At the Buzzer: Dublin High boys soccer has Cinderella season
When James Fulwiler took over as the coach of the Dublin High boys soccer team four years ago, he inherited a program in shambles. There wasn’t a complete set of uniforms, there were just 28 kids in the program and the Gaels were hardly a factor in the competitive Diablo Foothill Athletic League. “We sat down with the athletic director and told him the first couple years were going to be tough, but we’d have a winning record in the third year and compete for the DFAL title every year after that,” Fulwiler said.
He was spot on. The Gaels won eight games in his first two years, and shot up to 13 wins last year before winning the DFAL title this year.
“At the start of the year, our goal was to win 15 games and qualify for (the North Coast Section playoffs),” Fulwiler said.
Just qualify?
“You have to remember we haven’t been on that (playoff) stage before,” Fulwiler said. “There have been a couple (Dublin) teams to make a showing, but with an early exit.”
With a 17-3-2 record during the regular season, the Gaels already exceeded their own expectations, but what they did in the postseason will be remembered for a long time. After picking up a pair of relatively easy wins in the first two rounds of the tournament, the Gaels went to penalty kicks with previously undefeated Albany and earned a berth in the championship, winning 2-1 (4-2 on penalty kicks).
Playing at home as the designated visitor against undefeated Bishop O’Dowd — a team ranked No. 21 in the nation by ESPN Rise — the Gaels were in the underdog role they’d become accustomed to.
With the full support of the Dublin community, the Gaels again forced penalty kicks and again came out on top 2-1 (4-3 on penalty kicks).
“I don’t know if a team has ever gone through two undefeated teams to win a championship before,” Fulwiler said. “The beauty of this team is that they were freshmen when (our coaching staff) took over.”
Fulwiler’s philosophy was fairly simple: Focus on defense and let players in the program develop together.
“We had 12 seniors on the team this year and we’ll probably have 12 seniors next year,” he said. “We want the kids to have a chance to learn how to play together before they get to varsity.”
Having three talented senior captains didn’t hurt either. Forward and DFAL MVP Cody Hoster, along with center midfielders Jamie Somerville and Nico Portugal, provided leadership for a team Fulwiler essentially described as a coach’s dream.
“They were just 18 kids who all got along and wanted to play soccer,” he said. “There were no egos, no problems at all.”
Throw in the play of unheralded goalie Roberty Silky, who stepped up big in both shootouts, and its hard to believe this was a team that flew under the radar for so long.
SRV streak comes to an end: When Castro Valley topped San Ramon Valley in Saturday’s NCS Division I girls’ soccer championship, the Wolves’ record run of four straight titles came to an end. It also marked the end of the East Bay Athletic League’s dominance.
Castro Valley is now the only team that does not currently play in the EBAL to have won a soccer title at the highest level in history.
Most people, myself included, were under the impression that Carondelet’s titles in 1994 and 1999 were the only ones won by non-EBAL schools. But thanks to a tip from former Monte Vista coach Greg Fish, I’ve learned that is not actually the case. When the Mustangs won NCS titles in 1993 and 1994, they were members of the Bay Valley Athletic League. They returned to the EBAL in time to win NCS again in 1996.
Written by Kyle Bonagura, Columnist.
