Boys’ soccer: St. Francis moves up in section rankings, not mine

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The St. Francis Knights moved up from No. 8 to No. 6 in this week’s Division I poll. I guess that’s those voting coaches’ way of showing some love.

The Golden Knights (14-4-1, 3-0-1) beat Loyola, 2-0, and tied Encino, 0-0, last week in Mission League play. That’s more than just a good week for a team that coaches keep telling me is quite legit. The Knights, pictured after winning the Burroughs Tournament earlier this season, play Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame this week.

Last week, in my initial top 5 rankings for the entire Southland, I had St. Francis at No. 3. Nothing changes this week as the Golden Knights remain behind Santa Margarita and Servite, who last week played to a 1-1 draw in a Trinity League match.

My Top 5

1 -- Santa Margarita (10-1-4, 1-0-1 Trinity) ... Played Damien, Servite and Mater Dei in a six-day span and came out with two wins and one draw.
2 -- Servite (17-1-3, 2-0-1 Trinity) ... The Friars’ focus will be tested this week as they must not get caught looking ahead to next week, where games against Mater Dei and Santa Margarita await.
3 -- St. Francis (14-4-1, 3-0-1 Mission) ... Played Loyola and Crespi and lived to tell about it.
4 -- Ventura (17-0-3, 2-0-1 Channel) ... Top team in Division II remains unbeaten.
5 -- Santa Monica (14-0-1, 2-0 Ocean) ... The Vikings are in a three-way for first place in league with Beverly Hills and Culver City. Who do they play this week? Beverly Hills and Culver City.

-- Jaime Cardenas

-- Image from http://www.sfhs.net