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Five Long Beach high school boys’ soccer teams will start the CIF Southern Section playoffs across four different divisions. All of the first round games are on Thursday.
Millikan (22-2-3) won its third consecutive Moore League championship in dominant fashion but is going on the road for the first round of Division 1 action at Chino Hills. The Rams have outscored their opponents 83-11 this season.
“When you’re in Division 1 you expect to play a good team in every game,” Millikan coach Jeff Schofield said. “Every team ranked 1-32 is quality and has had a good season. It’s a little tough to not have a home game with our record and going undefeated in league. But that’s the new playoff system and we will try to go on the road and win so we can play in front of our home crowd again.”
If Millikan wins it will likely host top-seeded Oak Hills in the second round on Saturday.
Chino Hills (11-3-7) is the third place team out of the Baseline League. The Huskies only won two of their last six games and outscored their opponents 46-27.
In Division 4, Long Beach Poly (8-7-6) is visiting Ramona after finishing fourth in the Moore League. Romona (10-6-3) is the third place team out of the River League.
The Jackrabbits used late season draws against Millikan, Lakewood and Wilson to stay in the top half of the league standings and earn a playoff spot.
There are two local teams in Division 5 where Wilson (9-7-6) is hosting Hueneme at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The Bruins finished second in league while playing a very demanding schedule against quality teams from all over the place. They even took on a top team from Arizona and London, England.
“We want all the smoke, we have played the best teams in our pursuit of a challenge,” Wilson coach CJ Brewer said. “Our mantra is that it’s better to fail in the pursuit of excellence than succeed in pursuing average. This postseason should feel a little easier given the challenging games we have exposed the program to. The eight shutouts in league show the growth of our defensive unit, but the challenge will be for us to be more productive and organized going forward.”
Hueneme (8-8-2) the fourth place team out of the Citrus Coast League.
Lakewood (13-8-4) is also in Division 5 after finishing third in league and starts the postseason at El Rancho (12-8-2) the second place finisher out of the El Rio League. The Lancers are trying to recapture the magic of their historic run to a CIF championship game last year.
“Like I’ve said before, our league is one of the toughest leagues out here,” Lakewood coach Alex Diaz said. “It prepares us for the playoffs. I’m just excited to see these young boys get to work.”
El Rancho only lost one of its last eight games after a three-game losing streak to start the year.
St. Anthony (7-5-3) is in Division 7 after finishing third in the Camino Real League. The Saints visit Hawthorne (12-5-2) the champions of the Coastal League.
