This League Won’t Be a Sunset Cruise

The boys’ soccer playoffs don’t begin for six weeks, but that really isn’t the case for Sunset League teams, which begin their own brand of the playoffs next week.

“In our league, I really believe it will be harder to get into the playoffs than it will be to make a run in the playoffs,” said Fountain Valley Coach Jason Smith, whose seventh-ranked team completed the nonleague season with a 6-2-4 record. “Every game in our league will probably be harder than a first- or second-round playoff game would be. I think we’ll treat every game like it’s the semifinals.”

Based on the Sunset’s showing in last year’s Southern Section playoffs, Smith might have a point. Third-place Esperanza defeated league champion Fountain Valley in the Division I semifinals and lost in the championship game. Second-place Edison went to the Division II final, where the Chargers played Mater Dei to a scoreless tie. Fourth-place Huntington Beach, entered the league season ranked second in the county and didn’t even qualify for the playoffs. Los Alamitos was 3-7 in league but 15-8-4 overall.

Santa Margarita Coach Curt Bauer, whose team has won four consecutive Division III titles, said he’s happy to be in the Serra League.

“I’m glad I don’t play in the Sunset League,” he said. “I don’t think we’d stay healthy very long. Every team is pretty physical.”

And this year, every team is pretty good. None of the six teams have more than two losses and Los Alamitos and Marina, which failed to make the playoffs last year, already have nine victories.

“As brutal as our league was last year, I think it’s even tougher this year from top to bottom,” Los Alamitos Coach Trey Scharlin said. “I think any one of the six teams can make the playoffs and anyone of us can go a long way in the playoffs.”

Marina, which has won only one league game the last three seasons, is the biggest surprise. The Vikings, led by sophomore forward Anthony Ordonez, have only lost to Long Beach Millikan, the No. 1 ranked team in Division I, and Mater Dei, ranked third in the county. Los Alamitos, which hasn’t won a league title in nine years, is 9-1-3. The Griffins are led by senior forward Michael Munoz, who has six goals and two assists.

Eighth-ranked Huntington Beach (6-1-2) remains the league’s most talented team, but the Oilers are also the most unpredictable. Coach Kevin Smith resigned two weeks ago after he admitted to being in violation of the Southern Section’s “association rule.” Assistant coach John Clark has taken over the team.

Los Alamitos opens league play Jan. 10 by hosting Marina. Edison hosts Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley travels to ninth-ranked Esperanza (11-1-2).

The four-team Serra League doesn’t have the depth of the Sunset, but it might have the county’s two best teams in No. 3 Mater Dei and second-ranked Santa Margarita, which have a combined record of 31-3-3. On Jan. 12, the Serra League opens with Mater Dei playing at Santa Margarita.

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League Favorites

Century: Foothill

Empire League: El Dorado

Freeway: Sonora

Garden Grove: Pacifica

Golden West: Tustin

Olympic: Orange Lutheran

Orange: Brea Olinda

Pacific Coast: Costa Mesa

Sea View: Woodbridge

Serra: Mater Dei

South Coast: Dana Hills

Sunset: Huntington Beach