POWERADE FAB 50 Rankings: Preseason
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PRESEASON RANKINGS 2011-12
Note: The POWERADE FAB 50 comes out every Tuesday during the winter soccer season starting Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Flintridge-Sacred Heart (La Canada, Calif.) watched a chance to finish No. 1 POWERADE FAB 50 last year slip away in a Southern Regional Championship loss to Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.).
The Tologs will get a second chance, this year.
Flintridge-Sacred Heart, with nine players already committed to NCAA Division I programs, gets the nod as preseason No. 1 over San Clemente (San Clemente, Calif.) in a California-dominated POWERADE FAB 50.
California programs hold the top three spots, four of the top five and seven of the top 12. Overall, 23 California teams occupy the POWERADE FAB 50.
| 2011-2012 POWERADE FAB 50 Girls' Soccer Winter Rankings: Preseason | |||
| RK (LW) | SCHOOL (CITY, STATE) | REC | COMMENT |
| 1 (NR) | Flintridge Sacred Heart La Canada, CA | 0-0 | The stats are simply staggering. Flintridge-Sacred Heart returns almost its entire starting lineup from last year's 22-2-2 team that came one win shy of a POWERADE FAB 50 national title. Nine players have already committed to NCAA Division I programs, highlighted by Katie Johnson (Southern Cal), Breanna Koemans (Northeastern), Tera Trujillo (New Mexico) and junior Kayla Mills (Southern Cal). Johnson, Mills and Trujillo have U.S. Youth National Team experience. Koemans was the local player of the year in 2009 and Johnson, following a 23-goal, 12-assist season, won the honor in 2010. To put this team's talent in perspective, Flintridge-Sacred Heart will have more Division I signees in the starting lineup than the winter-playing states of Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi - combined! That said, three of those signees, including Johnson, who is recovering from an ACL injury, will be sidelined by injury to start the season. |
| 2 (NR) | Esperanza Anaheim, CA | 0-0 | Esperanza returns nearly its entire starting lineup from last year's CIF-Southern Section semifinalist team, including a trio of all-CIF first-team honorees. Pepperdine commit Rylee Baisden and junior Nosa Ogiamien spearhead the attack with Paulina Good in midfield. |
| 3 (NR) | San Clemente San Clemente, CA | 0-0 | Although Frannie Coxe is now at Yale and Tessa Andujar is at Florida, San Clemente remains loaded. The Tritons return Texas AaM commit Janae Cousineau and Santa Clara commit and Youth National Team member Dani Weatherholt. As one rival coach summed it up, San Clemente is simply a "soccer mecca." Last year's team finished as the CIF-Southern Section Division I runner-up to Flintridge-Sacred Heart. |
| 4 (NR) | Boyd McKinney, TX | 0-0 | Although Boyd graduated five key starters and lost its coach, this defending champ has realistic chance to repeat as Texas 5A state titlist. Championship MVP Amanda Elertson (commited to Nebraska) and goalkeeper Kara Dugall (Rice) are the key returners for a team that carries a 27-match win streak into the 2012 season. |
| 5 (NR) | Corona Del Mar Newport Beach, CA | 0-0 | Outsiders to the California soccer scene must simply be in awe to learn of the high-end talent that filters through these western soccer powers. Case in point, Corona del Mar graduated senior keeper Lindsay Luke, who has Youth National Team experience and is now at Wake Forest. Replacing Luke in goal this year is Sarah Cox, another Youth National Team member who has committed to Stanford. Offensively, the team will be led by Washington commit Allyson Brahs. |
| 6 (NR) | Coppell Coppell, TX | 0-0 | Despite the graduation of superstar Chioma Ubogagu and Danielle Herubin, Coppell returns all-region first-teamers Lindsey Meyer and Kayla Peterson. If Coppell can find finishers, the Cowgirls could be in for another strong season. |
| 7 (NR) | Colleyville Heritage Colleyville, TX | 0-0 | The graduation of keeper Jackie Kerestine, who was among the nation's leaders in shutouts last season, leaves a major void in Heritage's defense. However, Heritage, last year's Texas 5A runner-up, returns midfielder Britt Blackwell, an all-region first-team pick. |
| 8 (NR) | Ursuline Academy Dallas, TX | 0-0 | Led by Boston College commit Jana Jeffrey and Texas Christian commit Caitlin Jancuska, Ursuline Academy figures to be among the stronger programs in the Dallas area. Ursuline has won an amazing 21 straight TAPPS state titles and remains a favorite this year. As usual, Ursuline and FAB 50-ranked Nolan Catholic are the two favorites in TAPPS. |
| 9 (NR) | San Ramon Valley Danville, CA | 0-0 | With nine returning starters, San Ramon Valley is projected to replace Carondelet as the favorite in the North Coast Section. Last year, senior-heavy Carondelet won the section title, 1-0, over San Ramon Valley in overtime. Midfielder Shannon Hennessy is the top returner for San Ramon Valley. |
| 10 (NR) | Westview San Diego, CA | 0-0 | Cassie Collins and Meggie Gulczynski, a pair of All-San Diego Section first-teamers return to highlight what figures to be one of the strongest programs in Southern California. In total, Westview has four players returning that received first- or second-team all-section honors, the most of any San Diego school. |
| 11 (NR) | Santa Margarita Catholic RanchoStMargarita, CA | 0-0 | Even after graduating players that went to Texas and Notre Dame, Santa Margarita finds a way to restock the arsenal. This year's team will be led by juniors Sam Trenary and Niki Miyashiro. Trenary already has committed to Southern Cal. |
| 12 (NR) | Carroll Southlake, TX | 0-0 | Lissi Lonsberry and Sophie Groff are expected to return for a Carroll squad that should be young, but talented. |
| 13 (NR) | Xavier College Prep Phoenix, AZ | 0-0 | Xavier College Prep returns nine starters from a team that was the Arizona 5A-I state runner-up last year to undefeated Hamilton. Nikki Walts, Michaela Dooley, Emily Holtzmeister and Cassidy Cunningham will be the key players as Xavier aims to return to the throne as Arizona state champs. |
| 14 (NR) | American Heritage Plantation, FL | 0-0 | American Heritage had high expectations last year, but a midseason trip to California resulted in a humbling 0-3 showing and a season-ending injury to a star player. The trip started a downward spiral that eventually resulted in the team failing to make the state Top 20 despite starting the year in the POWERADE FAB 50 Top 10. American Heritage aims to flip that script in 2011-12 with healthy stars Haleigh Stremanos and Jannel Johnson, who have combined for 140 goals and 111 assists during their careers. The team has assembled a demanding schedule, playing most of the top teams in the state. |
| 15 (NR) | Edison Huntington Beach, CA | 0-0 | Edison returns forward Angelisa Cortez, a UC Santa Barbara commit, who earned Orange County Register third-team honors last season. As the defending league champ, Edison gets the nod over Los Alamitos in a close call. |
| 16 (NR) | Los Alamitos Los Alamitos, CA | 0-0 | Los Alamitos was the league runner-up to Edison a year ago, but returns as a favorite this season. This is a program with a solid history and is always in the running come playoff time. The team's top projected returner is Auburn commit Natalie Donaldson. |
| 17 (NR) | The Woodlands The Woodlands, TX | 0-0 | With forward Emily Taylor and keeper Lauren Watson returning, The Woodlands could be a title contender again in 2012. Last year's team lost to Boyd, 1-0, in the state semifinals. Taylor had a team-high 22 goals and 11 assists and was named the district offensive MVP. |
| 18 (NR) | Pinnacle Phoenix, AZ | 0-0 | Pinnacle was one of last year's major surprise teams, posting an undefeated record and earning a first-ever POWERADE FAB 50 final ranking. In addition, coach Kacey Bingham earned ESPNHS National Coach of the Year honors. The key returnee for Pinnacle is sophomore sensation Jorian Baucom, who is coming off a 39-goal freshman season. |
| 19 (NR) | Bullard Fresno, CA | 0-0 | Cassandra Fasi and Morgan Darling are the top projected returners for a team that reached the Southern California Regional Division I championship last season. The big question is how Bullard will replace Pepperdine signee Lynn Williams, who scored 50 goals last season. |
| 20 (NR) | Harvard Westlake North Hollywood, CA | 0-0 | A loaded incolming freshman class will be expected to add depth to an already-solid program and provide the core for future Harvard-Westlake teams that might vie for a national title. For now, Harvard-Westlake starts the year at No. 20 with ample opportunity to move, especially since it twice faces No. 1 Flintridge-Sacred Heart during the regular season. |
| 21 (NR) | The Bishop School La Jolla, CA | 0-0 | Led by Stanford commit Maya Theuer, The Bishop's School should be a section title challenger. Despite being a small school, Bishop's takes on several of the top programs in the region. |
| 22 (NR) | Klein Oak Spring, TX | 0-0 | The District 13-5A defending champ returns forward Amanda Fox and midfielder Liz Butler. Both received all-region first-team honors in 2011. Last year's Klein Oak squad reached the Round of 16 before falling to The Woodlands. |
| 23 (NR) | Vero Beach Senior Vero Beach, FL | 0-0 | Vero Beach cracked the POWERADE FAB 50 for the first time ever last season and expectations are high again this year. The team returns nine starters from last year's 20-4-2 team that lost in the state final to Oviedo in penalty kicks. Key returners include forward Kathleen Keenan (23 goals, 15 assists), midfielder Sarah Keville (12 goals, 25 assists), defender Kat McClain, defender Ashley Ritter and keeper Destiny Kelley. |
| 24 (NR) | Oaks Christian Westlake Village, CA | 0-0 | Oaks Christian returns Kelsey Blosser, an all-CIF Division 4 first-team performer from last year's section title-winning team. The key for Oaks Christian is finding offense to replace Ally Courtnall, who is now at UCLA. |
| 25 (NR) | Saint Thomas Aquinas School Fort Lauderdale, FL | 0-0 | Last year's POWERADE FAB 50 national champion will have a much different look in the 2011-12 season. The team graduated 10 starters. However, the Raiders are always in position to reload and got assistance with a pair of transfers that should fit right in for coach Carlos Giron. The team's greatest challenge will be its annual trip to Texas, where it will close out regular-season play against some of the Dallas area's top programs. |
| 26 (NR) | Mater Dei Santa Ana, CA | 0-0 | |
| 27 (NR) | Carondelet Concord, CA | 0-0 | |
| 28 (NR) | Torrey Pines Encinitas, CA | 0-0 | |
| 29 (NR) | Hamilton Chandler, AZ | 0-0 | |
| 30 (NR) | Punahou School Honolulu, HI | 0-0 | |
| 31 (NR) | California San Ramon, CA | 0-0 | |
| 32 (NR) | Bishop O'Dowd Oakland, CA | 0-0 | |
| 33 (NR) | Buena Ventura, CA | 0-0 | |
| 34 (NR) | West Boca Raton Boca Raton, FL | 0-0 | |
| 35 (NR) | George Jenkins Lakeland, FL | 0-0 | |
| 36 (NR) | Nolan Catholic Fort Worth, TX | 0-0 | |
| 37 (NR) | Kingwood Kingwood, TX | 0-0 | |
| 38 (NR) | Mission Viejo Mission Viejo, CA | 0-0 | |
| 39 (NR) | Aliso Niguel Aliso Viejo, CA | 0-0 | |
| 40 (NR) | George M. Steinbrenner Lutz, FL | 0-0 | |
| 41 (NR) | Palos Verdes Palos Verdes Estates, CA | 0-0 | |
| 42 (NR) | Archbishop Mitty San Jose, CA | 0-0 | |
| 43 (NR) | Gulliver Prep School Miami, FL | 0-0 | |
| 44 (NR) | Westlake Austin, TX | 0-0 | |
| 45 (NR) | Grapevine Grapevine, TX | 0-0 | |
| 46 (NR) | Belton Belton, TX | 0-0 | |
| 47 (NR) | Merritt Island Merritt Island, FL | 0-0 | |
| 48 (NR) | American Heritage-Boca-Delray Delray Beach, FL | 0-0 | |
| 49 (NR) | Marcus Flower Mound, TX | 0-0 | |
| 50 (NR) | Seven Lakes Katy, TX | 0-0 | |