The CIF-SS boys and girls lacrosse playoffs are starting this week, and it seems likely that Orange County teams will sweep the Division 1 titles and could surpass last year’s postseason showing overall.
Last season, Orange County boys teams reached one of the three finals, but didn’t win a championship. And the county girls reached two finals and won both of them, Foothill in Division 1 and Corona del Mar in Division 2.
This year on the boys side, the top four seeds in Division 1 are all from Orange County: No. 1 Mater Dei, No. 2 St. Margaret’s, No. 3 Foothill and No. 4 Corona del Mar. All four teams defeated fifth-seeded Loyola during the regular season, and their only losses this season in the Southern Section were to each other.
Loyola beat Foothill last season to become the inaugural CIF-SS champion in the sport. This time around there should be an Orange County team hoisting the Division 1 trophy after the final in two weeks.
There are county teams in boys Division 2 (No. 3 seed Beckman, No. 4 seed Aliso Niguel) and in Division 3 (No. 3 Canyon, No. 4 seed Mission Viejo) that look like strong contenders to at least reach the finals.
For a long time, whoever won the Orange County girls championship under the old US Lacrosse playoff umbrella dominated its L.A. counterpart to win the section championship. Once again, the Foothill girls (18-1) are the overwhelming favorite to repeat as the Division 1 champion.
Senior Elena Torres, the reigning Orange County player of the year and a Villanova signee, led the Knights this season with 85 points. Junior Zoey Stephens has 100 ground balls and goaltender Mikayla Yang has one of the highest save percentages in the section. It’s hard to imagine anyone coming close to knocking off Foothill.
Mater Dei and Maddie Luer, a Villanova signee, are the No. 1 seed and the favorites in Division 2. Corona del Mar, the No. 2 seed, is a sleeper candidate with a group led by Bella Grace and goaltender Eleanor Spotts.
Newport Harbor is the No. 3 seed in girls Division 2.
There are no Orange County teams in the top four seeds in girls Division 3.
Playoff notes
• There were five wild-card games round games in boys Division 1 Monday. The most intriguing county matchup was between Santa Margarita and Newport Harbor. The Eagles finished second in the Trinity League and are led by junior attackman Ethan Messer and goaltender Kyle Kao.
• The Mater Dei, Foothill and Trabuco Hills boys teams will play the winners of wild-card games in round one on Wednesday. St. Margaret’s, who is the No. 2 seed, will play Gold Coast League champion Sierra Canyon in the first round. The Tartans (18-1) are one of two at-large teams in Division 1 because they are not a member of a league.
• The only loss for the St. Margaret’s boys in the regular season was in overtime to Mater Dei. Since that setback, Austin Hicks, a transfer from Trabuco Hills, has emerged as one of the top scorers in the county for the Tartans. They also have talented scorers like Owen Binder, Makai Todd, Will Stahl and Matt Groeninger.
• Corona del Mar got the toughest draw of the top four seeded boys teams. The Sea Kings will play Loyola in round two while the other top three teams have more favorable matchups. Corona del Mar (15-3) narrowly beat Loyola 8-7 on April 13.
• The Sea Kings boys team is led by four-year starters Ty Caffarelli and Logan Ip. Nicolas Peloso and Lucas Newton are experienced midfielders and goaltender Grant Giuliano is 6-foot-3 with playoff experience.
• The Trabuco Hills boys won two close games against Tesoro last week to win the South Coast League. Tristan Bassett was named the league’s MVP and Sebastian Hager is a good scorer for the Mustangs. Trabuco’s prize for winning the South Coast League is a second-round matchup against Mater Dei.
• Eight boys teams received first-round byes in Division 2, including Beckman and Aliso Niguel.
• The Beckman (16-1) and Aliso Niguel (16-2) boys teams could have arguably been seeded higher but were punished for the weak leagues they play in. Beckman will likely play St. John Bosco in the semifinals in what would be a marquee matchup.
• Despite not winning a South Coast League game, Mission Viejo’s boys team is the most intriguing county team in Division 3. The Diablos, led by Max Muller and football standout Ruben Lopez, played close games against San Juan Hills and San Clemente.
• Santa Margarita vs. San Clemente is the premier first-round matchup in girls Division 1. San Clemente (14-1) is led by freshman sensation Sophia Yeskulsky and senior goaltender Brookelynn Hodgin. Santa Margarita has player of the year candidate Molly Jacobson and blew through the Trinity League.
• El Toro (17-4) won the Sea View League easily and might be the top county team in girls Division 3. Megan Klepacki had 101 points for the Chargers this season.
CIF-SS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS
Boys Lacrosse
Division 1
Wild-card round, Monday, May 2
Newbury Park at Yorba Linda
Newport Harbor at Santa Margarita
Harvard-Westlake at Tesoro
Oaks Christian at Los Alamitos
First round, Wednesday, May 4
Winner Wild Card A at Mater Dei
Winner Wild Card B at Trabuco Hills
Westlake at Corona del Mar
Winner Wild Card C at Foothill
St. Margaret’s at Sierra Canyon
Division 2
Byes: Beckman, Aliso Niguel
First round, Wednesday, May 4
Redondo Union at Northwood
Edison at Great Oak
JSerra at San Marcos
Peninsula at Woodbridge
Huntington Beach at San Juan Hills
Division 3
Wild-card round, Monday, May 2
Glendale at Mission Viejo
Orange Lutheran at Damien
First round, Wednesday, May 4
Crean Lutheran at Thacher
Roosevelt at Canyon
University at Linfield Christian
GIRLS LACROSSE
Division 1
First round, Tuesday, May 3
Edison at Foothill
San Clemente at Santa Margarita
St. Margaret’s at Redondo Union
Division 2
Wild-card round, Tuesday, May 3
Royal at Trabuco Hills
First round, Thursday, May 5
University at Mater Dei
JSerra at Murrieta Mesa
Westlake at Beckman
Newport Harbor at Chaminade
San Juan Hills at Santiago/Corona
Canyon at Crescenta Valley
Corona del Mar at West Ranch
Division 3
Bye: Woodbridge
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First round, Thursday, May 5
Yorba Linda at Millikan
Rosary at Segerstrom
Murrieta Valley at El Toro
Roosevelt at Mission Viejo
Northwood at Chaparral
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