Mesa is seeded No. 3 in Div. III

Rick Devereux

The Costa Mesa High girls soccer team translated its dominance of the

Golden West League into a No. 3 seed in the CIF Southern Section

Division III playoffs.

The Mustangs (17-2-0) have gone 36-0 in three seasons in the

league, including three straight titles. They were Division III

co-champions two years ago and were knocked out in the second round

last year.

Mesa will play host to Orange Lutheran (11-4-5) in the first round

Friday at 3 p.m. and could meet No. 2 seed and South Coast League

champion San Clemente (13-1-8) in the semifinals.

Other Newport-Mesa teams playing in Friday’s first round are

Newport Harbor (Division I), Corona del Mar (Division II) and Sage

Hill (Division VI).

Newport (10-4-2), the Sea View League runner-up, will travel to

Capistrano Valley (11-4-5), the No. 2 representative of the South

Coast League.

Corona del Mar (12-9-1), a No. 2 representative of the Pacific

Coast League, will play at Century League runner-up Villa Park

(15-4-3).

Sage Hill (18-1-1), the Academy League runner-up, will play host

to San Joaquin League runner-up Connelly (6-5-2).

Costa Mesa faced a daunting nonleague schedule, including a Dec.

11 win over Division III top-seed Mayfair. The Mustangs’ only losses

were a 4-1 defeat by Aliso Niguel, seeded No. 3 in Division I, and a

2-1 setback against Division II playoff entry Riverside Poly.

Mesa has won 13 straight, including a 2-1 victory over CdM. Costa

Mesa is 6-2 against playoff teams.

If the Mustangs advance to the second round, they will either play

host to Suburban League runner-up La Mirada (11-10-0) or flip a coin

to determine where to play Freeway League runner-up Fullerton

(13-7-3).

Newport Harbor is also heading into the postseason with a head of

steam. The Sailors were 4-0-1 in the second half of league play.

“The girls trust one another,” Coach Phil D’Agostino said. “They

have gotten used to how one another plays. They have bonded together

and trust one another on the field. Plus, we don’t have set starters.

We make a lot of substitutions, which keeps us fresh for the whole 80

minutes.”

The Sailors will either play host to Mount Baldy League runner-up

Diamond Ranch (12-5-6) or flip a coin with Baseline League

third-place finisher Alta Loma (15-8-4). The Tars beat Alta Loma,

1-0, in the Excalibur Tournament earlier this year. Newport is 5-3-1

against playoff teams this year.

CdM was 2-2-1 in the second half of league, but finished strong

with a 7-2 win over Calvary Chapel and a 3-0 victory over Laguna

Beach. A first-round victory could spell a home match against Pacific

League co-champion Arcadia (15-2-3) or a coin flip with third-place

Ivy League finisher Riverside Poly (10-7-6).

The Sea Kings lost, 2-1, in overtime to El Dorado in the first

round last year.

Sage Hill went 6-1-1 in the last eight regular-season games,

including a 1-1 tie with Academy League champion St. Margaret’s and a

5-0 blowout over third-place Oxford.

The Lightning lost in the first round of the playoffs, 2-1, to

Fairmont Prep last year.