TL boys, MC girls sit atop MCAL soccer standings

PREPS OF THE WEEK

Marin Catholic’s Sloane Carey is flanked by a pair of Marin Academy defenders as she moves the ball down the field during their non-league game at Marin Academy in San Rafael on Dec. 13. Marin Academy defeated Marin Catholic 1-0. SHERRY LAVARS — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

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By Ian Ross

iross@marinij.com

The MCAL soccer season is three game days old but the Terra Linda High boys and Marin Catholic girls have emerged as early frontrunners.

Terra Linda sits alone in first place on nine points after starting the league season with three consecutive wins. The MC girls are also alone in first place, albeit with a slimmer margin over the chasing pack.

Basketball highlights included both San Marin teams pulling out victories in a big doubleheader against Branson. Both Marin Catholic teams got big scoring performances in victories last week.

Cole Greene, Terra Linda boys soccer >> Greene produced one of the most important goals of the early season as Terra Linda held on for a 1-0 victory over three-time defending MCAL regular-season champion Redwood on Wednesday. The result lifted TL five points clear of the field through three games, although Archie Williams has a game in hand. The Peregrine Falcons visit the Trojans in another crucial game on Tuesday.

Sloane Carey and Nora Snearly, Marin Catholic girls soccer >> MC won all three of its games on the backs of huge weeks by Carey and Snearly. Carey got things started with a hat trick and an assist in a 6-1 win against San Rafael on Tuesday. Carey had an assists in a 6-1 win against San Marin and scored a goal in a 3-1 victory over Cardinal Newman on Saturday. Snearly, who has been eligible to play since Dec. 25 after transferring from Cardinal Newman, came up with three assists against San Marin then scored twice in a huge game for her personally against her former school. MC’s next game comes against Redwood on Wednesday. The Giants are one of three teams — with Tam and Branson — who are just two points back of MC.

Kian Caveney, San Marin boys soccer >> Caveney was involved in three of the four goal the Mustangs scored this past week. Caveney had both assists as San Marin earned its first point of the season following a 2-2 tie against Marin Catholic on Monday. Caveney scored one of San Marin’s goals in a 2-1 victory over Branson on Wednesday.

Sam Gersch and Kamran Madani, Redwood soccer >> Gersch had a pair of goals, including the third of the game to essentially secure all three points, and Madani had three assists in a 4-1 win against San Rafael on Monday. Gersch’s first goal came on a strike from just beyond the 18-yard box that kissed off the right post for a 2-0 lead midway through the first half. San Rafael pulled within 2-1 but Gersch restored the two-goal advantage inside the final 10 minutes. Madani had the assist on both of Gersch’s goals and set up the first goal of the game, which was scored by Masa Fujita.

Ally Hsieh and Luna Diaz, Branson girls soccer >> Hsieh returned to the Bulls’ lineup this past week, scoring once and assisting on another goal in both games. Hsieh assisted the first goal and scored the third in a 6-0 win against Archie Williams on Tuesday then scored the first and assisted on the second in a 6-0 win against San Marin on Thursday. Diaz assisted the final goal against Archie Williams then produced a one-goal, two-assist stat line against San Marin.

Sarah Farese and Teagan McCormick, Redwood girls soccer >> Farese continued her blistering scoring pace to start the season, finding the back of the net five more times across three games last week. Farese scored twice in wins against San Rafael and Terra Linda then tacked on another goal plus an assist in a 2-0 win against University. McCormick had at least one assist in all three games, highlighted by a two-assist performance against San Rafael.

Catania Dekeyrel, San Marin girls wrestling >> Dekeyrel went 5-0 to claim the title in the 147-pound bracket at the Lady Grizzly Classic at San Leandro High on Saturday. Dekeyrel claimed the title following a 16-3 major decision.

Grant Means and Rio Seiler, San Marin boys basketball >> Means averaged a shade under 20 points per game for the week while Seiler led the team in scoring on two occasions. Means got progressively better as the week went on with 14 in a loss to MC, 15 in an overtime win over Branson, then 28 in another win against Casa Grande. Seiler paced San Marin with 23 points against MC and 19 against Branson.

Jake Ryan, Marin Catholic boys basketball >> Ryan posted a double double with 29 points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats improved to 3-0 in MCAL play with a 82-70 victory against San Rafael on Friday night.

San Newmeyer, Tam boys basketball >> Newmayer came up big in crunch time, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Red-tailed Hawks secured their first MCAL win of the season with a 48-41 victory against Novato on Friday night.

Claire Hannan, Novato girls basketball >> Hannan came close to a triple double as Novato posted its first victory against Tam in more than 12 years — a 50-46 overtime win on Friday night. Hannan had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and eight steals — including a crucial swipe in the final seconds of regulation that led to the game-tying bucket by Sara Delgado.

Quincy Dean, San Marin girls basketball >> Dean had back-to-back double doubles as the Mustangs capped their week with victories against Branson and Dublin on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Dean had 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Bulls then added 11 points, 18 rebounds, and four assists in the win over Dublin.

Brooke Spagnuolo, Marin Catholic girls basketball >> Spagnuolo poured in a game-high 23 points as the Wildcats posted an impressive 55-48 victory against San Marin on Tuesday. The Wildcats led 54-26 after three quarters before the Mustangs attempted a furious comeback.