OP sent a strong message to all the schools in the Northern Division of the Southern Section with an impressive performance in the Black Cat Shootout at Newbury Park on Saturday.  The Eagles breezed through their division by thumping Thousand Oaks and Harvard-Westake and after a slow start, pulling away from Loyola.  On the other side of the bracket, Newbury Park, Oaks Christian and Westlake all finished 2-1 and after the tie breakers for goals allowed, Newbury Park finished in first followed by Oaks Christian, Westlake and Peninsula.  The Championship game was close at half with OP holding a 2-1 advantage over the panthers.  The 2nd half was all OP as the Eagles scored 4 straight goals and cruised to a 7-2 victory.  It is obvious that the time spent practicing and playing together over the Fall and WInter paid off as we are more prepared for the start of the season next week than many of our opponents.  The Eagles jump right into the fire with our 3 toughest games to start the season against Orange County opponents: Tesoro, Foothill and Los Alamitos in the Knight's Challenge tournament.  The big question will be can we continue to practice hard and improve as the season goes on because the other schools definitely will.