Future Bruins to Meet Earlier Than Expected

Matt Taylor and Cliff McKinley will laugh about this when they are teammates at UCLA in the fall. But a playoff game Wednesday between Irvine and Fountain Valley is hardly a laughing matter for either forward.

Taylor and McKinley have had dream seasons--both strikers are in the running for county player of the year. And neither wants his dream to end in the second round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

“It’s pretty cool that we’re playing against each other, but it’s not cool that we have to play in the second round,” Taylor said. “We’re the only two ranked teams [in Orange County] in Division I. It’s unfortunate that someone has to go down so early.”

McKinley has 27 goals and 15 assists for second-ranked Fountain Valley (17-2-3), which won the Sunset League after winning only two league games last year.

“We’re looking for a CIF championship,” McKinley said. “I know we’ll be playing together later, but that doesn’t mean too much right now.”

Taylor has scored a county-high 37 goals for eighth-ranked Irvine (12-2-4), which won its first league title in 17 years, edging defending Division II champion Woodbridge by a point.

“Our team’s been playing great,” Taylor said. “We’ve been peaking at the right time. Making the playoffs was our first goal, the league title was the second and no one is quitting now.”

Taylor’s Irvine Strikers club team has played McKinley’s Fountain Valley Wolfpack, but Taylor didn’t know much about his future college teammate until a few months ago.

“I didn’t guard him in club and I had never really noticed him,” Taylor said. “But I’ve been reading about him in the papers. He’s had a great year.”

Although both teams have two losses, Taylor figures Irvine is the heavy underdog.

“We haven’t really done anything until this year,” Taylor said. “Nobody really has ever heard of Irvine soccer. We’ve been ranked way below them in the polls the whole year. But this is our big chance.”

With all the rain, it is likely that Irvine’s big chance will come on a muddy field at Irvine’s football stadium. Taylor, who missed most of last season with a foot injury, said he doesn’t mind.

“I don’t really care about the conditions,” he said. “I just want to win. All this year, I’ve tried to score goals and help the team win. Now, I’m just trying to spark the team. If we lose, it doesn’t matter how many goals I score.”

But McKinley knows Irvine doesn’t usually lose when Taylor gets loose.

“If we can do a good job on Taylor,” McKinley said, “We should be fine.”

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The county’s top 10 teams came out of the first round of the playoffs relatively unscathed. Ninth-ranked Woodbridge was the only ranked team to lose, but the Warriors’ defeat wasn’t much of an upset. They were beaten, 2-0, by Mission Viejo, the South Coast League champion and one of the county’s hottest teams since early January.

The Sunset League, which finished the regular season with four teams among the county’s top 10, is 4-0 in the playoffs. In Division I, Esperanza is 2-0 after beating Montebello and Baseline League champion Chino and Fountain Valley beat Hawthorne 6-0 behind McKinley’s three goals. In Division II, Edison beat Corona, 2-1 in overtime.

If you have an item or idea for the Boys’ Soccer report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at david.mckibben@latimes.com