It's go time for the Pacifica Christian girls soccer team.
After storming through the regular season, the Seawolves have a chance to build on their success when they host Whittier Christian at 3 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs.
And the Wilshire Boulevard private school squad heads into the postseason with plenty of momentum.
Under coach Jose Sobrinho, Pacifica recently captured its second conference title in three seasons and enters the CIF bracket on a four-game winning streak.
The Seawolves (9-2-3, 7-1-3 in the Liberty League) have outscored their opponents 45-14 this season, which includes a whopping 24-4 tally in conference play. They combined to score 12 goals in two recent games against Sherman Oaks-Buckley and Los Angeles-Milken.
But now it's up to the team to see if it can engineer an improved run in the playoffs.
Two years ago, when Pacifica won a league championship, it fell 3-2 to Irvine-Tarbut V'Torah in the first round of CIF action. And it was dealt a similarly tough defeat last year, when it lost 2-0 to Victorville-University Prep.
If the Seawolves defeat Whittier Christian, they will face either Lake Elsinor-Temescal Canyon or Menifee-Santa Rosa Academy in the second round Feb. 24.
BOYS SOCCER
The season isn't over for the Pacifica boys soccer team.
The Seawolves took third place out of five teams in the Independence League, a finish that allows them to continue their campaign in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs.
They will host Avalon in the wild card round at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The winner will play Friday at University Prep in the first round of the championship bracket.
Pacifica (5-5-1, 5-4-1 in the Independence League), which is coached by Brian George, closed out its regular season Feb. 12 with a 3-3 tie against Burbank-Providence.
Team leaders include junior forward Cameron Hooker (seven goals), sophomore forward Jake Esprabens (six goals) and junior midfielder Emmanuel Gonzalez (four assists). There are no seniors on the roster, according to MaxPreps.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Seawolves advanced to the postseason as the No. 4 seed from the Liberty League.
Coach Amani Daanish will lead them into Thursday's game at El Segundo-Vistamar in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5A playoffs.
The winner will face Ojai-Villanova Prep on the road in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Pacifica's most recent victory came Feb. 9 with a 41-36 decision against Encino-Holy Martyrs, which won the teams' first meeting Jan. 17.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Seawolves did not qualify for the CIF Southern Section playoffs after taking fourth place in the Independence League.
Under coach Chris Owor, Pacifica finished with a 7-16 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. It crushed Glendale Adventist 61-22 in its season finale.
Contact Jeff Goodman at 310-573-8351, jeff@www.smdp.com or on Twitter.
