Competition Stiff for Arcadia

Arcadia High came in to the hotbed of girls’ soccer--Orange County--and won the prestigious Santa Ana Mater Dei tournament last year.

The Apaches did it by defeating Capistrano Valley, the county’s top-ranked team, and ending Ventura Buena’s 37-game unbeaten streak.

No small feat for a program that garners little attention but manages to compete against the top programs despite playing in the relatively weak Pacific League.

Competition shouldn’t be a problem at the Mater Dei tournament, which begins today and continues Saturday and Sunday at The Farms sports complex, near Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Fourteen teams, including eight of The Times’ top 10, will be there.

Arcadia, which opens play today against Capistrano Valley (1-0), will attempt to defend its title with a young squad that had nine seniors graduate and is without two key starters because of injuries.

The Apaches (3-0) started the season with victories over defending Division II co-champion Mission Viejo and Newhall Hart, but the weekend tournament may be one of the few opportunities for them to test their strength before the playoffs.

“It’s a challenge for us to stay quick so we can be competitive in the tournaments and playoffs,” Coach Shelby Elliott said.

“We don’t get the preparation like those teams in the Sea View League. Those teams get a sense of what’s out there [because] they compete [against it] throughout their league games.”

The team was so desperate for quality competition last season that it scrimmaged against the school’s boys’ junior varsity team.

The Apaches haven’t had a difficult time reaching the playoffs--last season, they were the top-seeded team in Southern Section Division I for the second time in three seasons--however, advancing has been tougher.

They reached the quarterfinals last season, losing to Esperanza, 2-0, in a game in which Elliott said they played “very pretty, but just didn’t get it done.”

Elliott said not to expect the same style of play this season.

“We’re not the pretty Arcadia team anymore,” she said. “We’re just trying to get the ball in the net.”

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Not-so-sweet memories: Arcadia fondly remembers last year’s Mater Dei tournament, but Buena, competing again this year, would rather forget what happened when it journeyed south.

Anaheim Esperanza ended the Bulldogs’ 36-game winning streak with a 3-3 tie, then Arcadia beat Buena in overtime in the championship game.

“We’ve pretty much forgotten about losing the streak,” Coach Trisha Butterbaugh.

“We’re concentrating on getting back to the title game.”

Buena (0-0-0), which opens play today against San Diego University High, features six returning players, including senior midfielder Shaneka Alford.