Roads Leading to Titles Are More Than a Little Rocky

After a regular season filled with parity and balance, it’s no surprise that high-powered matchups headline the early rounds of the Southern Section girls’ water polo playoffs.

South Coast League runner-up Capistrano Valley High, the sixth-ranked team in Orange County, will host Sea View runner-up Newport Harbor, ranked eighth in the county, in a Division I first-round game Saturday.

Last season, Capistrano Valley was the top-seeded team in the division and Newport Harbor was second seeded. Newport Harbor defeated Irvine, 9-5, in the title game last season.

In Division IV, there are even more top-flight early matchups.

In the wild-card round Wednesday, Pacific Coast League co-champion Laguna Beach, which finished in a three-way tie with fourth-seeded University and Corona del Mar, lost the coin flip and will play at Cypress, the Empire League runner-up.

The winner of that game plays at Freeway League co-champion Sonora in the first round Saturday.

Troy, which shared the Freeway League title with Sonora, lost the coin flip and plays a road game against third-seeded and freelance entry Rosary, the division’s two-time defending champion.

Santa Margarita, a freelance team that is top-seeded in Division IV and finished as the county’s top-ranked team, is the heavy favorite. Last week, Santa Margarita trounced second-seeded El Dorado, 8-1.

FOOTHILL’S FOCUS

Although Foothill is still flying high after its 8-6 overtime victory against three-time defending Century League champion Villa Park last week, Foothill Coach David Mikesell didn’t plan anything dramatic to help the Knights refocus for the playoffs.

“Obviously, the ultimate goal is to win CIF,” Mikesell said. “But winning that Villa Park game was just phenomenal, tremendous for these girls, especially for the seniors like Jackie Pirro. She was on our teams that lost to Villa Park by 17 goals when we first started.”

Foothill freshmen Brittany Hayes, Gabbie Domanic and goalie Emily Feher added to the Knights’ already growing talent base and helped push Foothill over the top.

So, is Foothill primed for a letdown in the first round of the playoffs Saturday, when it hosts wild-card entrant Los Alamitos?

The Griffins are dangerous. Although they finished fourth in the Sunset League, with Drue Wawrzynski leading the way, Los Alamitos was still the 10th-ranked team in the final Division I poll.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Mikesell said, “especially with no games this week until Saturday. There’s no way we can look past Los Alamitos. They play good team ball and Dave Carlson is one heck of a coach.”

Carlson, in his first season at Los Alamitos, led Marina to the Division I title in 1998.

REMATCHES ANYONE?

After Foothill’s overtime victory against Villa Park, Spartan Coach John Carcich came over to congratulate Mikesell.

“And hey,” Carcich said with a nod, “ . . . the finals.”

Villa Park has the firepower to get there, with UCLA-bound Kristyn Pulver, Cindy Henn and Danee French leading a balanced offense.

A Century League title rematch wouldn’t be shabby as a Division I final. But Sunset, Sea View or South Coast League title rematches are just as appealing.

El Toro edged Capistrano Valley by a goal to win the South Coast League championship, the difference provided on a mid-pool shot by Ke’ala Carter.

Sunset League champion and top-seeded Esperanza needed almost 12 minutes of overtime to edge third-seeded Marina by a goal in their last meeting, the third-place game of the Southern California Championships.

And second-seeded Irvine squeaked past Newport Harbor to unseat the defending Division I champion and win the Sea View League crown.