South Coast Shows Off Its Strength
It has been a battle between the South Coast and Sunset Leagues for dominance in the girls’ soccer ranks this season, but after last week’s Excalibur tournament the South Coast League proved that it has the edge.
Four South Coast teams are ranked in the county’s top-10 this week and the Sunset League has three.
All six South Coast teams participated in Excalibur, compiling a record of 15-7-3, with first-, sixth- and ninth-place finishers in the 32-team bracket. The Sunset League sent five teams, and placed fifth and 10th. In head-to-head competition, the South Coast is 8-4. Esperanza has taken the brunt of those losses, falling to Capistrano Valley, Trabuco Hills, San Clemente and twice to Mission Viejo.
Capistrano Valley won its second straight Excalibur title, but there were several surprises, good and bad, for the powerhouse league.
Surprising many was Mission Viejo, which at the time was the top-ranked team in the county. The Diablos fell in the first round to Irvine on penalty kicks and later lost to Los Alamitos, finishing the tournament 1-1-1.
San Clemente, which remains one of the few undefeated teams in the county, was eliminated from the second round by defending Division IV champion West Hills Chaminade on penalty kicks. However, the Tritons rebounded and knocked off two Sunset League opponents on their way to a ninth-place finish.
The biggest stunner, though, came from Trabuco Hills. Unranked and unnoticed, the Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals without scoring a single goal. They edged Alta Loma, 4-3, on penalty kicks, then advancing again, with a victory over No. 8 Esperanza, 6-5, on penalty kicks. After losing to Woodbridge in the semifinals, the Mustangs went on to defeat Redlands, before falling, 2-1, to Edison in the fifth-place game.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
The South Coast and Sunset League’s contributed half of the players named to the Excalibur all-tournament team, with Woodbridge and Santa Margarita rounding out the county’s selections.
Players named were: Capistrano Valley’s Kristen Moore, Laurel Allen, Megan Abbamonto and Lindsay Greco; Woodbridge’s Christine Johnson, Sierra Cristiano and Lauren Schick; Santa Margarita’s Katie Rivera and Stacey Rowell; Edison’s Nicole Harrison and Shannon Leslie; San Clemente’s Emily Ernsdorf and Whitney Jones; Trabuco Hills’ Cassie Wittick and Marina’s Ashley O’Brien.
ROAD WARRIORS
The New Year couldn’t have come at a better time for Marina, which ended a grueling stretch of nine games in 11 days at the end of the year, all on the road. It was Marina’s county-leading 17th game of the season, 15 of those on the road.
Compiling a record of 10-5-2, the Vikings’ losses were all on the road to some of the Southern Section’s toughest teams--No. 1 Capistrano Valley, No. 6 San Clemente, Alta Loma, Redlands and Arcadia.
The Vikings’ next game is Thursday, on the road, at seventh-ranked Edison.
If you have an item or idea for the girls’ soccer report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at melanie.neff@latimes.com