2009 Top 10 Teams Of The Year:

The area’s top-10 high school teams from the 2008-09 season were selected by the Glendale News-Press sports department.

1 St. Francis soccer St. Francis soccer — For most of the regular season, the Golden Knights found themselves in the hunt to reel in the Mission League championship. Entering the last several league matches, things didn’t go as planned. The Golden Knights finished fourth in league. Then, things starting going St. Francis’ way throughout the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs and, surprisingly, beyond.

St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said the Golden Knights had an opportunity at redeeming themselves for the postseason.

“We faltered during the last week of league, but they were geared up for the playoffs,” Appels said.

St. Francis didn’t waste much time getting back to its winning ways. It picked up a 2-0 win against Tesoro before recording a 1-0 victory against Newbury Park. A goal by Amir Moore in overtime gave St. Francis a 3-2 win against Long Beach Jordan. St. Francis then suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to Long Beach Millikan, appearing to have ended its season in the semifinals.

But, the disappointment of falling just short of the championship match didn’t last long. St. Francis was invited to participate in the CIF Southern California Regional Division II Championships for the first time.

“We were given a new chance, and we didn’t want a third disaster,” said Appels, who led the Golden Knights to three CIF championships between 1996-2003. “We were finished with that.

“We were going to finish on a positive note.”

St. Francis marched through the tournament with victories against Canoga Park and Valhalla to reach the championship match. The Golden Knights completed their season in style with a 4-2 win against top-seeded San Diego Cathedral Catholic.

“Most of the guys were unsure of the whole thing,” Appels, the All-Area Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year, said in reference to the Regional Tournament. “They were a little apprehensive about it because they didn’t know about it.

“They went into [the tournament] wanting to leave a mark. It was something for the younger guys to shoot for. The seniors had a feeling that they played up to their potential and that it would be their absolute last chance. Now, the returning players recognize that there’s more that can be done and now try to get it done next year.”