CIF-SS girls lacrosse playoffs preview and schedule

The Foothill girls lacrosse team has arguably been the most dominant team in all of Orange County sports the past three years.

Foothill has won three consecutive CIF-SS Division 1 championships and until recently had not lost to a county opponent in five years.

The girls Division 1 bracket is more challenging than in year’s past and there are a handful of teams with a chance to dethrone the defending champions.

Santa Margarita lost to the Knights by only one goal on March 14 and Mater Dei was competitive with Foothill this season as well.

San Clemente beat the Knights on April 12 and is on an 11-game winning streak.

The top half of the CIF-SS playoff bracket, the one featuring Foothill, is a gauntlet with Santa Margarita, San Clemente and Redondo.

Some good county matchups in the first round of Division 1 are Huntington Beach vs. San Clemente and St. Margaret’s vs. Edison.

Huntington Beach is the defending Division 3 champion and is making a huge jump to Division 1 to face San Clemente, which features twins Sophia and Charlotte Yeslkulski.

It’s important to note that while there is more parity in the bracket than in year’s past, Foothill still has a good chance to take home its fourth consecutive championship. Brynn Perkins is a county player of the year candidate and Elle Vickers is great at draw controls.

One of the best games of the regular season was between St. Margaret’s and Mater Dei on March 19. The Tartans won that game 19-18. The two teams are on the same side of the bracket and could face each other in the semifinals.

Division 2 features five wild-card games, including one between Beckman and Corona del Mar.

San Juan Hills is the top seed in Division 2 despite not being a league champion. The Stallions could play Woodbridge in the first round. The Warriors have one of the top scorers in the county in Mady Nolan.

Division 3 has 25 teams and seven teams are getting byes in the first round.

Sea View League champion Tesoro was rewarded with a bye in the first round and could face a tough matchup with El Dorado in the second round.

Orange Lutheran is the No. 2 seed in Division 3 and is led by Chloe Mora, who has 105 points this season. The Lancers play Paloma Valley in round one and could play a county opponent in round two, Dana Hills or Segerstrom.

Laguna Beach is a sleeper team to watch in Division 3. The Breakers struggled in a tough Sunset League but beat Tesoro convincingly earlier this season.

CIF-SS GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

DIVISION 1

First round

Thursday, 5 p.m.

Chaminade at Foothill

Santa Margarita at Murrieta Mesa

Redondo at Newbury Park

Huntington Beach at San Clemente

Crescenta Valley at Mira Costa

Oak Park at Mater Dei

St. Margaret’s at Edison

Palos Verdes at Marlborough

DIVISION 2

Wild-card round

Tuesday, 5 p.m.

A: Village Christian at Los Alamitos

B: Royal at Yorba Linda

C: Trabuco Hills at Vista Murrieta

D: Beckman at Corona del Mar

E: Portola at Oaks Christian

First round

Thursday, 5 p.m.

Winner A at San Juan Hills

Winner B at Woodbridge

Notre Dame/SO at Santiago/Corona

Winner C at El Segundo

JSerra at Culver City

Winner D at West Ranch

Winner E at Canyon/Anaheim

Peninsula at Chaparral

DIVISION 3

First round byes: San Marcos, Downey, Glendale, Valencia/V, Tesoro, Riverside Poly, Northwood

First round

Thursday, 5 p.m.

Murrieta Valley at Heritage Christian

Westridge at ML King

El Dorado at Roosevelt

Temecula Valley at Thacher

Saugus at Long Beach Wilson

Laguna Beach at Chadwick

Millikan at Cate

Segerstrom at Dana Hills

Orange Lutheran at Paloma Valley

Related Articles

CIF-SS boys lacrosse playoffs preview and schedule

CIF-SS boys lacrosse polls, April 22

CIF-SS girls lacrosse polls, April 22

San Clemente girls lacrosse takes big step by ending Foothill win streak

CIF-SS boys lacrosse polls, April 15