RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – When the CIF-SS Open Division playoff pairings were released for girls soccer, most people were surprised to see Santa Margarita – the mostly undisputed top-seeded team – facing off against Santiago of Corona.

The two teams had played each other in the last two Southern Section and CIF State Regional finals. The rivalry is real. The talent is real. The drama is real.

A first-round matchup? That seemed unreal.

But the only senior starter on Santa Margarita’s team didn’t mind the meeting of superpowers. In fact, Jastel David reveled in it. She scored both goals as the Eagles scored a 2-1 victory over eighth-seeded Santiago to advance in the playoffs.

The teams had tied, 1-1, on Thursday in the division’s two-game format.

Santa Margarita (16-1-4) will play Oaks Christian in a two-game series that begins Wednesday.

Santiago finished 17-3-4.

“I was a little surprised to see them in the first round, but I was a little excited because it was an opportunity,” David said after scoring in the ninth minute and again in the 43rd. “We can knock them out, and it will be a different team in the final. It gets a little repetitive playing the same team over and over in the semis and finals. Now we get an opportunity to play a new team, and I think that’s going to be super fun for us.”

Super fun for a super collection of athletes. Santa Margarita had one senior, one junior, seven sophomores and two freshmen in the starting lineup. And though the Eagles are, on paper, inexperienced, it’s a shortcoming that is fading fast after they competed in the Trinity League and took down a playoff stalwart in Santiago.

The deeper they get into the playoffs, the better they should become.

“This team is incredibly young and inexperienced, and to do that to a team like Santiago – with their experience – is crazy,” Santa Margarita coach Craig Bull said after his team took another step toward a ninth section title. “That’s what I’m more proud of than anything else.

“These kids have been thrown into the deep end. Trinity League champions, then to win against Santiago in the first round, it’s an unbelievable achievement for these kids.”

Santa Margarita has a 3-2-1 advantage in the last six games against Santiago.

David’s run and 15-yarder went into the far right corner, past Santiago keeper Holly Liang, to stake Santa Margarita to a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Santiago tied the game in the 31st minute when Abigail Kelly scored on a penalty kick, the only time the Sharks were able to beat sophomore Kaitlin Crossett.

The tie score barely survived halftime. David again scored, from the left side, from about 15 yards, for a 2-1 advantage.

It could have been worse. Crossett blocked a penalty kick by the Santa Margarita’s lone junior starter, Felicity Nguyen, in the 46th minute. Nguyen also hit the post on an open net opportunity.

Unofficially, Santa Margarita outshot Santiago, 16-7, with five shots on goal to the Sharks’ one.

Nguyen had an assist on the Eagles’ first goal, and Reagan Condon had the assist on the second.

Santiago played the last 16 minutes without Kelly, who suffered a sprained knee.

“They brought a lot of energy in the form of pressure, and we had a tough go of it,” Santiago coach Mike Fleming said. “They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. They’re a well seasoned team, a well-coached team. Seemed like everything fell their way today. We felt a little snake-bitten, but good teams make other teams not play to their ability.

“It wouldn’t be honest to say we didn’t play well today because it takes away from what the other team is doing. I think we’re better than that and picked a bad time to not showcase what got us here for the last few years.”

It might have even taken them to the finals, but not against the Eagles in the opening round.

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