No stars, but Golden Valley backline strong

Goalie Memo Ramirez's mitts and instincts stumped opposing strikers, leaving them heartbroken at the penalty marker.

Sweeper Bill Castellon ranged to his left and right to cauterize attacks, stopping most before they developed.

Defense carried the Golden Valley boys soccer team to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game in 2009, pitting the Central California Conference's third-seeded team against a national power in Carmichael Jesuit.

The powerhouse private school emerged victorious that afternoon, celebrating the program's eighth section title, but not before Golden Valley could earn a measure of respect.

Golden Valley thundered into the final on an 11-game unbeaten streak, going 10-0-1 with penalty kick shootout victories over Stagg and Yolo Davis.

Defense was its crutch and with three starters slated to come back this fall, including Ramirez and Ward, it appeared to be a strong suit once again.

So it seemed.

Standing on his home field three days into the season, with nearly 30 players dashing around him, head coach Lee Shaw would need a GPS unit to find the main pieces to the area's best defense in 2009.

Castellon and outside marking back Jose Salcido were seniors last fall.

Ward, the team's stopper, now lives in Florida, spoiling Shaw's hope of making him Castellanos' replacement at sweeper.

And Ramirez, the two-time defending CCC goalie of the year, is now a full-time football player, handling the kicking duties on Friday night.

"It's part of school soccer. That's the difference between competitive soccer, where you have a set team," Shaw said. "School soccer is a rollercoaster ride. You'll graduate (players) and build a new team every year."

Shaw remains optimistic about Golden Valley's chances to compete in a revamped CCC. Because section-wide realignment moved Los Banos into the Western Athletic Conference, the remaining six CCC programs will play a 15-game schedule.

It will be a long haul, but Shaw is confident his new-look club can build the necessary chemistry to make a run at the crown.

Why?

Well, it's not like he lost all of his talent in the offseason.

The bulk of Golden Valley's offensive production returns in forwards Matt Hubbard and Mike Gomez and midfielder Daniel Byrne.

Hubbard led the conference in scoring in 2009 with 10 goals and was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

"We need a lot more. We expect a lot more," Shaw said. "We need him up in the 20s. Last year, he missed a lot of chances. This year, he will score a lot more. His percentage of success will go way up."

Byrne was 8 for 9 on penalty kicks, tied for the team lead with eight assists and was named to the all-conference first team.

Last seen pestering Jesuit's defense with one gouging attack after another from the left side, Gomez (four goals, eight assists) will move to the striker position to better showcase his speed.

"I know we've got the talent to be a more exciting team. But can we gel?" Shaw said. "Last year, we came together. If we gel and become a team, we'll be very, very hard to beat."

To shore up the defense, Shaw will move his lone returner, senior Edgar Segura to sweeper and then fill the holes around him.

Gerardo Esteva and Alex Segura step into the outside marking back positions, while freshman James Butler is on track to become the team's stopper.

Butler will wear the No. 3 jersey -- Castellon's old number.

"He's got explosive speed like Bill and the same type of athleticism," Shaw said. "We just need to build his confidence up."

Martin Mercado and Gabe Jimenez will compete for time in between the pipes.

"We've had a couple of really good defensive players come out, and now that they're out here, I don't see any problems with our defense," Hubbard said. "I'm not worried at all. I feel safe with them back there."

If nothing else, Golden Valley will be battle-tested come the start of conference play.

The section final appearance has brought the program notoriety, landing it on the radar of some of section's top programs.

GV will participate in the Pitman and Gregori tournaments and has entered into two-year, home-and-home contracts with Metro Conference champion Grant and runnerup McClatchy.

Golden Valley will also play Modesto and Downey, both of which qualified for last season's Division I playoff tournament.

"I really like that Shaw got us these games," Hubbard said. "It's going to get us good competition before we start out league. We have some young players and they don't know much about high school soccer. These games, with high-ranked teams, will get us ready."