HS: Winter state, region rankings, Dec. 14

by Sheldon Shealer

December 14, 2015

December is tournament time -- and several events last week had significant impact on this week's state, regional and soon-to-be-released SIMA FAB 50 rankings.

Here's a quick glance at the weekend's big winners:

BOYS

Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.) vaults to No. 2 in the California-South region and California state rankings after a second straight Lotto Sport Western Showcase championship. Event runner-up Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) and third-place Watsonville (Watsonville, Calif.) are No. 1 in their respective regional rankings, which speaks to the quality and depth of California-South.

St. Paul's (Covington, La.) and Madison Central (Madison, Miss.) tied at the Clinton Invitational over the weekend, proving the top teams in Louisiana and Mississippi are on par this season. St. Paul's travels to Florida next month for the Montverde Academy Soccer Tournament, and the team's results at that event will serve as fair gauge nationally for the Louisiana and Mississippi programs.

GIRLS

Santa Ana Foothill (Santa Ana, Calif.) won the prestigious Butch Lee Memorial Tournament in San Diego, which included a match between the state's No. 1 and 2 teams in group play. Previous state No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) defeated No. 1 Cathedral Catholic to earn a spot in the Butch Lee semifinals, where it fell to La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) in penalty kicks. Foothill then hammered La Costa Canyon 4-0, which led a re-ordering of the top teams in California.

Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) advanced to this week's Aliso Cup final, and in doing so earned the No. 1 region ranking in California-South.

Merritt Island (Merritt Island, Fla.) and Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) were the only teams to go undefeated at the Women's Invitational Soccer Tournament in Florida, reinforcing their positions among the best in the Florida-North region and Florida state rankings. The eight-team event was played in a mixer format with no actual champion crowned.

Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) won the Coyote Classic in Arizona to secure its place as No. 1 in the West region.

See the entire WINTER high school region and state rankings:

WINTER REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (Dec. 14) | GIRLS (Dec. 14)

WINTER STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (Dec. 14) | GIRLS (Dec. 14)

Related Topics: SIMA FAB 50 / Event