It was a banner year for both the Varsity Boys and Girls Soccer teams with both programs posting their most successful seasons since rejoining the East Bay Athletic League.
The Varsity Boys Soccer team finished 11-5-5 overall and 8-2-3 in EBAL, good enough for 2nd place overall. Ten of those victories came against Division 1 opponents, believed to be the most in school history. The 2nd place finish was their highest in the league standings since 2016 and their best showing in EBAL since at least the early 1980’s.
On the Girls’ side, the Gaels went 14-5-3 and 7-2-4 in EBAL action, good enough to tie for 3rd place in EBAL with Amador Valley. Dublin’s 14 wins was the most in the program since 2012 when they appeared in the North Coast Section finals. After starting EBAL at 2-3-1, the Gaels went 5-1-1 down the stretch to close the season with momentum heading into the NCS playoffs.
In Dublin’s win at home against Dougherty Valley on Thursday, February 10th, it was 2 headers that proved to be the difference. Freshman Nyla Trias got the first header followed shortly thereafter by one from senior Kailey Matta en route to a 3-0 victory. Dublin won by an identical 3-0 score against Livermore in their season finale at home on Saturday. Grace Toney put the Gaels on the board in the first half by scoring on a free kick to give Dublin a 1-0 advantage at the break. Izzy Liu opened the second half with a goal and Alison Moore scored on a late goal to put the match out of reach.
While the Girls won their last 2 matches by comfortable margins, the Boys relied on some late goals in the final 10 minutes of their final two matches on the road to seal their wins. On Tuesday, Dublin scored 2 goals in the final 10 minutes to break a 1-1 tie and give the Gaels a pivotal 3-1 victory at Monte Vista. In Thursday’s battle for the Stone Leaf Trophy at Dougherty Valley, the Wildcats went on top 1-0 with 17 minutes remaining before some late match heroics brought the Gaels back. Galen Spies scored the equalizer with 10 minutes remaining, and then Eamon Fakhri set up Colin McCuen for the winning goal on a set piece with under 5 minutes left to give the Gaels the dramatic win.
Both the Boys and Girls have a strong chance of hosting First Round NCS playoff games starting on February 16th, which would create an opportunity for a rare home doubleheader. Brackets will be released on the afternoon of Sunday, February 13th. Seeding i
