THE PREPS : Laguna Beach Soccer Team Forfeits 2 Games

The Laguna Beach High School boys’ soccer team must forfeit two Pacific Coast League games--a victory and a tie--because it used an ineligible player, Laguna Beach Principal David Wheeler said Wednesday.

Despite the forfeitures, both to Orange, the Artists will remain in first place in the league. After their victory Wednesday over Woodbridge, the Artists’ league record is 8-2.

According to Wheeler, the ineligible player was one of two foreign exchange students on the team. Both students were thought to be eligible before the season, but the school discovered that one student was in a private--rather than a sanctioned--exchange program.

The discovery was made last week, Wheeler said, and other league principals were notified Wednesday. The athlete in question played in only two games because of an extended visit home over the holidays.