Here are the pairings and other information for the CIF-SS boys soccer playoffs.
DIVISION 1
Seeded teams: 1. Paramount, 2. Servite, 3. Loyola, 4. Los Alamitos.
Playoff dates: First round, Friday; Second round, Feb. 24; Quarterfinals, Feb. 26; Semifinals, March 1; final, March 4.
Dottore’s comments: Servite spent most of the season at No. 1 in the Division 1 poll, but the Friars tied St. John Bosco (No. 4 in the poll at the time), 1-1, on Feb. 3, and ceded No. 1 to Paramount. . . . Once again, the Friars are one of the most talented teams in the county. They are not the dominant force that rolled through the post season last season. The Friars have 10 shutouts this season. That’s respectable for sure, but last season, Servite held 17 opponents scoreless. . . . Servite doesn’t need to rely on its defense as much as in the past. The Friars are scoring goals. During Trinity League play, the Friars outscored their opponents, 25-7, and have scored 50 goals this season. . . . Garrett Amador leads the team with 14 goals. He is coming off a hat trick in a 4-1 victory against JSerra that moved him into a third-place tie with Chris Pontius, a 2005 grad and member of Philadelphia’s MLS team, on the school’s all-time scoring list with 42. Michael Godinez has scored 10 goals this season for Servite. . . . This division appears to be Paramount’s to lose. The Pirates have posted shutouts in seven of their last nine games, outscoring their opponents, 26-2 during that span. They have three players who has scored more than 10 goals this year – Christian Perez (10), Oscar Canela (15) and Bryan Ortega (13). . . . Los Alamitos could meet Paramount in the semis. Would the Griffins be the underdogs? Sure. But does that mean you can just count Los Al out? Hardly. They moved into first place in the Sunset League with a 2-1 victory against host Edison in a setting that can sometimes be daunting to the visiting team. The only thing that holds the Griffins back at times is they like to sit back and wait to make a move on a counter attack. But when they decide to get aggressive and push up the field, the Griffins can be very hard to contain.
Dottore’s prediction: Paramount beats Servite in the championship match.
FIRST ROUND
All Games 3 p.m.
Paramount – bye
Fountain Valley at Alemany
Santa Margarita at Centennial/Corona
Redondo Union at Santa Barbara
Mission Viejo at St. John Bosco
Ventura at Simi Valley
MLK at Mira Costa
Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks at Los Alamitos
Huntington Beach at Loyola
Corona at Buena
Downey at Royal
Capistrano Valley at Palos Verdes
Moorpark at Warren
St. Francis at Edison
Peninsula at San Clemente
Servite – bye
