SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ SOCCER PLAYOFFS : Mater Dei Defeats Mission Viejo to Set Up a Rematch

In a South Coast League preview, Mater Dei defeated Mission Viejo, 2-1, in a Southern Section Division 4-A girls’ soccer quarterfinal Friday at Mater Dei.

Mater Dei, the Angelus League runner-up, will move to the South Coast League next season, a switch that will strengthen what is already the most competitive soccer league in the Southern Section.

The Monarchs advance into the semifinals and for the second consecutive season they will play Simi Valley Tuesday at a site to be determined. Last year, Simi Valley beat Mater Dei, 3-0, at Mater Dei.

The Monarchs (23-2-2) opened aggressively and took a 2-0 lead on first-half goals by senior midfielder Kim Donohue and junior forward Katie Ward. But Mission Viejo (18-7-3) cut the margin with about a minute remaining when Kenna Bertell headed in a sky-high free kick from Nikki Charette.

After the match, Mission Viejo Coach Jim Dutton said he wouldn’t be coaching soccer next season. Dutton, who has coached at Mission Viejo for eight years and helped the Diablos to three consecutive Division 4-A titles in 1986, ’87 and ‘88, had been contemplating resigning for some time.

“I was getting too competitive and losing the fun part about coaching,” Dutton said. “I just need to re-evaluate.”

In other Division 4-A matches:

Simi Valley 2, Esperanza 0--Ann Dulcich and Amy Hunter scored for Simi Valley (24-1-1), the No. 1 seed. Esperanza finished 14-7-1.

El Toro 2, Claremont 1--With about one minute remaining in the match, Denise Kenyon headed in an indirect free kick from Shannon deAvila to give the No. 1-seeded Chargers (23-2-2) the victory at home. El Toro will play Dana Hills in a semifinal Tuesday.

Dana Hills 2, Walnut 0--Melissa Miller and Ginger Wilshin scored for host Dana Hills (19-8-3).

In Division 3-A:

Long Beach Millikan 2, El Modena 1--Liz Gunsaulus rebounded a shot that had hit the crossbar and scored the winning goal for Long Beach Millikan (14-4-2) 13 minutes into the second half. In the first half, Natalie Hubbartt tied the score for El Modena (8-7-6) with three minutes left.

La Canada 1, Canyon 0--Sarah Dien scored 15 minutes into the second half for visiting La Canada (18-6-2). Canyon finished at 18-6-2.