It’s a Battle Out There for League Titles

With the second round of league play kicking off, some league titles could be decided as early as the end of the week, while others are destined to come down to the last day of the regular season.

One of the most competitive leagues is the Empire, where defending champion El Dorado (9-7-2, 4-0-1 in league) moved into first place Thursday with a 1-0 overtime victory over Cypress (11-4-2, 4-1-0), which fell to second.

Tasia Duarte scored the game-winner for El Dorado with less than a minute remaining in overtime. Cypress is led by Nicole Woiemberghe, who has a team-high 12 goals, and goalkeeper Angela Orr, who has nine shutouts.

Loara (14-3-1, 3-1-1), which lost to Cypress and tied El Dorado in the first round of play, will need to defeat both and get some unexpected help. It appears, however, the championship will be decided on Feb. 10, when Cypress hosts El Dorado.

Brea Olinda will host Valencia on Feb. 3 with the Orange League title at state. Each is undefeated and they tied, 1-1, in their first meeting. Brea (9-6-3, 3-0-1) will be looking to upset the two-time defending league champion and Division III finalist. Valencia is 8-3-2, 3-0-1.

The Century League also promises to come down to the last game of the season, when Foothill travels to El Modena. The Knights (5-7-5, 4-1), who lost their league opener to Villa Park, stunned El Modena (10-5-2, 4-1) last week, 4-0. Canyon (11-7-2, 3-2), the defending league champion, may have to settle for third.

Seventh-ranked Marina (14-6-2, 4-1) and sixth-ranked Esperanza (12-5-2, 4-1) are tied for first in the Sunset League, where Los Alamitos (7-6-2, 2-2-1) and surprising Fountain Valley (5-6-2, 2-2-1) are battling it out for the league’s third automatic playoff berth.

Fountain Valley, picked by many league coaches to finish last, knocked off then-ninth-ranked Los Alamitos and Edison (12-5-3, 1-3-1), which is currently ranked seventh in the Southern Section Division II polls. Julie Allen scored both goals in the Barons’ 2-0 victory over the Chargers. Many expect defending league champion Edison to use its team speed to make a title run in the second half.

Third-ranked Aliso Niguel (10-1-3, 2-0-1) holds a slight edge in the Sea View League over fourth-ranked Woodbridge (9-2-3, 2-0-2). They tied, 2-2, last week and play again Feb. 8.

The Wolverines have a dominating front line, led by Stacy Lindstrom, Tessa Baker and Kim Devine, while Woodbridge is deep, anchored by Sierra Cristiano and Ashley Swanson.

The most surprising race is in the South Coast League, where eighth-ranked Mission Viejo (13-4-1, 2-3) is battling for its playoff life. The Diablos, who have lost to top-ranked Capistrano Valley, fifth-ranked San Clemente and Trabuco Hills, are tied for third with the Mustangs and El Toro.

San Clemente takes on the task of keeping top-ranked Capistrano Valley (15-1, 5-0) from winning its fourth consecutive league title. The Tritons (10-1-3, 4-1) are ranked fourth in Division I and their only loss is to the Cougars, who are the division’s top-ranked team.

They meet at 3:15 p.m. today at Capistrano Valley High.

LOOKING AHEAD

On Thursday, Sunny Hills (17-4-1, 5-0), ranked sixth in Division II, hosts Troy (8-6, 4-1) in the Freeway League. The Lancers are looking for their eighth league title in 10 years.

Capistrano Valley travels to Mission Viejo on Thursday. The Diablos will be looking to their home-field advantage--their field is narrower than the Cougars’--to help them spoil Capistrano Valley’s annual championship party.

There are two key matches in the Sunset League on Thursday. Marina hosts Edison, a team the Vikings defeated 1-0 in their first meeting, and Esperanza hosts Los Alamitos. The Griffins handed the Aztecs their only league defeat in Round 1.

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