Twenty girls high schools will convene at the Sacramento Valley Kickoff Tournament tomorrow, marking the unofficial start to the season in Northern California. Three divisions – gold, silver and bronze – will be in action, but all eyes will be on the four-team top tier for a sneak peak at the region’s heavyweights.

The Amazons headline the Gold Division. The Sacramento side is a veteran of high school nationals and returned to the West Coast with a second-place finish in 2014. More importantly, the Amazons got closer to four-time reigning champion Fallbrook than anyone since 2010, when Sacramento beat the Warriors for the national title.

But last year’s team was senior-heavy, and that’s not the case in 2015.

“Yeah, it will be tough,” Sacramento coach Sefesi Green said. “We’re young, but we have some very experienced returning players who will now need to step up.”

Leading that aggressive, punishing forward attack for which the Amazons are renowned are Ana Polaulu and Jaida Kafovalu. They’re juniors now but have been starting since the 9^th grade. The attack is led by junior Melelea Tausinga, sophomore Mary Jane Pasioles and freshman Malieti Haungatau. All three will be representing Atlantis U19 at the Las Vegas Invitational, and the appearance will be Tausinga’s second.

Danville is next in line in terms of expectations. The Bay Area side plays the same brand of rugby as Sacramento and has performed very well on the national stage, despite its youth as a program. And its players have been quickly recognized. Graduate Fina Toetu’u was selected to the first-ever, 15-player High School All American team, and then TOetu'u signed onto varsity Central Washington University with a rugby scholarship. Another HSAA player, Mata Hingano returns and made the USA U20 team in 2014.

Similarly, Pleasanton has enjoyed solid success in a short time. Also competing in the Bay Area conference, the Cavaliers made its first trip to high school nationals last May and won the DII title. The team has a well known leader in Emily Roskopf, who was a HSAA Honorable Mention and regular for all-star teams like Atlantis/APEX. Roskopf has been pegged for one of two HSAA 7s teams – the first of its kind – in Las Vegas, while teammates Teigan MacDonald and Loren Roundtree will represent Atlantis U19 in the Elite 7s division.

The wild card is Bowling Green, one of five new teams joining NorCal this year. The program is based in the Sacramento Valley and the only newcomer willing to test the waters in the Gold Division. All of the teams will play three 30-minute games and winners will be determined after the round robin.

Tournament Participants

Gold Division (4)
Bowling Green
Danville
Pleasanton
Sacramento Amazons

Silver (8)
Bishop O’Dowd
Bullard
Cougars
Dixon
Lancers
Renegade
Rio Linda
Sierra

Bronze (8)
Alameda
Berkeley
Chico
Clayton Valley
Davis
Mother Lode
Pleasanton B
Silicon Valley
Sonoma