St. Augustine will try to repeat as Open Division champions without player of the year – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

2024-25 Boys Soccer Preview

Key dates

Feb. 14: Regular season ends

Feb. 27-March 1: San Diego Section championships

March 4-8: Southern California Regional playoff

Defending champions

Open Division: St. Augustine

Division 1: Steele Canyon

Division 2: Oceanside

Division 3: Monte Vista

Division 4: Mission Bay

Division 5: Castle Park

Division 5-AA: Maranatha Christian

2023 Player of the Year: Iain Wagner (St. Augustine, now at USD)

Teams to watch

(In alphabetical order)

Calexico

Carlsbad

Cathedral Catholic

Del Norte

Eastlake

Oceanside

Point Loma

Rancho Bernardo

Rancho Buena Vista

San Diego

San Dieguito Academy

San Pasqual

Southwest-San Diego

St. Augustine

Steele Canyon

Torrey Pines

Westview

Players to watch

(In alphabetical order)

Amin Abdullah, Canyon Hills

Adam Ambrus-Aikelin, Torrey Pines

Ian Bae, Scripps Ranch

Jack Bottini, Torrey Pines

Angel Cabrera, Hoover

Cesar Duran, Escondido

Diego Esparza, Maranatha Christian

GianLuca Fajardo, Rancho Buena Vista

Gonzalo Gurrola, Eastlake

Braulio Ibarra, Oceanside

Aidan Jennings, Torrey Pines

Jay Juarez, Madison

Kellen Love, Oceanside

Tristan Martinez, Oceanside

Bryan Mesa, Holtville

Jose Luis Rivera, Escondido Charter

Helio Sanchez, Hoover

Diego Valles, Olympian

Mishel Villanueva, Central Union

Overview

The last five San Diego Section Players of the Year have come from St. Augustine, San Pasqual and Torrey Pines. The trio of schools have also combined to win four of the past five Open Division championships, with the Saints taking the past two. Will we see new blood in 2024-25 or will the Saints, Eagles or Falcons rise to the top once again?

Playoff changes

The eight-team Open Division playoffs will now be a two-game, first-round series. Each team will play at home once and go on the road once with aggregate scoring used to determine who advances to the semifinal round.

The state playoffs in California High School soccer consist of separate Southern California and Northern California brackets. The champions do not meet. That may soon change: Officials will soon vote whether to have the SoCal and NorCal brackets meet to decide an ultimate state champion in future seasons.

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