Southern Section Open Division Finals feature state's best

Long Beach, CA is the place to be on Friday if you are looking to see the best high school teams and players in the state. The LBCC Vets Stadium will host the girls and boys Open Division finals as powerhouses Santa Margarita and Santiago-Corona face off on the girls side, and the top two teams in the state face off on the boys side in Arlington and Mater Dei.   Santa Margarita v. Santiago-Corona   The Eagles of Santa Margarita find themselves in the Open final after winning the state and section last year. They won the DI bracket as this is the first year of the Open bracket.   After finishing tied atop the Trinity League and winning 12 matches, some may have thought they'd run into trouble against Oaks Christian in the first round of this year's playoffs. After a 0-0 first leg, the Eagles dominated the second, winning 4-0. They then took out an excellent Mira Costa team to make the section finals yet again.   Santa Margarita is a powerhouse program and cannot be counted out if you see its name in the bracket. Success breeds success as a team can reach a point of expecting to win when they hit the pitch.   "I think the success comes from Santa Margarita having a very prestigious history in girls soccer and a ton of success in the program overall," Eagles coach Craig Bull said. "We have very strong team with players who play the highest level in club soccer and are committed to some of the best power five college programs in the country. Talent attracts talent so I'm very fortunate to not only have very strong players who want to play at Santa Margarita. Due to this we try to guide the players but ultimately also try to give them freedom to express themselves on the field."   It will come as no surprise that there are many difference makers on this roster and several college commits. Of late, [player_tooltip player_id='20057' first='Peyton' last='Trayer'], [player_tooltip player_id='19513' first='Isabella' last='Gissendanner'], [player_tooltip player_id='18939' first='Molly' last='MacMillan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='19406' first='Faith' last='George'] have been really standing out. Trayer is a sophomore keeper who is an excellent athlete and shot stopper. Gissendanner is a leader on defense and is committed to the University of Idaho. [player_tooltip player_id='19406' first='Faith' last='George'], a forward with goal-scoring prowess, is committed to USC and followed her standout junior season with an excellent senior season, while [player_tooltip player_id='18939' first='Molly' last='MacMillan'], a midfielder who can do it all, is committed to Texas.   Those four, amongst others, will have to step up against a Santiago team that is absolutely loaded with talent. A team with 17 seniors, and 15 of them are committed to play college soccer.   "I expect our most difficult game of the season on Friday," Bull said. "Santiago has earned their way to this game and in the new playoff format the best teams are much more likely to make the final, so they have done so. They have a lot of senior experience too which is always hard to play against with girls who have done this before. In any final anything can happen, but when you also have the two best teams playing it only makes it that much more exciting to play/coach in these games."   When a team has more college bound athletes than it can start, you know a team is loaded. Starting on defense, Santiago features captain and four-year varsity player [player_tooltip player_id='19461' first='Gracie' last='Kelly'], heading to Abilene Christian. Torie Delgado joins her on the backline and is committed to Northern Iowa. Two more defenders are college bound in [player_tooltip player_id='19984' first='Mychael' last='Carbon'], who is committed to Central Washington along with Kia Creta who is going to be playing at Mount Marty University.   Santiago has six midfielders committed (two verbals) as senior [player_tooltip player_id='18921' first='Krystal' last='Medina'] is verbally committed to Columbia and junior Lexi Coughlin is committed to Duke. Senior Katrina Marsh is headed to Cal Baptist, while fellow senior Bri Garcia is off to Wesleyan University. Dani Bard, another senior, will ply her trade at Providence. Senior Mia Hunt will be playing at Pittsburg State in Kansas.   A team with five senior forwards committed is a team that can put pressure on defenses. The lone junior of the six, Maddy Saruwatari, score the game-winning goal against Los Alamitos in the semifinals. Her senior teammates Bri Norman, Cici Caringal, Ava Koss, Kaylee Cuttress and Jordan Goldstein are all committed. Norman is off to the University of Pacific, Caringal to Westmont, Koss to Azusa Pacific, Cuttress is off to Northwest Nazarene and Goldstein will join Creta in South Dakota at Mount Marty.   With all this talent year after year, and a coach in Michael Fleming that has been with the program for a long time leads to consistency. The team has 327 wins over his last 15 season, including 10 seasons of 20 or more wins.   "One of the keys to (great consistency) within the program starts with the established expectations from each team the year before and it has just built from there," Fleming said. "We have tried to consistently test ourselves by playing a demanding schedule year in and year out against some of the top teams. Ultimately, we have tried to create a specific game model that maximizes the ability and talents of our players. Of course, it helps to have talent, which we have been blessed with, but you still have to find a way to get everyone on the same page, buy in, and trust the process."   Santiago is a program that believes in showing up to compete every time out and that you need to improve every day. The Sharks believe that if they do these things, the results take care of themselves.   "We have a word that we choose every year and a theme for the word that we put on our practice gear," Fleming said. "This year, the word is 'Compete', and the slogan is 'Better...every day.' There hasn't been much, if any discussion about winning. The focus has been on the process and doing and being the best version of ourselves individually and collectively each and every day as we strive to get better. When we do that, good things tend to happen."   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/02/Javier-Hernandez.jpg?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-164217" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Arlington High</figcaption></figure>   Arlington v. Mater Dei   The top two teams in California, making them two of the best in the country, will finally face off this Friday. The two have seemed to be on a collision course all season long.   Arlington, No. 1 in the state, is looking to do something incredible and that is finish off an unbeaten, untied season as the Lions come into this game at 25-0 and have looked impressive in the Open Division bracket. They beat a very talented Godinez team 7-1 on aggregate and then beat an incredibly tough team in Mira Costa 5-2 on aggregate.   Now, for their toughest challenge of the year as they take on Mater Dei.   "It's very rare when you see the No. 1 and No. 2 overall seed survive through the tournament to the final so it's exciting to get this matchup," Arlington coach Kevin Watson said. "For us, it's special because of the Trinity League's success and Mater Dei's profile for soccer and as a whole for all sports."   With all due respect to other areas of California, and the country, Arlington are seeking an unbeaten season in the gauntlet that is Southern Section soccer, and it cannot be emphasized enough how impressive that is.   "I think the Southern Section is the toughest region in the country," Watson said. "So to qualify for the final, it's always going to put the finalists on the state and national rankings list."   For the Lions, two players, both seniors, have been incredible in the playoffs, combining for nine goals. [player_tooltip player_id='45551' first='Javier' last='Hernandez'] has scored five goals and Jesus Palma has scored four to lead the team on this charge. Both are unique in how they can score, doing it in a variety of ways. They both showcase a great balance of power, grit and execution.   Mater Dei has only lost twice this season, both coming in the Open Division's two-legged format. The Monarchs lost the first leg to Montclair in the first round, but came back to take the second by the same 2-1 score, advancing on penalties. They lost 2-1 to San Clemente in the second leg of the semifinals, but that was after winning the first leg comfortably 2-0.   "To show resiliency in that San Clemente home tie and manage the game the way we did definitely builds confidence," Mater Dei coach Sean Ganey said. "They never quit and were dangerous throughout."   Now the Monarchs face their toughest challenge of the season on Friday against a Lions team looking to finish off a perfect season.   "It's going to be a fantastic game. The top two in the state if not the country. Arlington is really good," Ganey said. "They are fun to watch and super well coached. Kevin does a great job with his group."   Mater Dei knows its opponent is very good, but the Monarchs are a bonded, tight-knit group who are ready for this game.   "Our guys are super excited to play the game and can't wait for Friday," Ganey said. "Our focus and culture right now is off the charts. It's been so fun being around this group. I look forward to each day with them and don't take any day for granted."   Michael Cherico will be a player heavily relied on as the forward has been a talisman for the Monarchs all season. Jack Barak, another forward, showed the will and the heart to get Mater Dei through the first two rounds and Brayden McClelland has been great in goal.   Center backs Avian Gonzalez Flores and Diego Chavarria have been instrumental in limiting chances, and senior forward Eli Garza and sophomore midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='83140' first='Ayden' last='Romo'] have been very effective in the attack, with Garza coming up with two goals last week.

Long Beach, CA is the place to be on Friday if you are looking to see the best high school teams and players in the state. The LBCC Vets Stadium will host the girls and boys Open Division finals as powerhouses Santa Margarita and Santiago-Corona face off on the girls side, and the top two teams in the state face off on the boys side in Arlington and Mater Dei.