After a few months off, NorCal league action is finally back underway as teams from all across the state kick off their NPL and ECNL-RL journeys for the fall. It’s a clean slate for each and every team, with all hopefully of being in the title race for the rest of the season.

Here are your NPL/ECNL-RL games of the week:

U19 Boys NPL 1

Palo Alto SC 2 – San Jose Surf 0

Goalscorers:

Palo Alto: Moreno, Gonzalez

In the first featured match of the 2023/24 season, Palo Alto SC took an early lead in the U19 Boys NPL 1 thanks to a 2-0 victory over Bay Area rivals San Jose Surf. Palo Alto struck early in both halves to take all three points home, with Andres Moreno scoring in the 12th minute, before Andre Gonzalez sealed the result with a strike in the 58th minute.

U15 Girls NPL Capitol

El Dorado Hills Soccer Club 1 – Granite Bay FC 6

Saturday, 8/19 10:30 a.m. @ CSD – East

In a dominating performance in what was the team’s first game in the NPL, Granite Bay FC traveled to El Dorado Hills SC and defeated their Capitol rivals via a 6-1 scoreline. With their dynamic attack, Granite Bay simply couldn’t be stopped on Saturday and will head into next weekend’s Matchday #2 atop the U15 Girls NPL Capitol table.

U16 Girls ECNL-RL

North Coast Futbol Club 2 – Stanislaus United 4

Goalscorers:

North Coast: Sarno, Guerrero

Stanislaus: Alcala (2), Farmer, Montes-Aranda

In a rematch of last year’s State Cup final, North Coast Futbol Club put up a fight against Stanislaus United, but ultimately the result remained the same as the Central Californian side took home all three points in a 4-2 victory. Valeria Alcala opened the scoring for the visitors in just the fifth minute before Kylie Farmer doubled their lead just 13 minutes later. While Makena Sarno pulled one back for North Coast in the 52nd, a strike from Emmah Montes-Aranda and a second from Alcala put the match out of reach. North Coast’s Bailey Guerrero hit the back of the net four minutes from time, but by that point the result had already been decided.

U15 Boys ECNL-RL

Almaden FC 2 – Los Gatos United 0

Goalscorers:

Almaden: Bertran (2)

In our first-ever boys ECNL-RL featured match, Almaden FC started off their season by picking up three points at home against Bay Area rivals Los Gatos United. The star on the day was Almaden’s Biel Bertran, who hit the back of the net twice in the first half to ensure that his side would start the season off at the top of the table.