Two Orange County teams earned No. 1 seeds in their divisions when the CIF-SS released its boys soccer pairings Monday.
Servite, the defending Division 1 champion, was not one of them.
Godinez (Division 4) and Santiago (Division 5) topped their divisions, while Servite was No. 2 in Division 1 and earned a first-round bye.
The Friars were ranked No. 1 in the Division 1 poll for most of the season, but they tied St. John Bosco, 1-1, earlier this month, allowing Paramount to move past them in the CIF-SS poll and take the No. 1 seed.
“We feel we have a very good shot at defending our title, but also know it will take everything for us to do it,” Servite coach Jon Spencer said. “This will be a very exciting CIF playoffs. Anyone can win. Our division has some very strong teams. There is no clear-cut favorite.”
Santiago will also be looking to defend the CIF championship it won last season, its first in boys soccer. The Cavaliers cruised to the Garden Grove League championship this season, scoring three or more goals in eight of 10 games.
Ramon Yepez leads the team with 15 goals, which puts him in a tie for sixth on the county leaderboard.
The Cavaliers open their title defense against Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth on Friday.
“It is harder to stay on top than it is to get there,” Santiago coach Sean Redmond said. “ I am proud of the kids. They worked hard and they have tried to make the team their own.”
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
