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Sports

GIRLS SOCCER: SCVAL Post Season Awards Include Several Local Players

Medved of Los Gatos High named De Anza MVP; Ley of Monta Vista earns top defender, Kershner of Paly top goalie and Andrew of Mt. View tabbed top offensive player in league.

It took a little over 15 minutes after the Mountain View High girls soccer game against Palo Alto High for the Mt. View squad to get a bit of good news over the phone.

Los Gatos had been defeated.

The Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division girls soccer title race came down to the final day of the regular season.

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A 2-1 Gunn victory over second place Los Gatos High gave the Mountain View High girls soccer team the regular season De Anza crown. A Wildcats win would have shot them into the top spot at the 11th hour.

It was that type of year playing in the rugged landscape of the De Anza.

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The top SCVAL league boasted five teams that qualified for the Central Coast Section playoffs, including league champion Mt. View.

Los Gatos, Los Altos, Gunn and Monta Vista High-Cupertino also duked it out in the postseason.

“We didn’t win the games we need to down the stretch,” Mt. View senior forward Kirsten Belinsky said about her teams nail biter ride to the final day of the regular season. “When we heard Gunn upset Los Gatos, it was just crazy.”

During a season where it seemed like any team could rise up to topple the next, nothing reflected the eye-catching league parody more than when the SCVAL De Anza division season awards were announced earlier this month.

Several different schools were represented in the awards, topped by Los Gatos High senior striker Brianne Medved, who earned Most Valuable Player honors for the 2011 league season.

Medved scored 14 goals and dished out 10 assists during the ‘Cats 13-4-6 season.

“She’s very strong and has really great shots,” Belinsky said of the Cats top forward. “She can rattle off a shot pretty much from where ever.”

Belinsky and Medved play together in the off-season on the De Anza Force, a local club team. The Mt. View senior was a key cog in the Spartans run to the Division I CCS Girls Soccer Championship Game.

Belinsky earned Senior of the Year honors this season.

“It meant a lot to receive the award,” Belinsky said. “Especially because I know the other coaches in the league voted on it.”

The Offensive MVP award went to Emily Andrew of Mt. View. Andrew, Belinsky and Tavi Crum formed a deadly trio that helped their team snatch up 15 wins in the regular season before advancing to the CCS Title Game.

Mt. View lost 2-1 to St. Francis High-Mountain View at Valley Christian on March 5.

Sandra Ley of Monta Vista High was named Defensive MVP and Alex Kershner of Palo Alto High won Goalie of the Year.

Kershner will play for Duke University next fall.

“Winning goalkeeper of the year in this league is a tremendous honor,” Kershner said. “With so many other great keepers and players alike, it means a lot to be considered for this award. I have tried and worked my hardest every year and to be recognized for my efforts as I get ready to graduate from the Paly Soccer community means the world to me.”

Although Palo Alto didn’t make the playoffs, the net minder still left her mark on the league title race.

Paly tied Mt. View 0-0 on the final day of the regular season, forcing the eventual league champs to secure some help from Gunn in order to claim the league crown.

Kershner ended her career at Paly with a shutout and will bring her talents to the East Coast when her soccer career heads to the collegiate level in the fall.

“Duke is my dream school and I feel so honored to get to play the game I love at such a wonderful university,” Kershner said. “I feel incredibly lucky to have found a team with amazing girls, coaches, and unmatchable competition.”

The balance continued rounding out the top awards. Los Altos keeper Chita Maldonado won Junior of the Year, Caitlyn Wong of Homestead High-Cupertino was named Sophomore of the Year and Sarah Robinson of Gunn was tabbed Freshman of the Year.

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First Team

MVP  Brianne Medved, Los Gatos

MVP Defense  Sandra Ley, Monta Vista

MVP Offense, Emily Andrew, Mountain View

MVP Goalkeeper, Alex Kershner, Palo Alto

Senior of the Year, Kirsten Belinsky Mountain View

Junior of the Year, Chita Maldonado, Los Altos

Sophomore, Caitlyn Wong, Homestead

Freshman, Sarah Robinson, Gunn

First Team Continued….

Cheryl Tom, Monta Vista

Zohar Liebermensch Monta Vista

Mimi Akaogi, Monta Vista

Gracie Cain, Palo Alto

Helen Butler, Palo Alto

Erica Higa, Mountain View

Allie Gamble, Mountain View

Emma Donckels, Mountain View

Sarah Benett, Mountain View

Elizabeth Brown, Mountain View

Meghan McCafferty, Monta Vista

Heather Rouhier, Los Gatos

Chloe Mason, Los Gatos

Megan Fee, Los Gatos

Mariah Cleveland, Los Gatos

Holly McKenna, Gunn

Alyssa Perrealt, Gunn

Hannah Moehling, Los Altos

Sasha Pchenitchnikova, Los Altos

Sydney Carr, Los Altos

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