OCVarsity’s girls soccer preseason O.C. top 10:
PRESEASON O.C. TOP 10
1. Santa Margarita: The Eagles won everything possible last season and could do it all again. Santa Margarita was a young team last year and is still loaded with youth, talent and college commits.
2. Tesoro: The Titans face a tougher league this year but still have a talented core and a strong philosophy. Ally Cook (torn ACL) and her 21 goals will be tough to replace, but Tesoro has the mettle.
3. Aliso Niguel: The Wolverines have plenty of motivation after being upset in the quarterfinals as a No. 1 seed in CIF-SS Division 1 last year. All-CIF midfielder Remy Mathews and U.S. Under-16 defender Madelyn Desiano return to bolster Aliso Niguel.
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GIRLS SOCCER PREVIEW
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4. Mater Dei: The Monarchs will be Santa Margarita’s top obstacle in the Trinity League this season. League offensive MVP Haley Hopkins and defensive player of the year Julia Ware return to lead a strong and hungry Mater Dei core.
5. San Clemente: The Tritons have a strong senior class led by All-CIF and league MVP goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy. Lauren Leslie takes over as coach as San Clemente enters a tough South Coast League.
6. El Toro: The reigning Sea View League gets a bit of a reprieve on a challenge for its league title as Tesoro swaps to the South Coast, but El Toro still has plenty of motivation after a first-round CIF-SS exit on a scoreless draw and penalty kicks.
7. Edison: The Chargers are full of seniors including Sunset League defensive MVP Zoe Clevely in goal. Edison will face a battle in the Sunset League again with strong Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach sides.
8. JSerra: The Lions have been waiting in the wings but may be ready to fight Mater Dei and Santa Margarita. Coach Greg Baker has his team loaded and ready for the challenge.
9. Corona del Mar: The Sea Kings come in as the top team in the CIF-SS Division 2 competitive equity power rankings, or the last team out of the stacked Division 1. That might be a blessing for defensively minded CdM coming out of the Pacific Coast League
10. Northwood: The Timberwolves were runners-up in CIF-SS Division 2 last season, and their reward is a jump to Division 1. Northwood loses the county’s 2015-16 player of the year, Dani Solaru, but is still in line to compete for third straight Pacific Coast League title.
