Southern Powerhouses Remain 3CWPCA Ranking Leaders

The top of the rankings continue to remain in the possession of Santa Barbara on the women's side and Golden West on the men's side. The Vaqueros were the unanimous selection for the fourth-consecutive time this season, while the Rustlers received all but one top vote.

WOMEN

Santa Barbara, who remains the lone undefeated team in 3C2A action, is the unmatched favorite to repeat as 3C2A State Champions as they enter postseason play this weekend. The capped their regular season schedule with a dominating victory over Santa Monica while beating other top-ranked teams including No. 2 Riverside, No. 3 West Valley, No. 5 Sierra and No. 8 Fullerton.

The Vaqueros rank second in the state in goals (378) and seventh in goals-per-game (13.38). Leading the charge is sophomore Claire Daland who has netted 57 scores, pocketed 52 steals and dished out an even 10 assists. She has scored seven goals in the last three games while scoring five goals in a win over Ventura earlier this month.

Freshman goalkeeper Kate Densmore, who was named the 3CWPCA Week Six Player of the Week, has amassed 264 saves in 30 games played. She has recorded a whopping 59 saves in the past two weeks highlighted by a 17 save game in a win over Palomar.

Riverside comes in ranked second for the fourth-straight week as they sit atop the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) standings with a 22-3 record. They have won 11 of their last 12 games highlighted by wins over No. 4 Saddleback and No. 6 Orange Coast.

No. 3 West Valley remains the queen of the north, while No. 4 Saddleback and No. 5 Sierra round out the top five.

No. 6 Orange Coast sits comfortably in the rankings once again, while No. 7 Long Beach and No. 8 Fullerton trail close behind. No. 9 Ventura remains in the same position, while No. 10 Golden West round out the top-10.

MEN

Golden West, who sits atop the OEC standings and is undefeated in 3C2A play, is the unwavering favorite to haul in more hardware at the 3C2A State Championships in November.  They were pushed to the bring last week by No.2 Saddleback, but prevailed in a double-overtime thriller by the final score of 8-7. Prior to what may have been the game of the year, they defeated No. 7 Long Beach, No. 8 Cuesta and No. 9 Sierra.

The two-headed beast of freshman Tomas De Luca and sophomore Italy Roth have been picking apart defenses from the get-go. De Luca leads the team in scoring with 48 goals, while Roth backs him with 47 goals.

No. 2 Saddleback has been rising in the rankings and currently sits behind their fellow conference foe. They currently boast a 22-4 record highlighted by most recent wins over No. 5 Cerritos, No. 7 Long Beach and No. 10 American River.

No. 3 West Valley is one of three northern teams to reach the top-10 with No. 9 Sierra and No. 10 American River hauling in the rear.

No. 6 Mt. San Antonio, who leads the state with 452 goals scored, was bumped out of the top-10 by No. 5 Cerritos. No. 7 Long Beach and No. 8 Cuesta round out the top-10.

Release by Nicho DellaValle, 3CWPCA SID