The picture heading into the Orange County girls lacrosse playoffs has been the same the past few seasons.
Los Alamitos was the prohibitive favorite, and everybody else was just trying to advance as far as they could.
This season, though, a large number of teams have a chance to end Los Alamitos’ five-year hold on the county title.
The Griffins are still a force to be reckoned with, but there’s a chance that Capistrano Valley will be the No. 1 seed when the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division Championships brackets are released Saturday night.
The Cougars went undefeated in the regular season and won the Sea View League championship. They beat Los Alamitos, 8-7, on March 26.
The Cougars (15-0 overall) have been ranked No. 1 in the county by the Register for most of the season, which has made them a target for teams, Coach Ryan Gustafson said.
“We’ve never been in this situation before,” Gustafson said, “but recently being ranked No. 1, we’re really getting everybody’s best games. It’s great, It’s really making us step up every game and almost play a perfect game and not make mistakes. I think it’s only going to make us improve.”
Los Alamitos has six losses, but it has played perhaps the most challenging schedule in the county. The Griffins (10-6) have several players, including Caitlin Derry and Haley Fessenden, with championship experience, and they beat highly regarded Foothill, 16-8, last weekend.
Two other teams to keep an eye on are Corona del Mar (14-4, 9-1), led by Kacie Kline, and Beckman (12-2, 9-1), which shared the Pacific Coast League title with the Sea Kings.
BOYS COULD GET A SURPRISE
Foothill and Corona del Mar will be the favorites to reach the title game in the boys playoffs. JSerra will be lurking behind them, waiting to make its move and break into the circle of champions.
A surprise team could be San Clemente, which wrestled the South Coast League title away from Tesoro.
The Tritons (14-4) have senior leadership and talent, plus three veterans who have signed to play Division I lacrosse – Peyton Garrett (High Point), Austin Streeter (Bellarmine) and Stone Sims (Albany).
“We have a powerful group of graduating class guys,” San Clemente coach Mike Hutnick said. “It’s good. It’s their time to shine. It’s their time to step up and win themselves a championship.”
Those three will look to return San Clemente to the county finals, which it reached in 2012.
The Tritons won’t be short on confidence. They played Foothill (16-1) and CdM (13-1) this season, losing by one goal in both games, and they closed the season by winning six in a row.
Beckman (15-3), which won the Pacific Coast League title and handed Corona del Mar its only loss, will also be a team to keep an eye on during the postseason.
Contact the writer: amorales@ocregister.com
