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Quick, lay on your side, place your hands together under your head and pretend to sleep. Orange County girls soccer has a few reasons to let loose and imitate Trinity Rodman’s famous goal celebration for the Washington Spirit.
Orange County will be represented in the CIF-SS girls soccer finals by six schools for the second time in three years.
Santa Margarita, Mater Dei, Troy, Foothill, Sage Hill and Whittier Christian will compete for titles on Friday and Saturday. The latter three schools have each reached the finals for the first time.
Tickets for the matches can be purchased at GoFan.co.
On Friday at El Modena High at 7:15 p.m., Santa Margarita (16-1-3) will face growing rival Corona Santiago (21-2-2) in the Open Division final for the second consecutive year. The Sharks won the clash last season but the Eagles beat the Inland Empire power for a CIF SoCal regional crown the following week.
Santa Margarita features sophomore forward Felicity Nguyen, who leads the squad with 21 goals and four assists.
Mater Dei (13-6-4) and Troy (15-2-2) face off in a somewhat surprising Division 1 final Saturday at El Modena at 6 p.m. The Monarchs finished fourth in the four-team Trinity League while Troy has reached its first final since 2009.
The match will spotlight two strong goalies in Kennedy Briseno of Mater Dei (Chico State commit) and Ava de Leest of Troy (Boise State).
In Division 3, Foothill (12-7-4) will take on Long Beach Poly (14-3-1) on Saturday at Veterans Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
One of Foothill’s top players is junior Hannah Werdel, who is committed to Marquette.
Sage Hill (12-3) will play La Mirada (13-8-3) in the Division 4 final Saturday at El Modena at 10:30 a.m. The Lightning are led by freshman Keila Fukuda, a forward who has 16 goals.
Whittier Christian (14-5-3) faces Thacher of Ojai (13-1-4) in the Division 6 final on Friday at La Habra High at 7 p.m. The Heralds are paced by senior Lauren Gravitt, who is the daughter of coach Christy Gravitt, and senior goalie Madison Torres. Gravitt has 21 goals and 19 assists while Torres delivered key saves in the semifinals.
SCHEDULE
Open Division
Santa Margarita (16-1-3) vs. Corona Santiago (21-2-2) at El Modena High, Friday, 7:15 p.m.
Division 1
Mater Dei (13-6-4) vs Troy (15-2-2) at El Modena High, Saturday, 6 p.m.
Division 3
Foothill (12-7-4) vs. Long Beach Poly (14-3-1) at Veterans Stadium, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Division 4
Sage Hill (12-3) vs. La Mirada (13-8-3) at El Modena High, Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
Division 6
Whittier Christian (14-5-3) vs. Thacher (13-1-4) at La Habra High, Friday, 7 p.m.
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