by Luke Finkel, staff writer
Despite winning the school’s first outright EBAL championship and boasting one of the top men’s soccer teams in the nation, Cal fell to De L Salle in the NCS playoffs for the second straight season.
After beating Castro Valley 3-1 in the opening round on Feb. 16, the top-seeded Grizzlies were upset in the quarterfinals by De La Salle. The Spartans went on to win their third straight NCS championship.
Cal tied De La Salle 1-1 beforing losing 5-4 in penalty kicks to bring to an end what had been an otherwise perfect season.
“We have some good competition, (it was) a hard bracket this year,” said junior Duke Driggs.
Cal finished the season ranked 33rd in the nation by ESPN RISE with a 18-0-6 record. Their highest ranking was seventh in the nation.
The loss to De La Salle goes as a tie on Cal’s record because it was decided in penalty kicks.
Women’s Soccer
The Grizzlies had a surprising season, but fell short in their NCS performance.
Cal lost 3-1 to Monte Vista on Feb. 19. The Grizzlies were heavily favored going into game and had actually beat the Mustangs twice this season by a combined score of 3-1.
But when it matter most, Cal came up short.
“I feel like we have a good team and players,” said senior Tracy Hong. “We just haven’t played to our fullest potential.”
Cal opened the NCS playoffs by beating Alameda 3-0 on Feb. 16.
The Grizzlies finished the season 14-3-6 overall, 8-1-4 in league.
Since the team is almost completely sophomores, the future looks good for the Grizzlies.
– Luke Finkel
Men’s Hoops
The Grizzlies finished their season on a heartbreaking note, losing their final two games to San Ramon Valley and De La Salle.
Cal had a chance to qualify for NCS if it won one of its last two games. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies fell to the Wolves 67-37 on Feb. 15, and lost to the Spartans 57-35 on Feb. 18.
“We’re all deeply disappointed,” said coach Bob Donovan.
Cal finished the season 13-13 overall, 7-7 EBAL. Junior Noel Frazier led the team averaging 11 points per game.
– Matt Goodman
Women’s Hoops
Cal failed to qualify for the NCS playoffs after finishing the season with a 9-17 overall record, 3-11 in EBAL.
“We were inconsistent, and needed to make better decisions on the court,” said junior Rizelle Dizon.
Next season, the team is losing leading scorers and current seniors Amber DeLange and Maddy Moore.
In order to improve next year, the girls must be more disciplined and more cohesive said junior Tori Edwards.
“We have to get back to the basics,” said head coach Eghosa Obaiza.
– Matt Goodman
Wrestling
Despite a rough season overall, the Grizzlies sent four wrestlers to NCS.
Junior Giovanni Galasso (215 pound weight class), senior Cole Pricco (189), and sophomores Anthony Caiito (135) and Daniel Barker (112) wrestled at NCS.
Daniel and Anthony were eliminated in the third round, and Giovanni lost in the first round.
Junior Shaun Lin (171) qualified but could not participate in NCS because he sprained his MCL.
Cal finished in 53rd place at NCS overall with 19 points.
– Matt Goodman
