Perhaps no team in the San Gabriel Valley will make as big a leap this season as the Edgewood boys soccer team if the Lions keep up their current pace.

The Lions reached the CIF Southern Section Division 7 quarterfinals last season and finished 17-4-4 overall. This season they returned a lot of young players hoping to surpass those achievements.

Edgewood had a notable result in a 1-1 tie against Bishop Amat on Dec. 12. That tie has since been recorded as a victory after Bishop Amat officials self-reported using an ineligible player in that game.

With the “forfeit win” on its record, Edgewood is 8-0-2 overall. The Lions have played only a handful games, but this week they are No. 24 overall in the CIF Southern Section’s new computer rankings. For the first time, the CIF-SS will be using the rankings to place teams in playoff divisions at the end of the regular season.

Edgewood also had a strong 1-1 tie against South Hills and is 2-0-1 in the Miramonte League after a 1-1 tie with La Puente on Tuesday.

There were eight teams in the Open Division playoffs last season and 32 teams in Division 1. With a No. 24 ranking, Edgewood is on pace to go from Division 7 a year ago to Division 1.

Edgewood athletic director Anthony Soto is trying to wrap his head around the team possibly going from the lowest division to the top division.

“It’s nuts, it’s crazy,” Soto said. “Look, for the kids, after tying Bishop Amat and South Hills, they feel like they can play against anybody. I give them all the credit in the world.

“But when you make a leap like that, it’s usually because you got a bunch of transfers and you changed your team overnight. We’re the same guys that played in Division 7 last year. I figured, maybe we jump one division or two. But looking at it right now at No. 24 in CIF, that’s crazy to me. We played Bishop Amat, but we haven’t played a Division 1 schedule.”

The rest of Edgewood’s games are against Miramonte League teams, which are teams that generally compete in Divisions 5 through 7. If Edgewood continues to win, it could find itself making an unimaginable leap.

“We have tough games in league,” Soto said. “Ganesha is tough, we tied La Puente, we’ll see how it goes. But yeah, It’s a big ask to jump this many divisions.”

Edgewood’s biggest weapon is arguably goalkeeper Johan Aldana, who has allowed only five goals this season and has six shutouts.

Junior Abraham Zazueta leads the Lions in scoring with five goals and senior Michael Haydel has four.

BISHOP AMAT KNOCKS OFF CATHEDRAL

Bishop Amat’s chances of competing in the Open Division playoffs seemed to improve after it rallied for a 2-1 victory over soccer power Cathedral on Wednesday.

Bishop Amat improved to 15-2-1 and 2-0 in the Del Rey League with second-half goals from Alger Calderon and Jancarlo Hernandez.

Before Wednesday’s victory, Bishop Amat was ranked No. 9 in the CIF-SS. In recent seasons, eight teams have been selected to the Open Division playoffs. A victory over Cathedral could push the Lancers into the top eight when the next rankings come out.

SOUTH EL MONTE’S OCAMPO ON a TEAR

South El Monte’s Fabricio Ocampo scored all five goals for his team Monday in a 5-0 win over Arroyo and he had a goal and assist Wednesday in a 3-1 victory over El Monte.

Both wins were much needed by South El Monte, which improved to 12-4-3 and 2-2 in the competitive Mission Valley League.

Ocampo, a junior, has been on a scoring tear all season and has 31 goals, which is the second most in the CIF Southern Section.