Trio of girls’ soccer teams earn berths into CIF playoffs
After successfully getting through the regular season, three area girls’ soccer teams are ready for the next plateau.
La Cañada High, Flintridge Prep and Crescenta Valley each were selected to participate in the postseason after the CIF Southern Section office released the playoff pairings Monday.
The Spartans and Rebels will host first-round playoff matches Friday, while Crescenta Valley will hit the road. All matches are scheduled for 3 p.m, unless a time change is mutually agreed upon.
Third-seeded La Cañada, which won the Rio Hondo League championship, will meet Heritage Christian or Templeton. Heritage Christian (8-10-3) will take on Templeton (9-14) in a wild-card match Wednesday. The Spartans are 18-0-1.
After he examined the division bracket, La Cañada Coach Louie Bilowitz drew a conclusion.
“I think we are in the hardest part of the bracket, along with some other good teams in Paloma Valley, Vasquez and California,” said Bilowitz, whose team has yielded only nine goals this season. “If we win our first-round game, then we could face a tough team in California.
It’s going to be very difficult. Then again, if you want to win CIF, then you have to beat everybody. I don’t know much [about Heritage Christian or Templeton]. I have to get my team ready.”
California, which finished second in the Del Rio League, will take on Patriot or Linfield in its first-round match.
Flintridge Prep (12-4-5) will take on Malibu (14-9-1) in Division III. The Rebels placed second in the Prep League and the Sharks finished third in the Tri-Valley League.
The winner of the Flintridge Prep-Malibu match will take on Granite Hills or Santa Maria St. Joseph in a second-round match Feb. 26.
Crescenta Valley (9-9-2) will travel about 175 miles north to face San Luis Obispo (16-4-3) in a Division III matchup. The Falcons took third in the Pacific League. The Tigers finished second in the PAC-7 League.
The winner of the Crescenta Valley-San Luis Obispo contest would battle Cypress or Ridgecrest Burroughs in a second-round tilt Feb. 26.
