A little over a week remains in the regular season for the high school soccer teams in the LA Daily News area, and the CIF-SS and LA City playoffs begin in less than two weeks.
Local boys and girls teams from Harvard-Westlake, Hart, Saugus, El Camino are several other schools are shaping up for postseason runs.
Here’s a look at what’s next for some of the strongest teams in the area:
Harvard-Westlake boys keep rolling
As of Tuesday night, the Harvard-Westlake boys had not lost since Dec. 15, the team’s only loss this season. Since then, Harvard-Westlake (13-1-3, 5-0-1) has won 10 matches and has a pair of draws, and it has not allowed a goal in six straight games.
The Wolverines defense has been stout all over the field with an anchor between the posts in junior Jackson Friedman.
“This group collectively is doing everything needed that we’re asking,” Wolverines coach Michael Erush said. “They’re engaged, they’re committed. We compete with so much intensity that we want to make sure that we’re outplaying or outworking our opponents.”
Despite numerous injuries on the backline, Erush has been pleased with the team’s effort and success. He says that every time he has turned to his bench the next man up has answered the call.
Jayson Thomas Chen and Oliver Chen, Reid Romans and Friedman have been vital pieces for the Wolverines, who are trying to win their third Mission League title in four years.
“Defensively, we have Jackson Friedman, who’s a junior with a lot of experience,” Erush said. “He has been on varsity since his freshman year. He keeps us organized, he keeps us in games; credit to him.”
The defending CIF-SS Division 2 champs close out the season next week with games against Notre Dame and Chaminade.
Oaks Christian and Westlake girls remain tied atop Marmonte League
Oaks Christian beat Westlake 2-0 in the teams’ first meeting this season. It Westlake’s second loss of the year.
Aside from that game, the Warriors have been close to perfect in league while the Lions have left some points out on the pitch.
Oaks Christian (14-2-2, 6-1-1) lost earlier in the year to Newbury Park, 2-1, the team’s second Marmonte League loss in the last four seasons. The Lions also came away just a point after a 2-2 draw at Agoura one week later.
Since then, the Lions have won five straight with 23 goals to just one conceded.
Westlake (10-2-1, 6-1-1) has lost just two games all season, with just one draw against Newbury Park. The Warriors have scored three or more goals six times this year but will need the same intensity to knock off the reigning champion Lions.
The Marmonte League title could be clinched soon but will likely be decided on Tuesday, Feb 3, at Westlake when the Lions and Warriors meet for their second league matchup.
Valencia boys tighten league race with Saugus
Valencia’s boys soccer team has been a big surprise in the Foothill League race.
The Vikings (9-4-2, 6-0-2) are back in the running for the league title after starting 0-3 with two league losses.
“I think once we hit the ground running the season changed,” Valencia coach Jose Villafan said. “It was primarily right after the Cleveland game, into that Hart match and the Hart tournament. And I think we won two games, tied one, and then ever since, these guys have just been rolling.
“We got everyone back. Everyone’s healthy. The team camaraderie, everything’s looking cohesive and good. Everyone wants to play for each other.”
Villafan claims the slow start was due to the team not being at full strength. Now that the Vikings are healthy, available and up and running, the team has not lost its stride.
Valencia defeated Saugus 3-1 last week, the Centurions’ first loss in league. The Centurions led 1-0 at the half before the Vikings charged ahead with three unanswered scores in the second half.
Villafan said that contest felt like a playoff game.
The Vikings need a league rival to take down Saugus (10-4-2, 8-1-1) and push the Foothill League race open, which would give Valencia a shot at its first league title in seven seasons.
The Centurions drew 1-1 with West Ranch on Tuesday, putting the Vikings on the heels of the league leader.
Valencia is unbeaten in seven straight games and has accumulated a 16-1 goal differential in its last five Foothill League games, including a 5-0 stunner at Hart.
“I would say that the biggest change across the board, from my four seasons at Valencia, has been our defense,” Villafan said. “Our defense this year, man for man, I actually have a real defensive unit.”
Holding down the Vikings’ backline are defenders Andrew Gardner, Jack Nelson, Gavin Mather and sophomore Connor Riley.
Valencia’s scoring has been a team effort with 13 players getting on the scorecard so far this year.
Juniors Logan Norsworthy and Omid Gholamali have led the way with major contributions from Ciro Karapetyan and Dylan Domina. Norsworthy has netted six goals with four assists, Gholamali has added five of each, while Domina and Karapetyan each have scored three times.
The Vikings will close out this week with a game against West Ranch before finishing league play on the road next week at Canyon and Golden Valley.
“The way we build on this is the most important opponent is obviously the next one,” Villafan said. “It’s just taking it one game at a time, doing the things that we’ve been successful at, which is finding our explosive players, staying really composed defensively, and just mixing and matching our style of play.”
Cleveland girls remain perfect in league
Cleveland girls soccer is gearing up for another run at a LA City Section title.
Cleveland won the City Division I title in 2024, finished as a finalist last season and looks well its on its way to a third straight championship match appearance.
The Cavaliers (10-2-3, 5-0-1) have allowed just five goals all season. It has conceded one score in league, which came in a 1-1 tie at Granada Hills, the same squad the took down Cleveland in the Open championship match last season.
Cleveland is undefeated in its last eight games despite being one of the youngest squads in the area. The Cavaliers start eight sophomores.
“I believe this is the most talented team Cleveland has ever had,” Cavaliers coach Gregory Ibach wrote in an email. “Captain Brielle Dunn helps us at center back and at forward and can play wherever she is needed. Bellamia Clyde has been lights out at center back. Giselle Estrada is a creative playmaker and has nine assists on the year.”
All three starters mentioned by Ibach are sophomores.
Cleveland likes to keep the ball and put opposing defenses on their heels. It is a style that has worked to great success so far and has included big shutout wins over El Camino, Agoura and Notre Dame.
“The team is very cohesive and plays a beautiful possession-style soccer,” Ibach added. “We beat defending Mission League champions Notre Dame in the preseason 2-0.”
Cleveland hasn’t sealed the deal on the West Valley League just yet, but it can move closer to the title with wins this week against Taft and Granada Hills.
Calabasas boys soccer continues tear
After dropping its season opener, Calabasas boys soccer has been unscathed. The Coyotes (13-1-3) appear to be well on their way to a second consecutive title in the Marmonte League.
Calabasas has a 17-1 goal differential in its last four Marmonte League games, and has conceded just three goals in its last 13 games.
Westlake was Calabasas’ only draw in league, but the Coyotes dominated round two with the Warriors, winning 5-0.
The Coyotes finish the regular season on the road with league battles at Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Agoura.
Notre Dame girls closing in on back-to-back league titles
Notre Dame girls soccer has gone nine straight games without a loss. The Knights started the season with three losses in its first seven games. All of those losses were by two or more goals.
The Knights (12-4-3, 7-0-1) have steadied the ship since and picked momentum. They have a chance to top last year’s success, which included winning their first Mission League title.
Notre Dame has allowed four goals during its unbeaten streak that includes a 3-3 draw against Harvard-Westlake. The Knights took home three points in round two with the Wolverines while also shutting out Chaminade 1-0.
Leading the way for the Knights are seniors Tulah Lopez, Cailyn Paredes, Corinne Rodriguez and Jenessa Da Silva. Lopez headed in the game-winner against Harvard-Westlake while sophomore Fabianna Gutierrez nailed a penalty kick in the last five minutes of play to earn the win over Chaminade.
The Knights need one more draw or win to seal the deal on back-to-back league titles.
“We just work really hard as a unit, as a team, and we just don’t give up,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Meakin said. “We just hustle, go out there, give it everything you got. In the Mission League, every game is hard. There isn’t an easy game…So we go into every game thinking it’s gonna be a grind, and it really is every game.”
Notre Dame will host Chaminade in its final regular season home game on Thursday.
“Just to keep working hard as a team, having fun and play with energy and passion,” Meakin said. “That’s all I ask for as a coach…For us to win (the Mission League), it was a big deal last year, and if we can somehow repeat it would be great. But we still believe we have a long way to go to win the league because we have to get a couple more wins in our last three games, and nothing’s guaranteed in soccer.”
El Camino Real boys get pivotal league win
The West Valley League title race has come down to El Camino Real (12-3-1, 5-0-1) and Birmingham (15-5-2, 5-1).
Entering Wednesday’s games, the Royals were one point ahead of the Patriots in the standings with four games to go, including a rematch between the two league leaders.
El Camino Real beat Birmingham 2-1 with goals from Caleb Haynes and Diego Apolinar.
The Royals are playing well with multi-goal games in six of their last seven outings.
Hart and Saugus gearing up for likely league title match
Hart’s girls soccer team has won the Foothill League title in 11 of the last 12 years while the Centurions have finished second in four of the last five seasons.
Hart won the first matchup between the teams this season, 2-0 at home.
Hart coach Brett Croft knows his league counterparts will fight even harder in their second league game.
“Our direct opponent, Saugus, has been getting better and better and better,” Croft said. “Kai (English) does a great job with that program, and they’ve been really trying to knock us off for a couple years. In my opinion, and I’ve been at Hart for 10 years, this is the best, most complete Saugus team I’ve seen, led by the Leonard sisters, who are both committed to Oregon, who are absolute ballers.”
Saugus (12-4-2, 9-1) has Oregon commit Makea Leonard leading the team’s offense. Leonard has amassed 22 goals and six assists this year while Ava Marcellin, Holden Sheff and Makeli Leonard have all notched multiple assists and goals this season.
The Hawks (10-7-1, 8-0-1) are in a new era since graduating dozens of collegiate-bound players over the last few years. Hart opened the season going 4-6 as it played a schedule full of Open and Division 1-caliber teams.
“I don’t make it easy on my players,” Croft said. “With the connections I have just over the years of coaching high school and college, I’m able to get big time games. And so I will play the biggest, best teams we can play. And I think that that helps us, whether we’re winning those games or losing those games, we’re learning a lot about who we are and what we’re going to need to do to be who we want to be.”
Hart has only a handful of seniors among its starting 11. The team’s scoring has mostly fallen on the shoulders of sophomore Kelly Wieckowski and freshman Destiny Jade Renteria. Senior Makenna Herrick has been a leader on defense while junior Isabella Mutaz has been everywhere as a midfielder.
Hart heads to Saugus on Thursday to potentially wrap up the team’s 12th league championship since 2013.
Chavez dominating East Valley League
Chavez’s boys soccer team has won eight straight while running the table in the East Valley League.
Chavez (15-2-1, 8-0-1) has won 11 games by two or more goals with strong defense and a fiery striker up top in Jose Aviles. The junior striker has netted 20 goals this season along with eight assists.
Senior Mark Rodriguez has also added eight goals while doing most of the facilitating with 13 assists.
The Eagles are closing in on their fourth league title in five years but are aiming for their season to go well into February. Chavez lost in the LA City Division II title match last year and isn’t letting anything stand in its way of returning to the City finals.
SOCES boys pick up steam in Valley League race
The boys soccer team for Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies leads the pack in the Valley League with just a few games left in league play.
The Knights (8-1-2, 5-0-2) have tallied eight clean sheets and have not been blanked by an opponent this season.
Collin Hauser has led the charge offensively along with solid contributions from Matvii Tokariev. Kevin Fregoso has been a defensive force between the posts.
SOCES needs three more wins without any outside help to clinch its first Valley League championship in five years. The Knights will take second-place Fulton on Thursday.
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