Soccer Events Are Canceled
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The final two days of the Foothill Excalibur girls’ soccer tournament were canceled because of poor field conditions brought on by inclement weather.
The decision to halt the prestigious 32-team event for the first time in 15 years of competition was made Tuesday in the wake of an overnight downpour and forced the cancellation of 24 second-round and quarterfinal games, as well as today’s six championship-bracket and consolation-final games at Santa Ana Foothill.
Mark Bianchetti, the tournament director and a member of Foothill’s Center Circle soccer booster club, made the decision at about 7:35 a.m. after arriving at Foothill two hours earlier to find the school’s four soccer fields saturated.
“Lucky me. To make that decision, it wasn’t easy, believe me,” said Bianchetti, who consulted with Foothill girls’ soccer Coach Nancy Doting, as well as other tournament officials, referees and several coaches who had arrived for their teams’ 8 a.m. games.
Bianchetti said he was also influenced by forecasts of rain through today.
The rain scuttled plans of several out-of-area teams, including Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon, Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, Santee Eastlake and University of San Diego highs, as well as other schools seeking top-flight competition.
Eight of the top 10 teams in Southern Section Division I preseason rankings were participating, including defending tournament champion San Clemente.
“I understand their position. It’s just an unfortunate situation,” San Clemente Coach Stacey Finnerty said.
Play in the Trabuco Hills boys’ soccer tournament also was canceled for the remainder of the week.
Football
Quarterback Mark Sanchez of Mission Viejo, receiver DeSean Jackson of Long Beach Poly and linebacker Luthur Brown of Lakewood are three of the top Southland players who will participate in the CaliFlorida Bowl on Sunday at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
The game, which features 30 Southland players on the 40-man roster, will be played at 2 p.m., with a delayed telecast set for 7:30 p.m. on FSN West.
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