Girl's D1 State Bracket Preview/Predictions

Girl's High School soccer will finally have a California state champion this season. 8 teams from Norcal and 8 teams from So Cal will be competing in a 16 team bracket for the ultimate goal in high school sports. There are some amazing players in this years playoffs and I will be highlighting a handful of them. Who will be in the state championship come March 14th at Natomas High School? Only time will tell and I can't wait to see who does.   In our first matchup in the Northern side of the bracket we have #1 seed Gregori who is undefeated this season at 23-0-1. They are lead by Grace Rodriguez and [player_tooltip player_id='82757' first='Kylie' last='Farmer'] who have dominated for the Jaguars this season. They will be welcoming the #8 seed Carondelet Cougars who had a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in overtime to the Bishop O'Dowd Dragons in the NCS Open Division Championship. Lead by Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='211239' first='Elle' last='Sloan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='272442' first='Madeline' last='Roder'] as well as youth national team star [player_tooltip player_id='199883' first='Mercy' last='Karson'] this team will be looking to bounce back with a vengeance in pursuit of a State Championship. Even though it will be a long trip to the Central Valley for Carondelet I like them to pull off the upset in this one.   Prediction: 2-1 win for the Cougars advance to the quarter-finals.   In the 4-5 matchup we have the St Francis Lancers hosting the Buchanan Bears. The Lancers will not be winning another treble this season as they lost in the CCS Championship game on pens to Los Gatos this past Friday night at Santa Clara University. The ultimate prize is still on the table for this St Francis side who are lead by senior [player_tooltip player_id='20049' first='Penelope' last='Correa'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='111184' first='Sophie' last='McCarthy']. On the other side will be the Bears who have a ton of young talent including freshmen phenom [player_tooltip player_id='270098' first='Macie' last='Lomeli'] and sophomore Teagan Labandeira. I think given the Lancers experience they come out on top in this one.   Prediction: 3-0 win for the Lancers   In the 3-6 matchup on the Northern side of the bracket we have the #3 seed Los Gatos Wildcats lead by Junior Gatorade Player of the Year candidate [player_tooltip player_id='82602' first='Abby' last='Nelson'] and Senior Stanford commit Ale Munneke. They will have plenty of momentum and belief after coming out on top of juggernaut program St Francis in the CCS Championship game. On the other side of the field will be the Vacaville Bulldogs who have a loaded roster including TCU commit Samantha Macniven, Wake Forest commit and youth national team star [player_tooltip player_id='111147' first='Elena' last='Vera'], and leading goalscorer [player_tooltip player_id='111135' first='Sophia' last='Franzoni']. This game looks like the best matchup of the first round and I think it will be a very tight game.   Prediction: 2-2 in regulation and the Los Gatos Wildcats win on pens to advance to the next round   In the 2-7 matchup we have the 16-0-0 and #2 seed Bishop O'Dowd Dragons who are the only team in this tournament with the ability to accomplish a perfect season with 4 more wins squeaking by the Carondelet Cougars in overtime in the NCS Championship game Saturday afternoon. Lead by senior Gatorade Player of the Year candidate and Memphis commit [player_tooltip player_id='111260' first='Abby' last='Forsgren'], Senior UC Davis commit [player_tooltip player_id='289538' first='Chloe' last='Keating'] and Freshmen Youth National Team star [player_tooltip player_id='276576' first='Sadie' last='Siedel']. They will be going up against the #7 seed Rocklin who have a UC Davis commit of their own in Junior Ava Olimpiada. I think the Dragons have too much star power for the Thunder and come out on top in this one.   Prediction: 4-0 win for the Dragons   In the Southern California side of the bracket in our first game we have powerhouse Santa Margarita who are the #1 ranked team in California and the #1 seed on this side of the bracket. With names like [player_tooltip player_id='146362' first='Felicity' last='Nguyen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='160001' first='Ella' last='Bott'] among others this team looks like an impressive group of talent. They will be taking on another formidable outfit in the Roosevelt Mustangs. Lead by Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='82595' first='Delilah' last='Woods'], Kamryn Rembis and [player_tooltip player_id='232532' first='Avery' last='Mendez'] the Mustangs will be looking to shock the world in this one. Unfortunately I think this is when their season ends.   Prediction: Santa Margarita wins 4-1   In the 4-5 matchup we have the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Reseda CA taking on the Redondo Union Seahawks. Not much difference between these two teams which suggests a very even game. Cleveland sit at 17-2-3 is ranked #8 in California and are lead by Junior Amber Ramirez. On the other side Redondo is ranked #14 in California also have a 17-2-3 record and are lead by Rice commit [player_tooltip player_id='112379' first='Brianna' last='Bogar']. I think it will be an exciting game with home field advantage being the difference.   Prediction: 1-1 in regulation Cavaliers win on pens.   In the 3-6 matchup we have the Mt. Carmel Sundevils taking on the Oaks Christian Lions. Both of these teams are loaded with current and future division 1 talent. The Sundevils have [player_tooltip player_id='275838' first='Jordan' last='Gwynn'] (Seattle U), Madison and Kaitlyn Aure (Cal Poly Pomona), and Mckenzie Sanchez (CSU Northridge). The Lions have 5 seniors headed to division 1 programs Jonnie Quiroz (USD), [player_tooltip player_id='177110' first='Ella' last='Pfeiffer'] (Cornell), Lola Print (UC Riverside), [player_tooltip player_id='112293' first='Mia' last='Haness'] (UC Riverside), and Makira Churchill (Belmont). I am picking the upset in this one.   Prediction: 3-1 win for the #6 seed Oaks Christian   In the 2-7 game we have superpower sports program and #2 seed Mater Dei Monarchs taking on the #7 seed San Marcos Knights. The Monarchs are the #5 ranked team in California and the Knights are the #9 ranked side. The Knights are lead by super seniors Josie Willis who is headed to Michigan State and [player_tooltip player_id='112504' first='Ashley' last='May'] who will be playing at the University of Arizona. The Monarchs are lead by Senior Suna Roberts and sensational sophomore youth national team star [player_tooltip player_id='147282' first='Kendra' last='Hansen']. I think the home team comes out on top in this one.   Prediction: 3-2 win for Mater Dei   Quarter Final Predictions   #8 Carondelet 2-2 #4 St Francis (Carondelet wins on pens)   #2 Bishop O'Dowd 1-2 #3 Los Gatos   #1 Santa Margarita 3-0 #4 Cleveland   #2 Mater Dei 2-2 #6 Oaks Christian (Oaks wins on Pens)   Semi-Final Predictions   #8 Carondelet 1-2 #3 Los Gatos   #1 Santa Margarita 1-1 #6 Oaks Christian (Oaks wins on pens)   State Championship   #3 Los Gatos 3-2 #6 Oaks Christian   Los Gatos wins the D1 State Championship

Girl's High School soccer will finally have a California state champion this season. 8 teams from Norcal and 8 teams from So Cal will be competing in a 16 team bracket for the ultimate goal in high school sports. There are some amazing players in this years playoffs and I will be highlighting a handful of them. Who will be in the state championship come March 14th at Natomas High School? Only time will tell and I can't wait to see who does.