Club soccer teams honored

Laguna Beach Club Soccer held its annual awards banquet Jan. 22 at the Woman’s Club in Laguna Beach.

Andy Thomas, director and founder of the club, opened the ceremony by announcing this has been the “best season” in the club’s six-year history.

Below is a recap of each division’s season as well as its award winners:

Boys Under-9

The team, playing its first year, finished fourth in the division with a 7-4-1 record, just two points separated from the Slammers of Newport Beach in the standings. Laguna closed out its season with a 2-1 win over the Slammers, and also won the OCU tournament in Costa Mesa.

Team MVP: Evan Williams

Offensive MVP: Zach Jacobs

Defensive MVP: Alex DiGenova

Coach’s Award: Brent Cahill

Most Improved: Dominic Droulez

Most Improved: Willy Wheeler

Boys Under-10 Another first-year team, the squad consistently challenged opponents despite playing with a limited roster.

Team MVPs: Jake LeBovic, Sean McCann, and John Buehler.

Offensive MVP: Rory Saunders

Defensive MVP: Sam Wogulis

Boys Under-11 League division champion a year ago, Laguna played at the Silver level this year. Coached by Tony Pfieffer, Laguna won its division at the OCU tournament.

Team MVP: Reece Barton

Offensive MVP: Stan Ziegler

Defensive MVP: Alec Williams

Most Improved: Blair Conklin, Adam Meija

Coach’s Award: Grifan Fair

Boy Under-12

Laguna sent notice to the rest of the division when it beat perennial power Laguna Niguel Soccer Club in the first match of the season. The team occupied first-place in the standings for the first half of league play, but ended up finishing in a tie for third place. The team finished runner-up to Nevada state champion Cordica in the finals of the Major’s Cup in Las Vegas, a season highlight.

Team MVP: Brian Vail

Offensive MVP: Marc Hughes

Defense MVP: Paolo Noppenberger

Most Improved: Aaron Tang, Luke Barker

Boys Under-13 Another first-year team, coached by Andy Thomas, fought through several challenges during the season, which included several early-season injuries.

Team MVPs: Stevie Contursi, Travis Sampson

Defensive MVPs: Alex Wheeler, Andrew Wheeler

Most Improved: Matthew Neev

Boys Under-15 At the midpoint of the season, Laguna, coached by Andy Thomas, was in third place in the league standings but won its remaining games to emerge as division champion.

Team MVPs: Graham Harris, Alex Germano, Bryce Healey.

Offensive MVP: Tommy Hopper

Defensive MVP: Noah Michelon

Most Improved: Noah Barker, Tim Fulton