago when Merced, Buhach and Pitman all reached the semifinals.

“I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to see the other teams yet, but you know it’s always going to be tough. Even when you’re the better team, there’s a familiarity that comes from playing each other three times. You’re not going to surprise anyone. There’s good players and there’s good coaches that will make adjustments, but often it comes down to which team is more mentally prepared that day.”

No one knows how tough the league is more than Merced. Despite a run of three consecutive semifinal appearances and reaching last year’s Division II title game, the Bears haven’t captured a league crown since 2009. It’s a thorn in coach Bart McAfee’s side.

“I always preach to the kids the importance of the league title,” McAfee said. “You’re not going to win a section title every season. So if you don’t win a blue banner and you don’t win league, what have you really accomplished?

“We reached the section final, but Atwater is the team that can print a shirt that says ‘Champion’ on it.”

The Bears will try to end their CCC title drought with an almost entirely new cast. Adrian Lomeli leads a handful of players that got to experience last year’s title-game run. The three-year varsity starter could be a jack-of-all-trades for McAfee, seeing time in defense, the midfield or even up top, depending on what the situation calls for.

Golden Valley is a mix of new faces and veterans from last year’s playoff team. Cruz Melgarejo has paced the offense early while Sergio Valencia has been a solid presence in the middle.

Like Atwater, Pitman has relied on a balanced attack with eight players already finding the back of the net.

Turlock (3-5-1) has struggled with scoring, producing just 10 goals in nine games.

Buhach Colony (3-7) has dealt with the opposite issue, yielding a league-high 23 goals in 10 contests. The Thunder has played better lately, however, reaching the title game of the Buffalo Cup before losing on penalty kicks.

“We’ve seen the hard way that you can’t take anyone lightly,” Brewer said. “It’s easy to get up for the big games, but there’s always one or two sneaky games against the teams at the bottom of the league that trip you up.

“The 15 (league) games is a long season. You just need to try and stay at the same level throughout and adjust as things come up.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 7:45 PM with the headline "Atwater soccer looks like team to beat again."