West meets South       print story


Sheldon Shealer
StudentSportsSoccer.com Editor

December 19, 2005

The Tri-Valley Classic started out as a modest northern California showcase.
Now, the event is attracting national attention.
The 36-team event is divided into three 12-team tournaments - an invitational, a maroon and a gold division. The invitational is the focus this week as Texas TAPPS powers Ursuline, ranked in the FAB 50 Top 5, and Nolan Catholic, among the Top 30 teams, butt heads with EBAL and NorCal powers San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista.
Each team plays three group contests and its final game is for tournament placement. Kicking off Tuesday's action at 3:30 p.m. is a showdown between undefeated and Top 10 San Ramon Valley and Nolan Catholic. At 6 p.m., Monte Vista takes on Ursuline.
The ramifications of the results at Tri-Valley are obvious.
Regardless who gets the better of play - NorCal or Texas, both of those area's top teams head into additional showcase action that involves Florida, Texas public and Southern California teams.
The winner of Tri-Valley likely will garner a Top 5 ranking and be very much in the thick of the national title race.
To show how these events all tie together to paint a fair picture for national rankings purposes, Monte Vista will play in Excalibur next week, which features the top Southern California programs. If MV wins both events, then a national title is well within reach. Conversely, a MV or SRV victory at Tri-Valley and a less-than-stellar performance in Southern California could push the balance of power to the southern part of the state. Ursuline handed Nolan Catholic both of its early losses, so if Ursuline wins the Tri-Valley, it will then meet the Texas powers in an attempt to hold a lofty ranking. St. Thomas Aquinas, the Florida No. 1, enters the picture by virtue of playing in a tournament in Texas in mid-January.
Therefore, by late January, the FAB 50 No. 1 team will be well tested - not to mention very deserving of the ranking, and it all starts this week at Tri-Valley.
Ursuline is a tough road to the final, having to face Monte Vista, California and Carondelet - all three ranked in the FAB 50.
Not to be overlooked, Tri-Valley provides a perfect opportunity for local powers Bishop O'Dowd, California, Carondelet, Esperanza and Foothill to earn a national ranking.