What: 19th Annual Excalibur Soccer Tournament

When: Monday Dec 29th- Wednesday, Dec 31st

Where: Foothill High School

Analysis: The county’s final and biggest preseason tournament begins today, as 32 teams from throughout Southern California and Arizona will look to take home the sword of Excalibur. This year’s tournament features 19 schools from throughout the county, including seven of the top 10 teams in the county. The three day tournament will surely test the endurance and resolve of the competing teams, as a total of 48 games will be played today and tomorrow, with the semifinals and championship games scheduled for Wednesday. All games are scheduled to be played at Foothill High.

County Participants: Canyon, Capistrano Valley, Dana Hills, Edison, El Toro, Esperanza, Foothill, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Laguna Hills, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Harbor, Orange Lutheran, Rosary, San Clemente, Santa Margarita, Tesoro, Trabuco Hills

Non County Participants: Buena, Cathedral Catholic, Long Beach Poly, Long Beach Wilson, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, Sacred Heart Preparatory, Santa Ynez, Santiago (Corona), Stockdale, Temecula Valley, Thousand Oaks, Walnut, Xavier College Preparatory (Arizona)

Factoid: In last season championship game, Los Alamitos slipped by Santa Margarita 1-0 to claim the sword.

Top Three Contenders:

No. 2 Esperanza: The Aztecs were undefeated entering last season’s tournament, but were knocked off in the opening round by Beckman. A talented and experienced group, headed by seniors Kylie Bono, Lauren Kennedy, Courtney Garcia, and Alex Petes will look to guide Esperanza toward a title.

No. 3 Los Alamitos: The defending tournament champions will look to use their team speed and controlled chaos on the defensive end to raise the sword for the second consecutive year.

No. 6 El Toro: The Chargers have won four of their first six to open the season and will look to continue their strong play against some of the other top teams in the county.

Top Three To Watch:

No. 4 San Clemente: The always dangerous Tritons rebounded well after an opening game loss in the Mater Dei Premier Invitational and will look to continue that momentum this week.

No. 8 Tesoro: The Titans have shown the ability to hang with some of the top teams in the region. Will the Excalibur tournament see them breakthrough?

No. 9 Capistrano Valley: The Cougars enter the tournament as the one of the county’s best kept secrets. Their defense has pitched 10 shutout victories this season and juniors Jordan Marada and Chandler Shermerhorn will look to continue their hot starts (seven goals in 11 games).

Top Three Looking For Momentum

Newport Harbor: The Sailors have struggled to find their offense this season and hope to get untracked during the tournament.

Laguna Hills: Four of their six losses this season have been by a goal. The Hawks hope to change that this week.

Orange Lutheran: The Lancers earned their first victory of the season in their previous game and will look to build on that success with a solid effort this week.

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