Tam striker, Branson goalie lead all-leaguers
Tam High striker Trevor Islam and Branson School goalie Patricia DePalma were named the MCAL players of the year for boys and girls, respectively, when the all-league teams were made public on Wednesday night.
Islam scored multiple hat tricks on the season, helping to lead Tam to the third best record in the MCAL and a spot in the league's championship game.
DePalma was impossible to score against for most of the season, allowing just three goals across 16 league games this year.
Terra Linda, fresh off MCAL and North Coast Section titles, placed five players on the all-league boys first team — forwards Elvin Maldonado and Chris Maldonado, midfielders Kleber Maldonado and Roan Goertz, plus defender/forward Liam Hadden.
The rest of the first team was comprised of Novato's Robert Little and Emiliano
Bustos, San Rafael's Norman Tellez and Alejandro Benevidez Garb, Marin Catholic's Enrique Guzman, Redwood's Ensio Sardans, and Branson goalie Finn Dossey.
Regular-season champion Redwood put the most players on the girls team with four — midfielder Colette Boyden, defenders Katie Noguiero and Maddie Buck, plus goalie Paige Barta.
The MCAL's other two powerhouse, Tam and Branson, accounted for five more players. Striker Ally Hsieh, midfielder Riley Pearson and defender Caitlin Capitolo made it for the Bulls. Forward Maren Jones and midfielder Stella Espinasse represented the Red-tailed Hawks on the list.
The rest of the team is made up of Archie Williams' Mari Rode, San Marin's Mia Nettz and San Rafael's Lila Nitta.
The full list of all-league players can be found at mcalsports.org and will run later this month when the IJ selects its own winter players of the year.