The climb to the top of the 3C2A Women's Soccer Championship begins with regionals this week
Regional Brackets
NorCal l SoCal
SAN BERNARDINO - If there is one thing you can count on like clockwork when it comes to the 3C2A Women’s Soccer Championships, it would be that members of the Orange Empire Conference will be well represented in the top seeds for the tournament.
And, again in 2025, the OEC has four of the top eight seeds in the Southern California Regional bracket released Sunday. Atop the list is state championship final four host Saddleback, who is seeded No. 1 in the south, and will open its playoff run Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s all-Inland Empire Athletic Conference matchup of Mt. San Jacinto at San Bernardino Valley.
But the Bobcats might not be considered the No. 1 overall seed in the state. That honor would belong to the state’s only undefeated soccer team – men’s or women’s – Folsom Lake. The Falcons finished the season with a 19-0-2 record, allowing only three goals on the season, with 18 clean sheets, including both of their draws, which ended in a 0-0 score.
Across the bracket from Folsom Lake at No. 2 is Sierra (14-2-4), one of the two teams to play the Falcons to a scoreless draw. That game was in the Big 8 Conference tournament championship game, with the Wolverines winning the penalty-kick shootout 4-3 to claim the title.
The rest of the North’s Top 8 seeds include three who won their conference with undefeated marks: No. 3 San Francisco, No. 4 Canada, and No. 7 Fresno City – which is 18-0-1 in its last 19 games. Rounding out the Top 8 are No. 5 Hartnell, No. 6 Cosumnes River, and No. 8 Lake Tahoe.
Back down in the South, Saddleback also has a familiar foe across the bracket as well, as OEC foe Santiago Canyon is at No. 2. And the Bobcats may have to play two other conference teams on their road to getting to play at home in the state championship round, with Cypress at No. 4, and Orange Coast – the only team to beat Saddleback in OEC play – at No. 8.
Rounding out the top eight seeds are Long Beach City at No. 3, College of the Canyons at No. 5, Mt. San Antonio at No. 6, and Santa Barbara City at No. 7.
Tournament play begins Wednesday with seeds 9-24 playing first-round games, with the winners advancing to face their corresponding top-eight seed on Saturday. Games will continue Nov. 25 and Nov. 29 until the final two teams from each region advance to the State Championship round at Saddleback on Dec. 5, with the championship games being played Dec. 7.
(Bill Norris, CCCSIA)
