Playoffs Underway for Centaur Teams

It’s playoff time for the Centaurs—three of the winter sports teams from Culver City High will be participating in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The girls soccer team will be facing off against the Summit High School Skylarks from Fontana for this season's playoffs. The Centaurs finished third in the Ocean League with an overall record of 19-5-1 and a league record of 7-2-1, while the Skylarks were 12-6-5 overall and took first place in the Sunkist League with a league record of 8-1-1.

Summit won the Sunkist League for the second time in three years after finishing in the league’s basement the two previous years. The Skylarks earned a higher seed than the Centaurs and will host the game at the Ralph Lewis Sports Complex in Fontana.  

While they have the lower seed, the Centaurs are definitely not the underdogs. They have the better overall record and are coming out of a more competitive division. Culver City will need to focus on defending junior forward Brittney Bravo for Summitt, who led her team in points and goals scored and finished third in the league in both categories.

The Centaurs have a lethal weapon of their own, which comes in the dynamic package of Jennifer Mair. Mair was head and shoulders ahead of her Ocean League competition this year, leading the league with a whopping 30 goals and 74 total points. The game will pit her and Bravo head-to-head, which should be one of the better playoff matches of the first round. The game will kick off on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Update: The boys soccer team took third place in the Ocean League and will play in the Division 4 Wild Card Round against Glendale High School on Wednesday. 

The girls basketball team will also be in action on Thursday. They tip-off against the San Gabriel High School Matadors, who are the No. 3 team from the Almont League at 7 p.m. The Matadors finished the season with an overall losing record of 11-15, but finished dead even in league play at 5-5. The Matadors are 3-4 on the road this season and the Centaurs are 3-5 at home. Culver City High School will be hosting the game.

The boys basketball team will also be starting the playoffs at home. Their game tips off at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. The boys earned the second seed in the Ocean League with an overall record of 19-7 and league record of 6-4 and will play Arlington High School in the first round of the playoffs.

The Arlington Lions finished third in the Inland Valley League with an overall record of 16-10; they posted a league record of 8-6. It’s their first year making it to the playoffs from the Inland Valley League after joining it prior to the 2008-09 season. Both teams come into the postseason limping a bit. Culver City lost two of its last three games to close out the season and Arlington lost its final two games.

All three Culver City teams are favored in their matchups. It will be up to each to take care of business this week to advance to the next round.