Central Catholic’s Meija keeps family tradition alive, named VOL soccer MVP

Robert Meija has a title of his own to take to the dinner table.

The Central Catholic High midfielder has been named the Valley Oak League’s Most Valuable Player following a breakout senior season.

Meija tallied 36 goals and 12 assists and helped the Raiders return to the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason, where they were ousted in the first round by Livingston.

Central Catholic (9-4-1, 11-7-4) finished third in the VOL behind champion East Union (12-0-2, 19-2-4) and runner-up Oakdale (9-3-2, 16-7-2), but Meija was voted its top player by opposing coaches.

Meija was surprised by the announcement – and humbled by the fanfare. In a league that produced four playoff teams and one section finalist (Sierra), Meija thought the MVP might go to another player.

“I was surprised,” Meija said. “I thought I might not get it, because there were kids on teams that went farther than us.”

This is true, but getting the Raiders back to the postseason was enough to sway the voting.

Central Catholic qualified for the Division IV tournament, ending a 13-year playoff drought. The Raiders’ last postseason appearance was in 2004, when they reached the D-V final and lost to Gustine.

“Winning the MVP wasn’t the first thing that came to my head” before the season started, Meija said. “I wanted to go to playoffs, because Central hadn’t been there in a longtime. All that mattered was winning games and getting to the playoffs, and that’s what we did this year.

“We only had three others seniors this,” he said, referring to Nick O’Brien, Jacob Hill and Jared Michelena. “We’ve grown so much in the last few years, and we helped the underclassmen grow, too. That’s why we went to playoffs. We all grew ... we all matured together.”

The MVP award will serve Meija well at family gatherings. His cousin Serafin Alberto was the Modesto Metro Conference MVP and The Modesto Bee’s reigning All-District Player of the Year.

Meija said he’s been chasing his cousin’s feats for years.

“I was hoping one day, maybe when I was a senior, that I would get the chance to be MVP of our league, too,” said Meija, who hopes to play college soccer.

East Union coach Ed Zelaya was named Coach of the Year, and his Lancers received six first-team selections: goalie Enrique Garcia, defenders Arturo Galvan and Cameron Chapman; midfielder Victor Hurtado (five goals, seven assists); and forward Daniel Gomez (10 goals, 30 assists) and Jesus Hurtado (27 goals, three assists).

Sierra (8-4-2, 17-9-3) had three first-team selections following a historic campaign. The Timberwolves finished fourth in the VOL, but caught fire in the postseason, eliminating defending D-IV champion Galt and Livingston to reach its second final.

Leading the charge was striker Eddie Aguilar, who had 28 goals and 12 assists to lead the VOL in total points. He was joined on the first team by midfielder David Lopez (16 goals, 15 assists) and defender Carlos Mendez.

Manteca (6-6-2, 11-9-3) had three players named to the first team: defender Josh Kong, midfielder Cesar Torres and forward Aron Navarrette (18 goals, eight assists).

Rounding out the first team were: Weston Ranch defender Eduardo Medina, Kimball midfielder Pedro Madruga, Lathrop midfielder Christian Cardenas, and Oakdale’s Wesley Allen (15 goals, five assists) and Winslow Barrales (19 goals).

Sierra dominates all-VOL girls honor roll: Sierra High’s Manuel Pires was named Coach of the Year and seven players were named to the all-Valley Oak League first team, a record haul for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV runner-up.

Lathrop freshman Kassandra Ceja was awarded the Most Valuable Player, but the first team was dominated by the Timberwolves (13-1, 25-3), who captured their 12th league title in 21 seasons in convincing fashion.

Each level of Sierra’s attack was represented, beginning with forwards Jadyn Shinn (42 goals, 24 assists) and Kaleigh Doyle (26 goals, 20 assists), two of the top playmakers in the section.

Shinn is only a sophomore and already holds an offer from the University of Notre Dame, while Doyle is headed to Cal State East Bay on scholarship.

They were joined by midfielders Daisy Valencia (nine goals, seven assists), UC Merced-bound Kyndra Kiser (10 goals, 17 assists) and Jasmine Loaiza (six assists), and defenders Kayley Alvarado (two assists) and Alison Bitle (three assists).

Alvarado and Bitle anchored the stingiest defense in the league. Sierra allowed just seven goals in 14 games, four fewer than Manteca (10-3-1, 17-6-2).

Central Catholic (10-3-1, 14-6-2) had the second-most first-team selections.

The Raiders finished in second place in the VOL and reached the semifinal round of the Division IV tournament.

Defenders Bella Cuevas and Tessa Raspo, as well as forward Skyler Hoy and Myah Ridenour had a lot to do with that success. Hoy had 21 goals and 10 assists, while Ridenour closed her prep career with 18 goals and 10 assists.

Cuevas (three goals, one assist) and Raspo (two goals, three assists) helped the Raiders accumulate eight shutouts, including five in a six-game stretch.

Manteca had three first-team selections: defender Natalia Duran, midfielder Jocelyn Reyes (16 goals, 15 assists), and forward Madison Burch (19 goals, seven assists). East Union’s Chelsey Medieros and Ilena Rivera (24 goals), and Kimball goalie Amanda Leal rounded out the first team.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Central Catholic’s Meija keeps family tradition alive, named VOL soccer MVP."