The final week of the regular season is here in girls water polo, and holding plenty of promise for excitement. Here’s a look at some of the top matches:

Tuesday: Mater Dei plays host to Rosary at 6 p.m. in a match to decide second place in the Trinity League. Both teams have dealt with injuries but now appear to be full-strength. This one will be key for playoff seeding in Division 2.

Also on Tuesday, first-year  program Orange Lutheran plays at JSerra for fourth place in the Trinity League. If the Lancers (10-9 overall) win, they’ll be eligible to apply for an at-large berth to the Division 2 playoffs because their overall .500 record.

Coach Steve Carrera’s Orange Lutheran team starts five freshmen and two sophomores.

Wednesday: Los Alamitos plays at Newport Harbor at 7:10p.m.  in arguably the biggest league match of the county season. The match will decide the Sunset League title and likely push the winner into the No. 4 seed for the Division 1 playoffs and the loser to the No. 6.

Also watch out for the Edison-Huntington Beach match for third place at 6:05 p.m. at Newport Harbor. If the Chargers don’t win, the former county Top 10-ranked team won’t be eligible to apply for a Division 1 at-large berth because it will have an overall record below .500.

Thursday: Pacifica at Yorba Linda at 4 p.m. could decide the Empire League title and a high seed for the Division 6 playoffs. Pacifica won the teams’ duel last season, 12-11, on a full-court shot by goalie Melissa Thorn at the end of double sudden-death overtime.

In the Freeway League, Sunny Hills plays host to Troy in a likely league-title match. If the Warriors win, the title could be theirs out-right in the Division 4 league. But if the Lancers win, there could be a title for the crown.

Playoff pairings will be announced Sunday at 11 a.m. Get the pairings here on the water polo blog.

Please send water polo news to Dan Albano at dalbano@ocregister.com

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