Girls’ soccer: Will sun shine on Marlborough in playoffs?

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The stakes were high for Marlborough heading into Thursday’s regular-season finale. Win and share the Sunshine League title with Notre Dame Academy or lose and suffer the indignity of finishing second to its archrival.

The Mustangs beat Ramona Convent, 3-0, on three first-half goals by Maryland-bound Dominique Vellutato, thus earning the league’s top seed in the Division V playoffs by virtue of two head-to-head victories over co-champion Notre Dame Academy. Third-place Marymount also won Thursday to clinch the last berth.

Marlborough Coach David Collicutt had described Ramona Convent as a ‘fly in the ointment’ because it tied the Mustangs in their first meeting -- a result that ultimately cost his team the outright title. Ironically, Collicutt now considers his team the fly in the ointment.

‘I love my team but we’ll probably be seeded 7 or 8,’ said Collicutt, also a member of Saturday’s playoff seeding committee. ‘We have quality wins -- the two over Notre Dame Academy and another against [Garden Grove] Pacifica. But we’ve also lost to Marymount and Brentwood and tied Bellflower. So we’ve been inconsistent.’

Collicutt is taking his second seeding meeting very seriously. Last year’s draw was heavily criticized by some coaches after three of the top four seeds were eliminated in the first round. This year, he says, the top two teams are pretty clear-cut: South Torrance and Oaks Christian.

Who’s the ‘dark horse’ in Marlborough’s division?

‘I guarantee you nobody wants to play Notre Dame Academy’ Collicut said. ‘They’re a team to watch out for. The good thing is that they can’t be on our half of the bracket, so we wouldn’t play them until the finals.’

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image from www.webweaver.nu