Tracy Press

Sophomore soccer team completed an undefeated season Friday with a 6-0 win at Franklin High.

Coach Phil Kalis said the team’s 15-0 record in the San Joaquin Athletic Association is the best season for the program, which also went 19-0-1 overall. The team went 13-1-1 last year and 14-0-1 in 2006.

Tracy outscored competitors in the SJAA 75-5, with freshmen Melissa Aboud and Marissa Matta the leading scorers with 22 goals each. Aboud had 15 assists, and Matta had 11. In all 20 games, including the preseason, Tracy outscored its opponents 85-7.

Among defensive players, goalie Amanda White allowed only one shot past her, and that was on a penalty kick.

"During the flow of the game, she hadn’t given up any goals," Kalis said.

Sophomore Bryanna Noe was the team’s consistent leader on defense, and Kalis said he moved Danielle Stepanoff from a defensive position early in the season to center midfielder.

"She basically learned an entirely new position this year," he said.

In 14 of 15 league games, Tracy scored within the first five minutes of play, and the team was never behind in any league game. The only league game when Tracy’s opponent scored more than one goal was the team’s 7-2 win against Lodi.

Tracy did fall behind in one preseason game against East Union of Manteca in an early tournament. That was the only other game in which Tracy’s opponent scored more than one goal, and the Bulldogs came from behind to win 3-2.

Most players will move on next year to the varsity team, which will have other returning players from this year, when Tracy took second place after Lincoln in the SJAA.

"They already have a good young team," Kalis said. "They should be able to get over that hump and get the league title."

West High’s JV soccer team finished with a 7-5-4 overall record, 5-3-2 in the Tri-City Athletic League, with two losses to St. Mary’s and one loss to Tokay.

Coach Brian Ballard said he was pleased with the outcome of this year’s season, especially because West had many girls who hadn’t played competitive soccer before high school. They still competed against powerhouse teams like St. Mary’s.

"It shows that they were able to hold their own with the competition," he said. "They kept their heads high and continued to do battle."

West’s overall score against opponents was 29-37, including two 10-0 losses to St. Mary’s.

The top scorers for the team were Maggie DeLoza and Monica Manzo, with seven goals each.

Ballard said he also put Michelle Olivarez at sweeper for most of the season. "She’s an experienced player and kept our defense up to par."

Another new player who grew with the team was goalkeeper Dulce Perez.

"She got better and better and more aggressive as the season went on," Ballard said.