All they're asking for is a little respect.

Last season, three of the four teams represented in the CIFSouthern Section Division II girls' soccer semifinals—Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Agoura— were Marmonte League schools.

For the 2008-09 season, the Marmonte moved into Division I but was given the cold shoulder when no squad was ranked in the preseason coaches' poll.

If league coaches want to get the respect they think they deserve, now is the time.

The Division I wild-card round opened Tuesday. Firstround action in all divisions gets underway this afternoon at 3 p.m.

"I think we're well past the fact that we're not getting any respect," Thousand Oaks head coach Geoff Raives said.

"To get respect in Division I, I believe it can't just be one team that has success in the playoffs or else everyone will say, 'Oh, well, they're just a team that went on a run and got hot at the end.'"

Thousand Oaks, last year's Division II champion and cochampion of the Marmonte this season, is one of five Marmonte teams competing in the postseason. Westlake, Agoura, Royal and Newbury Park also qualified.

Raives said last year's postseason experience won't be the most important factor when the Lancers open at home against Peninsula today in a first-round pairing.

"Last year's experience will help, but, personally, I believe our preseason games will help more," Raives said.

"There were a lot of players that were on the team last season, but the entire team was on the squad that played in the Mater Dei Tournament this year. In that tournament, we played many of the teams we could see in the playoffs."

Thousand Oaks has a plethora of offensive weapons—junior Michelle Cruz, as well as seniors Sam Rivera, Mary Madden and Taylor Demirjian.

Senior Megan Myer and junior goalkeeper Hannah Shirley anchor the Lancer defense.

Westlake, also co-champions of the Marmonte, open the playoffs at Palos Verdes.

The Warriors come into the postseason having won four of their last five games and having outscored opponents 17-3 during the stretch.

Westlake is led by offensive stalwarts in junior Andrea Todak, freshman Taylor Perry and sophomore Mary Case. Junior Sara Riazi and sophomore goalkeeper Alexandra Altman lead the defense.

Agoura's first-round game is at Trabuco Hills.

The Chargers, who lost to Moorpark in the semifinals a year ago, suffered some bad news when they learned senior Michelle Manning will miss the entire postseason with a knee injury.

The Chargers will now count on the leadership of seniors Kelsey Reichow and Taryn Curcz to get over the hump.

Junior Rachel Martinez and sophomore Gina Goryoka are other key players for AHS.

Newbury Park and Royal both lost in wild-card games Tuesday. NPHS fell 1-0 at Great Oak, while RHS lost a 1-0 home decision to JSerra.

In Division V, Oaks Christian will attempt to defend its section title when it opens the playoffs at home against Windward.

The Lions have won or shared a section title five of the last six years and enter the postseason having won their last 15 games by outscoring opponents 55-4.

Leading OCHS is junior Kelly Johnson, who's posted a team-high 15 goals and 18 assists. Juniors Lauren Lindstrom and Alexandra Courtnall, as well as all-time OCHS saves leader, senior goalkeeper Noe Salter, are the backbone of the Lions.

Oak Park, secondplace finisher in the TVL, begins the playoffs at home against Crossroads.

Oak Park is led by Lauren Kawamoto, who's registered nine goals and nine assists this season.

La Reina will travel to Campbell Hall for its first-round matchup. The Regents went 401 in the second half of the TVL thanks to a tenacious defense.

"Our defense continues to be world-class," La Reina head coach Creighton Van Horn said.

"Our defense helps create more scoring opportunities for our offense. If our defense plays well, we'll have a good chance of winning a few games."

La Reina's defense has been led by Megan Scanlon, who Van Horn calls one of the best defenders he's ever seen. Also helping out on defense is goalkeeper Ali Parisi.

Jillian DeGennaro is tops on La Reina with 15 goals.

Viewpoint, champion of the Liberty League, opens the Division VI playoffs at home against Grace Brethren. Viewpoint has gone 11-0-1 in its last 12 games, outscoring its opponents 53-4 during the stretch.

According to head coach Travis Kikugawa, senior leadership has been the team's biggest strength. Meanwhile, much of the squad's offense has come from seniors Harley Joffe, Jenny Kim and Samantha Tellez.

"Those three are our primary girls," Kikugawa said. "I've been very impressed with the way Tellez has played this season. She's elevated her game to a new level, and basically everything we do offensively runs through her. She's the heartbeat of our offense."