Soccer: Boys and girls doubleheader at Mater Dei on Tuesday

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Talk about home-field advantage.

Mater Dei will host a Southern Section semifinals doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The boys play first and then the girls will play under the lights.

The boys’ game is an All-Trinity League affair between Mater Dei (18-5-4) and top-seeded Santa Margarita (19-2-4). The defending Division I co-champion Eagles won both regular-season games, but the Monarchs have raised their level of play in the postseason. Mater Dei comes into the game having outscored its playoff opponents, 11-3. Santa Margarita has won each of its three playoff games by a score of 1-0.

The second game will be between the Monarchs’ girls team (14-3-9) and No. 3 seeded San Clemente (16-4-5), a rematch of game played in December. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 5 p.m., but could be later if the boys’ game goes in overtime. Mater Dei, last year’s Division I champion, beat San Clemente, 2-1, the only time the two met this season. The game was at Mater Dei as part of the Premier Invitational tournament.

To check out all the Southern Section pairings click here for boys and here for girls.

-- Jaime Cardenas