Boys’ soccer: Unseeded teams rule the day in SS playoffs

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Soccer is such a fickle game. Either that or Southern Section officials pulled names out of a hat when they seeded teams for the playoffs.

Only one seeded team remains in half the divisions, and we’ve just wrapped up the quarterfinals.

That’s actually good news for Arlington, Kaiser and Jurupa Valley, who were among the unseeded teams that advanced to the semifinals.

Arlington defeated Montclair, 3-1, in a Division II quarterfinal Thursday afternoon, making its deepest postseason inroads in the program’s 35-year history. The Lions made their followers squirm before scoring three unanswered goals in the second half. They’ll host West Torrance on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

That game was a snoozer compared to the Division IV quarterfinals played by Kaiser and Jurupa Valley.

Kaiser defeated Oxnard Pacifica, 3-2, in three overtimes. The Cats allowed a goal at the beginning of the second overtime, but Irving Arteaga answered in the final seconds to tie the score. Irving Alcantar then won the game off a free kick.

Jurupa Valley needed two overtimes before defeating Coachella Valley, 4-3.

Kaiser will host Jurupa Valley on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Predictions?

Why bother?

-- Dan Arritt