Malibu Boys Take Soccer Championship

The Malibu Boys U16 AYSO soccer team took first place in the Section 10 Finals in Bakersfield this past weekend, for an unprecedented second year in a row.

The team, undefeated in both the area championships and section championships, beat Fillmore 3-1 Sunday in the final game of the tournament. It was a hard-fought contest, and although Fillmore scored a quick goal at the beginning, Malibu rebounded by adapting and responding to Fillmore’s strategy and dominated play for the rest of the game. Malibu beat Bakersfield 4-0 in the semi-final round, and won over Palmdale (2-0), Canyon Country (3-0) and tied Balboa (0-0) on Saturday.

“I was fortunate to be able to be around a group of very skilled and smart young men that rose to the occasion and played some phenomenal soccer,” said coach Scott Schoenberger.

Team members are Maika Apana-Bates, Walker Blake, Bowen Brock, Hamish Buran, Cameron Burke, Angel Diaz, Silas Gann, Evan Geft, Aidan Gunasekera, Casey Kelly, Derrick Leroy, Tal Magdish, Nicky Mallouk, Kevin McNulty, Robbie Mills, Noah Ovsiowitz, Nick Reinhold, Danner Rondell and Alex Sudmann. The team was coached by Schoenberger and Sid Gunasekera, and had a coaching assist in the final playoff game from Chris Nansel. All are longtime youth sports coaches in Malibu.

“This tournament was a very big deal. Every team invited to it was the champion of their area. Our team went unbeaten in sectional playoffs and although our whole team has exceptional skill, I want to call attention to several players who were instrumental in our success. Our goalie Nick Reinhold was such a crucial part of the team; he never got scored on. When we needed Nick in the field, Casey Kelly stepped in as goalie, and also played multiple positions; he excelled as forward, using his incredible speed to keep the opposing team’s defense busy. Alex Sudmann and Aidan Gunasekera were fantastic on defense, making sure they controlled the back. In midfield, Bowen Brock was an instant scoring threat who also helped on defense, and Evan Geft passed and distributed the ball so unselfishly. Walker Blake had such creative footwork he was able to go up against kids twice his size; he was the highest scorer during the whole season. And Maika Apana-Bates was able to play through injury and greatly helped our defense, playing multiple positions when needed,” Gunasekera said.

Last year both the Girls U16 and the Boys U16 teams won first place in their respective final games in this same section-level tournament. Section 10 includes a large swath of the state, ranging from the Central Valley through Los Angeles. There are 3 sections in California and only 13 sections across the whole country.

This year Malibu sent three teams to Section 10 Finals -- the Boys U16 and U19 and Girls U19 teams.

CAPTION: Malibu Boys U16, left to right, front row: Angel Diaz, Silas Gann, Walker Blake, Danner Rondell, Nick Reinhold, Maika Apana-Bates, Aidan Gunasekera.

Back row: Coach Sid Gunasekera, Alex Sudmann, Robbie Mills, Noah Ovsiowitz, Cameron Burke, Derrick Leroy, Bowen Brock, Casey Kelly, Hamish Buran, Kevin McNulty, Tal Magdish, Evan Geft, Nicky Mallouk, coach Scott Schoenberger, coach Chris Nansel. {Photo credit Tierney Gearon}