CIF-SS boys soccer playoffs: Divisoin 4 breakdown

SEEDED TEAMS

1. Desert Mirage (20-4-0) – The De Anza League champions bring a 10-game winning streak into the playoffs, and have scored 82 goals this season for a 3.41 goals per game average.
2. University (15-1-3) – The Trojans feature a group of dynamic forwards that make them very difficult to mark. Three of them – Sebastien Hertel, Pedro Palmaka and Luis Moros – have scored more than 10 goals. Hertel leads the team with 12 with Palmaka and Moros each adding 11.
3. Carter (11-2-3) – The Lions are unbeaten in their last four games and are ranked No. 33 in the state after scoring 36 goals this season.
4. Garden Grove (15-2-2) – The Argonauts are on track to win a second consecutive Southern Section title. They have been a fixture in the Division 4 poll this season, and have outscored their opponents, 48-15. Elian Arrelo and Alan Samano lead the team, scoring 10 and nine goals respectively.

WILD CARD GAMES

A-     Littlerock at Muir

FIRST ROUND MATCHES

Wild Card A at Desert Mirage; Hart at Cabrillo/Lompoc; La Mirada at Upland; Western at Chaparral; Palmdale at Temescal Canyon; Bellflower at Yorba Linda; Patriot at Cathedral City; Lawndale at Garden Grove; Los Osos at Carter; Colony at Coachella Valley; Highland at Saugus; Lompoc at Culver City; Hoover at Glendora; Oaks Christian at Norwalk; Great Oak at Tahquitz; Buena Park at University

COUNTY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alex Trujillo, Western, Senior; Brandon Russell, Yorba Linda, Sophomore; Aldo Monier, Yorba Linda, Senior; Drake Henry, Yorba Linda, Senior;  Elian Arrelo, Garden Grove, Junior; Alan Samano, Junior; Sebastien Hertel, University, Sophomore; Pedro Palmaka, University, Sophomore; Luis Moros, University, Sophomore

MOST INTRIGUING FIRST ROUND MATCH

Western at Chaparral – Adrian Landeros and Juan Pascal Rodriguez have helped the Southwestern League champion Pumas score 47 goals this season and average 2.0 goals per match. Landeros leads the team with 16. Rodriguez follows with 10. Western, though, is used to marking dynamic forwards, and shutdown Valencia’s two 10-goal scorers to hand the Tigers a 2-0 defeat, their first Empire League loss since 2014. The Pumas are stumbling a bit heading into the playoffs, having lost to Temecula Valley, 2-0, in the season final, so I expect the Pioneers to pull off the upset

FINAL FOUR

Desert Mirage, Garden Grove, University, Carter

CHAMPIONS

University