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This week’s Winter Notebook items from OCVarsity’s reporters:

GIRLS SOCCER

The season appeared to be over for the St. Margaret’s girls soccer team after it lost to top-seeded La Quinta of La Quinta on Friday in the CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinals.

But the CIF-SS ruled over the weekend that the Tartans were back in the playoffs, and would be home Tuesday for the semifinals against San Marino, because La Quinta committed a rules violation Friday and had to forfeit its victory over St. Margaret’s.

The violation involved La Quinta senior striker Brielle Leon, who was serving a one-game suspension Friday for receiving a red card during her team’s previous game. Because of the suspension, CIF-SS rules state that she couldn’t be inside the stadium or attend the contest Friday. Leon watched the contest on public property outside the stadium and joined her teammates on the field after the game was over.

La Quinta’s coach and athletic director claimed that Leon did not violate CIF-SS rules, but the CIF-SS office disagreed.

“If a student-athlete is ejected from a game,” CIF-SS communications director Thom Simmons told the Desert Sun on Sunday, “they are to sit out the next game, and if for some reason they don’t sit out the next game or they’re at the event, at the game, that game has to be forfeited. It’s very clear, and that’s exactly what the rule says.”

St. Margaret’s reported the violation to the CIF-SS on Saturday.

La Quinta athletic director Dan Armstrong told the Desert Sun that “this is not in the spirit of sport … We won the game on the field, and the fact that St.Margaret’s reported it to CIF, I think is suspect because they know who won the game.”

St. Margaret’s coach Johnny Marmelstein would not comment on the matter, and the school’s athletic director, Susie Maga, did not respond to requests for a comment Monday.

BOYS SOCCER

Four Orange League teams earned a place in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoff bracket. Three of those teams reached today’s semifinals.

Century (21-6-3), which won its first league championship since 2008, will play host to Chaparral of Temecula, which knocked off top-seeded Redlands East Valley in the second round. In the other semifinal, Anaheim (13-5-6) is home to Katella (17-5-3).

The Knights and Centurions have been winning in a similar fashion: scoring a lot of goals. At least twice during the postseason, Century and Katella have finished with at least three goals. The Centurions are coming off a five-goal game in the quarterfinals.

Century senior Ronaldo Pineda has scored a county-leading 30 goals.

– DAMIAN DOTTORE

WRESTLING

The brackets for the CIF State Wrestling tournament can be found at www.tmi.0catch.com.

The two-day tournament in Bakersfield begins Friday at 9 a.m.

– DAMIAN CALHOUN