Aliso Niguel, Mater Dei to be home for quarterfinals

Aliso Niguel and Mater Dei won coin flips Wednesday that determined home teams for Friday’s quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs.

Mater Dei will be at home Friday against Esperanza in a Division 1 quarterfinal. Aliso plays host to Valencia in a Division 2 quarterfinal.

Valencia scored the biggest upset of the playoffs so far, with its 3-1 victory Tuesday over top-seeded Harvard Westlake, which this week is ranked No. 12 in the nation.

All games Friday are at 3:15 p.m. There could be time changes, for which both teams would have to agree upon and the CIF-SS office would have to approve.

When two teams meet after the first round of the playoffs, the team with the fewest number of playoff home games at that point of the playoffs is the home team. If the teams have played the same number of playoff home games, a coin flip determines the home team.

For example, in Division 1 Orange Lutheran has played two playoff home games and its quarterfinals opponent, West Ranch of Valencia, has played one. So West Ranch is the home team. Mater Dei and Esperanza both have played one home and one away playoff game, so a coin flip was needed there.

Other county teams that lost coin flips Wedneday: El Dorado (Division 1); Oxford Academy (Division 6); and St. Margaret’s (Division 6). In Division 6, Capistrano Valley Christian won its coin flip.

OCVarsity.com has updated brackets for all of the divisions.

The quarterfinals schedule involving Orange County teams (all games 3:15 p.m.):

Division 1 — Orange Lutheran at West Ranch of Valencia; El Dorado at Corona; Esperanza at Mater Dei.

Division 2 — Valencia at Aliso Niguel; Glendora at Trabuco Hills; Pacifica at Mission Viejo.

Division 3 — Los Altos at Beckman.

Division 4 — Palm Desert at Savanna.

Division 6 — Oxford Academy at Desert Christian Academy of Bermuda Dunes; St. Margaret’s at Viewpoint of Calabasas; Capistrano Valley Christian at Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth.