HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER : Calabasas Opens Tournament With Santa Maria Team

St. Joseph High of Santa Maria visits Calabasas today to kick off the first day of Southern Section boys soccer playoffs. Villanova Prep of Ojai will visit Oak Park in a girls playoff match-up. Both wild card games are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

St. Joseph is 6-3-1 in the Los Padres League and 8-6-3 overall. Calabasas is 5-2-1 in the Frontier League, 13-5-3 overall.

By week’s end, 20 games involving the Southern Sections’ top-ranked teams will have been played. A number of those teams are in the Valley area.

Unseeded Bishop Amat (11-6-3) will play top-ranked Simi Valley in the first round of the 4-A playoffs on Thursday. The Pioneers, who finished the season at 9-0-2 in the Marmonte League and 21-0-4 overall, will play at home because of their superior record.

On its way to a sixth Marmonte League championship, Simi Valley scored 37 goals, while allowing only six. Senior goalkeeper Steve Bame had a .54 goals-allowed average.

In other Thursday games, sixth-ranked Thousand Oaks (18-5-3, 7-3-2 in Marmonte League) will play at Cerritos. Cerritos finished 10-2 and in first place in the San Gabriel Valley League, while Thousand Oaks tied for second in the Marmonte League.

Westlake (12-5-3), which tied with Thousand Oaks in league play, will play host to Dominguez. Dominguez (11-5) finished second in the San Gabriel Valley League.

Meanwhile, Chaminade (12-6-2) will play host to Mayfair (9-7-5) in a 2-A game on Thursday.

In a girls game on Thursday, Golden League champion Alemany (16-3-1) will play Thousand Oaks (10-7-2).

Other 3-A girls games include Troy (14-6-1) at Simi Valley. Simi Valley finished second in the Marmonte League with a record of 7-4. The Pioneers were 15-7 overall.

Marmonte League champion Royal (9-0-2 in league and 17-1-4 overall), seeded second among Southern Section 4-A schools, will play at home against Muir (11-5-2, 7-4-1 in Pacific League).

On Friday, boys 3-A and 1-A first-round playoff games will be played.

Del Rey League champion Crespi will play host to Arroyo Grande (11-3-4 overall). Burbank (20-1, 11-1 in league), the Foothill League champion, will play host to Leuzinger (8-6-2 overall). Burbank, seeded second in Southern Section 3-A, has 16 shutouts this season.

Hart, which finished second in Foothill League at 7-4-1 (12-6-2 overall), will play at home against El Segundo (14-3-3 overall).

In 1-A action on Friday, top-ranked Agoura (7-0-1 in league, 15-1-2 overall) will play at home against a team yet to be determined. Agoura beat Calabasas in the final game of the season to win the Frontier League championship.

Second-seeded L. A. Baptist (9-0-2 in league and 15-3-2 overall), the Alpha League champion, will play a team still to be determined. The Knights have not lost a league game in four years under Coach Mike Osborne and are right on the heels of Agoura’s number-one ranking.

Flintridge (3-1-2 in Prep League, 7-8-4 overall), seeded third in Southern Section 1-A, will play either Calabasas or St. Joseph at home.

In girls 2-A games on Friday, Moorpark will play either San Marino or Mayfield. Chaminade will play St. Bonaventure, and Montclair will play either Villanova Prep or Oak Park.

All games are scheduled for 3 p.m.