It was only moments after Thursday’s postgame handshakes had taken place that Santa Margarita girls soccer coach Chuck Morales stood at the center of the school’s field, already discussing what lies ahead for his Eagles squad.
“Arguably, this is one of the most difficult leagues anywhere in this United States,” he said of the Trinity League. “It is a very, very difficult league in all sports.
“Rosary is very good, JSerra is very good and OLu. On any day, anybody can beat anybody in this league.”
With a 4-2 win over Mater Dei on Thursday, No. 7 Santa Margarita has positioned itself atop the standings – at least early on – alongside No. 10 Rosary.
Those two teams face off Tuesday afternoon at Fullerton College, the winner becoming the favorite to capture the league title.
It’s a scenario that will be duplicated throughout the county next week. In eight leagues the first- and second-place teams play one another over the next seven days.
Here is a closer look at three of next week’s marquee showdowns:
Laguna Hills at No. 3 Tesoro, Tuesday 4:30 p.m.
Has there been a bigger surprise this season than the third-ranked Titans? After winning the Excalibur Tournament several weeks back, Tesoro has reeled off three straight Sea View League wins by a combined 10-2 margin. With Kaitlyn Cook, Valen Soares-Gache, Sofie Kreitl and Kelsey Adair playing up top, the Titans (13-1-3) own one of the best attacking cores in the county.
Laguna Hills (10-1-1) has quietly put together an impressive start, too. The Golden Hawks are ranked No. 11 in the state by Topdrawersoccer.com, higher than four teams – Canyon, Santa Margarita, Los Alamitos and Mission Viejo – ranked in the O.C. top 10.
This matchup will be a true test for Laguna Hills.
No. 1 Aliso Niguel at Dana Hills, Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
The Wolverines have won five straight matches and have allowed just one goal during that stretch. The Dolphins have scored five goals while winning their first two South Coast League games, highlighted by senior Meghan Shaver’s two-goal effort against Mission Viejo.
While Dana Hills (7-5-1) has lost five matches, the top-ranked Wolverines (11-1-1) dropped only their match against Cathedral Catholic of San Diego – the top-ranked squad in the state.
Corona del Mar at Northwood, Thursday at 3:15 p.m.
The addition of Chloe Rice and Hailey Neumann has allowed Sea Kings coach Bryan Middleton to re-structure his starting lineup.
“With Hailey being such a good defender, I was able to move (Birkley) Sigband back into the midfield where she can be more creative,” Middleton explained. “That creates more offense for us.”
Senior midfielder Shelby Brown may have benefitted the most from the recent lineup changes. She has scored three goals in CdM’s 3-0 start in the Pacific Coast League.
“Each time we play them,” Middleton said of Northwood (10-5-2), “it could decide who wins league.”
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
