St. Margaret's ends misery, captures Div. 6 title

MISSION VIEJO - The St. Margaret's girls soccer team has been knocking on the door of a CIF championship the last four years.

On Friday, the Tartans finally knocked it down.

After three consecutive seasons of falling in the semifinals of the CIF playoffs, the Tartans achieved their ultimate goal as they defeated San Dimas, 2-0, to win the CIF-SS Division 6 championship at Mission Viejo High.

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"This (win) is a little surreal," said Tartans goalie and four-year letterman Michelle Lancaster. "Those losses the last three years didn't feel good. This is a great ending to the season."

Simply put, St. Margaret's (26-2-1) was too fast and too skillful for the Saints (20-3-2), who suffered their first loss in 13 games. The title was the Tartans' first since 2006, when it was co-champions with Western Christian.

"We have a lot of blue-collar kids who work hard every day," said Tartans coach Johnny Marmelstein. "They deserve everything they get."

The Tartans dominated from the beginning, eventually breaking through for their first goal in the 26th minute when Regan Anderson tapped in a shot from 10 yards out. She got the ball past Saints goalie Rachel Jones after a perfect 20-yard, angled cross pass from the right side by Alexa Barbaresi.

Allie Frost tallied the team's second goal when she dribbled past San Dimas defender Abi Celaya and left-footed in the score in the 59th minute.

The victory extended St. Margaret's county-best unbeaten streak to 24 games. The Tartans have not lost in the past three months, with their last defeat Dec. 11.

In the playoffs, St. Margaret's outscored its opponents, 20-3.

With the win, St. Margaret's is eligible for the CIF State Southern California Division 3 Regional playoffs, scheduled to begin sometime next week. Only four teams from the Southern Section will be selected.

The eight-team tournament features the top teams from the Southern, Central, Los Angeles and San Diego sections.

"I think we deserve to go," said Marmelstein. "But I only wanted to go if we were CIF champions. Nobody can take that away from us."