Orange County Teams Top-Seeded in Soccer

Orange County high school soccer teams are seeded No. 1 in four of the seven divisions of the 1987 Southern Section playoffs, and five other county teams are among the top four in their divisions in the playoff pairings announced Monday.

Two undefeated county girls’ teams are seeded first--defending 4-A co-champion Mission Viejo (23-0-1) and Laguna Hills (19-0-4), which advanced to the 4-A semifinals last season but moved to division 3-A this season.

Defending champion Esperanza (20-2-1) is No. 1 in boys’ 3-A, and 1986 co-champion Brea-Olinda (13-4-2) is No. 1 in boys’ 2-A.

The other seeded county teams are Marina (No. 3, boys’ 4-A), Sunny Hills (No. 2, boys’ 2-A), Whittier Christian (No. 3, boys’ 1-A), Edison (No. 4 girls’ 4-A) and La Quinta (No. 4, girls’ 3-A).

First-round matches are scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday in all divisions except 4-A girls, 3-A boys and 1-A boys. Those divisions are scheduled to play first-round matches at 3 p.m. Friday.

Numerous county teams will play each other in the first round.

In boys’ 4-A, Villa Park plays at Edison, Santa Ana plays at No. 3 Marina and Ocean View plays at Mater Dei. In boys’ 2-A, Corona del Mar plays at Orange. In other girls’ county matches, Newport Harbor plays at Capistrano Valley (4-A), Woodbridge is at Sonora and Garden Grove plays at Canyon.

Seven county teams--Sonora, Troy, La Quinta, Valencia, Woodbridge, Rancho Alamitos and Estancia--play in today, trying to secure one of the 10 2-A boys’ wild-card berths.

Esperanza and Laguna Beach (girls’ 3-A) and Orange Lutheran (girls’ 2-A) also play wild-card matches today.

The Estancia girls (4-A) play a wild-card match Wednesday.

Playoff Notes

Manny Toledo, Brea-Olinda boys’ coach, whose team is seeded No. 1 in the 2-A division, is upset over the division playoff pairings. Brea and No. 2 seeded Sunny Hills both drew first-round opponents who finished second in their leagues. Every other top-seeded division team either drew a bye or plays a third-place or a wild-card team. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams each drew wild-card teams. Calling the brackets “atrocious,” Toledo said teams were “being punished for winning the league.” The 2-A division has 10 wild-card berths, which 20 teams play for today. Brea drew for its first-round opponent La Mirada, a team that finished second in the Suburban League and defeated the Wildcats earlier this season.