Santa Clarita Valley soccer playoffs weekend preview

By Ryan Menzie 

Signal Sports Writer  

Just a year removed from a season almost completely diminished by COVID-19, the soccer teams of the Santa Clarita Valley postseason are prepared to begin with the young athletes getting one more chance to compete for a championship.  

With a CIF title on the line, only one winner can be crowned.  

Here is a look at the upcoming SCV playoffs schedule:  

Boys’ soccer: Hart vs. Oxnard  

The Foothill League champion Hart Indians (8-1-5, 8-0-4) go up against the Oxnard Yellowjackets (8-5-7, 3-3-4) on Friday at 3 p.m. at Hart in the CIF Division 2 playoffs.  

The Indians head into the postseason having no losses in nine straight games while the Yellowjackets are riding a three no-loss streak to finish fourth place in the Pacific View League.  

“This is the way we can go into the CIF playoffs,” said Indians’ head coach Gio Salinas after their final game of the season against Valencia. “We’ve been competing and it gives us momentum as we head into the CIF playoffs.”  

Boys’ soccer: Saugus vs. La Serna  

The second-place Saugus Centurions (13-3, 9-3) take on the La Serna Lancers (11-7-2, 6-3) on Friday at 3 p.m. at Saugus.  

Two of the three league losses for the Centurions came at the hand of the Indians, enough to drop them to second place. The Centurions still have at least one more chance to show the home crowd their talents against a Lancers team that finished second place in their league.  
 

Boys’ soccer: Valencia at Buena  

The third and final spot for the playoff weekend from the boys’ Foothill League soccer belongs to the third-place Valencia Vikings (9-7-3, 8-2-2) as they head on the road to take on the Buena Bulldogs (9-8-6, 5-2-3).  

The Vikings finished the season with a tie against the Indians to drop them to third place in the league standings, but will look to see their momentum carried from the end of the season into the playoffs.  

“We’re playing better now than we have played all year,” said Vikings’ head coach Ken Claborn in response to a playoff push after their loss to Hart. “It shouldn’t be hard for us to keep the momentum going. The guys are fired up and should give us a lot of motivation moving forward.” 

Girls’ soccer: Hart vs. Oak Park  

Starting at the top for girls’ soccer are the Foothill League champion Hart Indians (9-2-2, 9-1-2), who will take on the Oak Park Eagles (7-5-3, 4-3-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Hart for the Division 2 playoffs.  

With only one league loss all season long, the Indians go into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams from the SCV looking to make a serious playoff push despite losing one of their final games of the season to Valencia.  

The Indians are the only girls’ soccer team from SCV hosting a playoff game.  

Girls’ soccer: West Ranch at Palos Verdes  

The West Ranch Wildcats (11-3-2, 7-3-2) head on the road in a showdown against the Palos Verdes Sea Kings (11-5-1, 4-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Palos Verdes.  

The Wildcats finished second in the Foothill League and the Sea Kings finished first in the Bay League. However, the Wildcats enter the postseason going eight games in a row without a loss.  

Girls’ soccer: Saugus at Los Alamitos  

The final team from the Foothill League, the Saugus Centurions (10-4-3, 6-3-3) take on the Los Alamitos Griffins (15-4-5, 5-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Los Alamitos.  

The Centurions face a tall task in the CIF Division 1 playoffs, taking on a Griffins team with five more wins and having won 13 of their final 15 games, but luckily for the Centurions they have been mightily prepared thanks to the competitive Foothill League. 

Girls’ soccer: SCCS at Miller  

The Santa Clarita Christian School Cardinals (4-4, 4-2) take on the Miller Rebels (14-2-2, 8-1-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Miller.  

The Cardinals finished second in the Heritage League and will now face a Rebels team with the same number of league wins (8) as the total number of games played in the entire season for the Cardinals.