After a thrilling pair of overtime goals, and a nearly unprecedented 13 rounds of penalty kicks in the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals, the Menlo boys soccer 2023-24 season ended in heart-breaking fashion against Los Gatos. “Losing the game was really emotional for the team, because we all felt we could have gone farther,” senior Gabriel Gil said.
Even with the stinging semi-final defeat, the team reached a new level of success, according to assistant coach Sergio Rico. In addition to finishing first in the West Bay Athletic League. “We were seeded number two [in CCS] which was really good,” Rico said. “I think it had been a while since Menlo had been ranked so high.”
In Rico’s eyes, the team has high expectations for the new season — one goal being a finalist at the opening tournament, the Sunnyvale Cup. “[The team] has seen what we did last year, so the expectations have kinda been set,” Rico said. “We did the [Sunnyvale Cup] tournament last year, and it was a way to see where we are [compared to other teams].”
With 11 new players joining the 26-player squad, the team is filling the roles left by the 12 seniors who graduated. Along with the one freshman and players moving up from the JV team, two new players have taken a break from year-round club soccer to join the Menlo roster. Youth club leagues such as MLS Next have winter seasons that overlap with the school season. Because these club leagues are highly competitive, student-athletes can only play school soccer if they join their school on financial aid or specifically to play soccer. Other players, however, cannot play in the school soccer season unless they quit club soccer or sign a contract that constitutes the period of time they will be playing.
Junior Cameron Rafati, one of the two students, wanted to try out the contract solution because of the different experience he heard about compared to club soccer and the opportunity to meet students from every grade. “I wanted at least one year of the high school experience because all my friends were [talking about how] it was super fun,” Rafati said.
