SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The one position on Santa Margarita’s girls soccer team that has been under the most pressure and scrutiny stepped into an even brighter spotlight Monday night at JSerra.

Kaitlin Crossett and Lauren Rose made sure the goalie position remained a strength for the Eagles.

With the Trinity League title on the line, Crossett and Rose delivered key saves and plays, including one involving a red card to Crossett, to help No.1 Santa Margarita defeat the No. 2 Lions 1-0 in a clash of Orange County’s top-two ranked teams.

Santa Margarita (13-1-2, 3-1-2) needed a win to claim the outright league championship while JSerra (12-6-2, 3-2-1) could have captured the crown with a victory or tie.

Crossett and Rose withstood a surge by the Lions in the final 10 minutes as they played for ineligible standout goalie Peyton Trayer, part of the arguably the biggest storyline of the season.

“Ironic,” Santa Margarita coach Craig Bull said with a smile. “They’re a resilient bunch, and we had no Mia Corona tonight. Mia has been with the (under-16 U.S.) national team camp.”

“We set out to win league. We won league,” added Bull, who has guided Santa Margarita to three consecutive Trinity League titles. “The girls did whatever it took to win league. Red cards, free kicks, headed goals. Whatever it takes, they did it.”

With about nine minutes left in the regulation and the Eagles leading 1-0 after a goal in the 19th minute by Felicity Nguyen, JSerra blitzed Santa Margarita with a counterattack off a corner kick.

Sophomore Bria Johnson raced down the middle of the pitch on a breakaway for the Lions but Crossett rushed from her goal and tripped Johnson about 10 yards outside of the penalty box.

Crossett left the match with a red card for the tackle as JSerra senior Sydney Schuler prepared for the free kick.

Bull replaced Crossett with Rose, who made her season debut after recovering from a concussion.

Rose knocked down the left-foot shot from the Wake Forest-bound Schuler as the Eagles escaped the jam.

“In the end, Kaitlin’s foul won us the game,” Bull said of the freshman. “If she doesn’t foul her, the kid probably scores a goal.”

In the 50th minute, the 5-foot-9 Crossett appeared to deflect a shot into the upper corner to prevent another goal.

“I got a lucky touch on that,” she said of the save.

Rose helped seal the victory by jumping on a loose ball in the box in the closing minutes.

Santa Margarita’s production in goal came in the absence of Trayer, who was among the O.C. players who lost eligibility for the season for attending a camp in Brazil with the Kansas City Current. Trayer is a junior committed to North Carolina.

“Good thing that they have that many (goalies),” JSerra coach Anjel Brown said of the Eagles. “Props to the goalie who got the red card (and) kept them in the game. And props to the goalie that subbed in.”