The high school soccer season has begun and there is no lack of juicy tournaments throughout San Diego County.

One interesting tournament is the Mustang Cup girls tournament hosted by Otay Ranch high.

The tournament begins Friday and runs through Wednesday Dec. 22 at several sites throughout the county.

This is the second year of the tournament organized by Otay Ranch girls coach Mike Diaz. The tournament is expected to serve as a preview to what we can expect from teams in the Metro Conference in the South Bay.

Mesa League defending champion Hilltop, Chula Vista, Olympian, Montgomery, Mar Vista, Southwest and Otay Ranch are a handful of participating teams.

Hilltop is a favorite to win this tournament and is coming off a strong outing at the Barons Tournament last week. The Lancers won the Unlimited Division title with a 4-0 win against Scripps Ranch in the bracket final. Senior midfielder Nicole Wolfe was selected the tournament MVP for that bracket. Wolfe also scored in a 5-1 win against Montgomery earlier this week.

Hilltop is a favorite but coach Diaz expects this to be a competitive tournament which is slated to feature 32 teams (20 varsity) in six different brackets.

The tournament also serves as a measuring stick for coaches as teams enter a break from school for the holidays. League play begins in January.