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    JSerra, Mater Dei seeded 1-2 in Open Division of CIF-SS boys soccer playoffs
    • February 9, 2025

    Trinity League rivals JSerra and Mater Dei were seeded 1-2 in the Open Division of the CIF Southern Section playoff brackets that were released Saturday.

    JSerra swept Mater Dei in their two league matches, 4-0 at JSerra and 1-0 at Mater Dei. JSerra has outscored its opponents 48-5 this season.

    Mater Dei won the CIF-SS Open Division championship last season. The Monarchs beat Arlington 1-0 in the division final.

    CIF-SS playoff divisions for boys soccer and many other sports were created by using a computer rankings system. The teams were placed into divisions based on the rankings and first-round matchups were made based on seeding; in a 32-team bracket, the No. 1 seeded team plays the No. 32 team, the No. 2 team plays the No. 31 team etc.

    The boys soccer playoffs begin in Divisions 1-8 with first-round games Thursday followed by second-round games Feb. 15, quarterfinals Feb. 19 and semifinals Feb. 22. Championship matches are Feb. 28 and March 1 at El Modena High and Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. It will be announced after the semifinals which teams and divisions play in which venues for the finals.

    In past years, league champions always got a first-round home game against a team that finished lower in its final league standings. With the new method, that no longer automatically happens.

    In Division 1, South Coast League champion San Clemente plays at Sultana of Hesperia, the No. 2 team in the Mojave River League, in the first round Wednesday.

    San Clemente coach Chris Murray is not frustrated by that.

    “We’ve known from Day 1 that the power rankings were going to determine everything,” Murray said Saturday. “So it is an ‘expect the unexpected’ type of thing. It is what it is.”

    The new method of seeding teams can result in league champions playing each other in the first round. Among such matchups is Villa Park (14-3-3). As the Freeway League co-champion with Brea Olinda, the Spartans will play at Big VIII League champion Corona (17-2-4) in the first round Thursday.

    Two longtime rivals in the old Freeway League, Sonora and Sunny Hills, meet in the Division 3 first round Thursday. Sonora (13-5-4), which finished second in the North Hills League, is at Sunny Hills (10-6-3), a second-place team in the Crestview League.

    Los Amigos is seeded No. 1 in Division 5 and Orange is seeded No. 1 in Division 7.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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