With his team lacking a go-to target going into the season, Miguel Villaseñor took on that role in his final campaign for the Sierra boys soccer team.
His massive jump in scoring production helped lead the Timberwolves to a second straight conference championship and earned himself the All-Valley Oak League Most Valuable Player award.
“Very well deserving with the season he had,” Sierra coach Joe Pires said. “There are a lot of different criteria that makes an MVP and he meets them all.
“He’s very unselfish and made the kids around him better. He worked hard and matured quite a bit. But in our big-time times he really shined.”
Last year, Villaseñor’s eight goals and eight assists were the leading totals on a team that relied on balance. He more than tripled that goal tally this past fall, finishing with 26 to go with six assists. It was in league when he did the most damage, however, accumulating 21 goals over 10 VOL matches. The Timberwolves (10-2 VOL, 15-7 overall) lost in the two league games he did not score in.
Pires, who was named VOL Coach of the Year, said Villaseñor always had the ability but was able to raise his level with hard work.
“He has the ability to shoot with either foot and is pretty quick and athletic,” Pires said. “But this year, and maybe it was because he’s a senior now, he really put his mind to it. Even when he wasn’t scoring, he still worked hard to help the team win. It was because of that relentlessness that he was able to have the season he had.”
Sierra had three all-league players in freshman midfielder Joey Velasquez (six goals, eight assists), senior midfielder Alex Cervantes (five assists) and junior defender Tristan Gonzalez (three goals, nine assists).
Third-place East Union (9-3, 20-8-2) had a league-high six first-team selections. The Lancers reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III Final and became the first VOL boys team to play in the CIF Northern California Regional Championships.
Giovanni Padilla was among East Union’s all-league players. He netted 15 goals in league but finished with an area-best 27 overall goals and 13 assists. Fellow senior forward German Gonzalez (20 goals, 11 assists), senior midfielder Eduardo Gonzalez (four assists), senior defenders Edwin Mata and Giovanni Gomez and senior goalkeeper Fernando Segura (43 saves, 12 shutouts, 0.74 goals allowed per game).
VOL runner-up Weston Ranch (9-2-1, 14-9-1) is represented by Ottawa University-bound forward Robert Gonzalez (22 goals, four assists), junior midfielder Jesus Vega (three goals, six assists) and junior defender Edgar Molina (four goals, three assists).
Selected to the All-VOL second team: Sierra goalie Luis Acosta, Weston Ranch defender Carlos Garcia, Sierra defender Oscar Guitron, Manteca defender Alex Herrera, Sierra defender Juan Lara, Weston Ranch defender Isaac Loza, Manteca defender Brian Sanchez, Weston Ranch defender Emson Villa, Weston Ranch midfielder Elvin Bolanos, East Union midfielder Jonathan Quintana, Weston Ranch midfielder Bryan Rodriguez and Sierra forward Gerardo Magana.
Earning honorable mention: East Union’s Oscar Avalaos, Gerardo Gallegos, Jonathan Ponce and Alex Arroyo; Sierra’s Brayan Nunez, Joel Mandoriao, Gerardo Sanchez and Andrew Crawford; and Weston Ranch’s Francisco Vega, Kevin Urrutia and Isaac Espino.