For years, San Fernando Valley teams have dominated the City Section girls soccer playoffs. This year, however, Palisades might have something to say about that. The Dolphins (12-2-1) were awarded the third seed at Saturday’s bracket meeting and will host 30th-seeded Verdugo Hills in the first round Friday at 3 p.m. at Stadium by the Sea. The girls’ playoff format has gone to a 32-team format, with first-round winners continuing in the championship bracket and losers dropping into a backdraw to play for the Invitational title. Should Palisades win tomorrow, it would host either 19th-seeded Banning or 14th-seeded Kennedy next Wednesday at 3 p.m. Only a 1-0 loss to Hamilton midway through its schedule prevented the Dolphins from finishing undefeated in the Western League, but Pali avenged that loss with a 2-1 victory in the second round of league play. Its only other loss was at a tournament early in the season. The only teams seeded higher than Palisades are defending City Champion El Camino Real (18-4-1) and runner-up Granada Hills (13-4-3), the teams which have eliminated the Dolphins from the playoffs in the last two seasons. Palisades could potentially face sixth-seeded Chatsworth, the third-place team in the West Valley league, in the quarterfinals next Friday. The teams tied 1-1 in Pali’s season opener. Marine League champion San Pedro was seeded fourth while Hamilton, which finished second behind Palisades in the Western League, was seeded No. 5. The City finals are at East Los Angeles College on Saturday, March 6, at 4:30 p.m.
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