Division 1 analysis
Seeded teams
1. Aliso Niguel (16-2-1)
2. Huntington Beach (16-1-7)
3. Harvard Westlake (14-2-1)
4. Foothill (16-5-2)
County representatives: Santa Margarita, Esperanza, Trabuco Hills, Edison, Dana Hills, Laguna Hills, JSerra, Foothill, Mater Dei, Los Alamitos, Canyon, San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Rosary, San Clemente
Rapid reaction: No other way to put it, this bracket is flat out loaded. The county’s top three ranked teams – Aliso Niguel, Huntington Beach and Foothill – garnered three of the division’s top four seeds, with the Wolverines and Oilers ultimately earning first-round byes. In total, 17 local schools earned playoff berths in the 29-team bracket.
Right out of the gate, we’ll see six first-round matches pitting county teams against one another: Esperanza at Santa Margarita; Dana Hills at Edison; JSerra at Laguna Hills; Los Alamitos at Mater Dei; San Juan Hills at Canyon; Rosary at Tesoro. Nine of those 12 teams have spent some time in our top-10 poll throughout the year, so expect each of these contests to come down to the wire. And in each circumstance, the road team is plenty capable of stealing a first-round result.
Best first-round matchup: Esperanza at Santa Margarita, Thursday, 3 p.m.
The Aztecs looked like a squad plenty capable of making a deep run in the playoffs back in late December when they finished as the runner-up in the Excalibur Tournament. After sustaining a number of injuries, though, Esperanza hit a bit of a lull to start the New Year, going winless in its first five matches of January.
John King’s squad appears to be playing up to its potential of late, closing out the regular season with a 2-2 draw against Canyon and a 3-0 win over Villa Park.
It’s a tough draw for the Eagles, your defending CIF Division 1 champs. Esperanza is the scariest at-large team in the division, and an average afternoon on the pitch could very well Santa Margarita packing in the first round.
Dark horse team: Laguna Hills (16-2-1)
Are they the team of destiny? We’ll see. The Hawks did impress throughout the regular season, only dropping two matches along the way, both 1-0 score lines to San Juan Hills and Trabuco Hills. Laguna Hills avenged both set backs in the second half of league, in addition to sweeping the season series against a deep Tesoro team. If they can get past a gritty JSerra team in the first round, the Hawks are a squad to keep an eye out for.
