Eric McHughThe Patriot Ledger
Show Caption
The title chases are about to start again.
The MIAA girls soccer playoffs are here. The brackets were released Wednesday afternoon.
The South Shore earned nine top-10 seeds across the five divisions with three teams checking in at No. 3 -- Hanover in Div. 3, Cohasset in Div. 4 and Hull in Div. 5. Notre Dame Academy is the No. 4 seed in Div. 2.
We have four defending state champs, two of whom will square off immediately. Hingham won the Div. 1 crown a year ago but has dropped down to Div. 2 this year; the Harborwomen are a No. 8 seed and draw defending Div. 2 champ No. 25 Silver Lake in the first round. Hanover (Div. 3) and Cohasset (Div. 4) also are back to defend their titles.
More: State crowns are within reach again: Girls soccer top 10
In total, there are 31 area schools in the field. Div. 2 has the most local flavor with 10 teams in the field. Along with Hingham-Silver Lake, Div. 2 also has an intriguing first-round matchup between locals No. 13 Milton and No. 20 Scituate.
The MIAA says brackets will be updated with date, time and site information as it is finalized. State championship games are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 18. All games will be at the home site of the higher seed through the Round of 8.
Div. 1
The field
1. Natick
2. Bishop Feehan
3. Hopkinton
4. Wellesley
5. Brookline
6. Franklin
7. Acton-Boxborough
8. Winchester
9. Concord-Carlisle
10. King Philip Regional
11. Algonquin
12. Needham
13. Newton North
14. Arlington
15. Shrewsbury
16. Weymouth (7-7-4)
17. Belmont
18. Central Catholic
19. Braintree (4-11-3)
20. Marshfield (10-4-5)
21. Woburn Memorial
22. Lexington
23. Durfee
24. Bridgewater-Raynham (12-3-3)
25. Andover
26. Framingham
27. Westford Academy
28. Newton South
29. Wachusett Regional
30. Plymouth North (5-7-6)
31. Beverly
32. Boston Latin
33. Waltham
34. North Andover
35. Cambridge Rindge & Latin
36. Haverhill
37. Chelmsford
38. Diman
39. Medford
Who do the locals play?
No. 17 Belmont at No. 16 Weymouth
No. 19 Braintree at No. 14 Arlington
No. 20 Marshfield at No. 13 Newton North
No. 24 Bridgewater-Raynham at No. 9 Concord-Carlisle
No. 35 Cambridge Rindge & Latin at No. 30 Plymouth North (prelim)
Bracket breakdown
Best first-round match: No. 17 Belmont at No. 16 Weymouth
Upset pick: No. 18 Central Catholic over No. 15 Shrewsbury
State-champ prediction: No. 1 Natick
Div. 2
The field
1. Masconomet Regional
2. Nashoba Regional
3. Longmeadow
4. Notre Dame Academy (11-6-3)
5. Grafton
6. Mansfield
7. Melrose
8. Hingham (9-6-3)
9. Minnechaug
10. Oliver Ames (13-3-0)
11. Westborough
12. Duxbury (11-5-2)
13. Milton (8-7-3)
14. Westwood
15. West Springfield
16. Dartmouth
17. Whitman-Hanson (7-8-3)
18. Marlborough
19. Canton (8-7-2)
20. Scituate (7-6-5)
21. Walpole
22. Marblehead
23. Ludlow
24. Bishop Stang
25. Silver Lake (6-8-4)
26. East Longmeadow
27. Holliston
28. Burlington
29. Westfield
30. Billerica Memorial
31. Chicopee Comp.
32. Somerset Berkley Regional
33. Amherset-Pelham Regional
34. Northampton
35. Somerville
36. Southeastern (8-4-4)
Who do the locals play?
No. 36 Southeastern at No. 29 Westfield (prelim)
Southeastern/Westfield (prelim) winner at No. 4 Notre Dame Academy
No. 25 Silver Lake at No. 8 Hingham
No. 23 Ludlow at No. 10 Oliver Ames
No. 21 Walpole at No. 12 Duxbury
No. 20 Scituate at No. 13 Milton
No. 17 Whitman-Hanson at No. 16 Dartmouth
No. 19 Canton at No. 14 Westwood
Bracket breakdown
Best first-round match: No. 25 Silver Lake at No. 8 Hingham
Upset pick: No. 19 Canton over No. 14 Westwood
State-champ prediction: No. 10 Oliver Ames
Div. 3
The field
1. Medfield
2. Dover-Sherborn
3. Hanover (17-0-1)
4. Norwell (18-1-1)
5. Pope Francis
6. Cardinal Spellman (15-1-2)
7. Nipmuc Regional
8. Tantasqua Regional
9. Danvers
10. Dedham
11. Weston
12. Apponequet Regional
13. Auburn
14. Belchertown
15. Norton
16. Saugus
17. North Reading
18. Medway
19. Wilmington
20. Nauset Regional
21. Archbishop Williams (7-7-6)
22. Newburyport
23. Sandwich
24. St. Mary's-Lynn
25. East Bridgewater (8-9-3)
26. Foxboro
27. Swampscott
28. Tewksbury Memorial
29. Martha's Vineyard Regional
30. Pentucket Regional
31. Pembroke (6-8-4)
32. Dighton-Rehoboth
33. Hudson
34. Old Rochester Regional
35. Blackstone Valley Regional
36. Greater New Bedford
37. Gloucester
38. Falmouth
39. Notre Dame-Worcester
40. Greater Lowell Tech
41. Revere
42. Holyoke
43. Norfolk Aggie
44. Boston Latin Academy
Who do the locals play?
No. 35 Blackstone Valley/No. 30 Pentucket Regional (prelim) winner at No. 3 Hanover
No. 36 Greater New Bedford/No. 29 Martha's Vineyard (prelim) winner at No. 4 Norwell
No. 38 Falmouth/No. 27 Swampscott winner at No. 6 Cardinal Spellman
No. 44 Boston Latin Academy at No. 21 Archbishop Williams (prelim)
No. 40 Greater Lowell Tech at No. 25 East Bridgewater (prelim)
No. 34 Old Rochester Regional at No. 31 Pembroke (prelim)
Bracket breakdown
Best first-round match: No. 17 North Reading at No. 16 Saugus
Upset pick: No. 18 Medway over No. 15 Norton
State-champ prediction: No. 3 Hanover or No. 4 Norwell
Div. 4
The field
1. South Hadley
2. Sutton
3. Cohasset (11-3-3)
4. Lynnfield
5. Hamilton-Wenham
6. Littleton
7. Northbridge
8. West Bridgewater (12-5-1)
9. Millbury
10. Hampshire Regional
11. Leicester
12. Monument Mountain
13. Rockland (8-8-2)
14. Lunenburg
15. Abington (10-8)
16. Monomoy
17. Manchester Essex
18. Southwick Regional
19. Easthampton
20. Bellingham
21. Adv. Math & Science
22. Uxbridge
23. Tyngsborough
24. South High Community
25. Wahconah Regional
26. Ipswich
27. Bay Path RVT
28. Blue Hills Regional (16-0-2)
29. Mashpee
30 Sturgis Charter West
31. Nantucket
32. Bourne
33. Saint Paul Diocesan
34. Clinton
35. Tri-County RVT
36. Sturgis Charter East
37. Westfield Technical Acad
38. Excel Academy Charter
39. East Boston
40. Minuteman Regional
41. Cathedral
Who do the locals play?
No. 37 Westfield Tech at No. 28 Blue Hills (prelim)
No. 20 Bellingham at No. 13 Rockland
No. 40 Minuteman/No. 25 Wahconah (prelim) winner at No. 8 West Bridgewater
No. 35 Tri-County/No. 30 Sturgis West (prelim) winner at No. 3 Cohasset
No. 18 Southwick at No. 15 Abington
Bracket Breakdown
Best first-round game: No. 20 Bellingham at No. 13 Rockland
Upset pick: No. 23 Tyngsboro over No. 10 Hampshire Regional
State-champ prediction: No. 3 Cohasset
Div. 5
The field
1. Whitinsville Christian
2. Monson
3. Hull (13-2-2)
4. Mount Greylock Regional
5. Douglas
6. Maynard
7. Tahanto Regional
8. Saint John Paul II
9. Millis
10. Georgetown
11. Hopedale
12. Palmer
13. David Prouty
14. West Boylston
15. Mystic Valley Charter
16. Quaboag Regional
17. Lenox Memorial
18. Bromfield School
19. Parker Charter
20. Granby
21. Hopkins Academy
22. Drury
23. Nashoba Valley Tech
24. Smith Academy
25. St. Mary-Westfield
26. Ayer Shirley
27. Westport
28. Acad. of Notre Dame
29. Mount Everett Regional
30. Holbrook (7-8-3)
31. Smith Vo-Tech
32. Franklin County Tech
33. Upper Cape Cod RVT
34. Athol
35. Innovation Acad. Charter
36. Rising Tide Charter (10-8)
37. McCann Tech
38. Pioneer Valley Regional
39. Prospect Hill Academy
40. Bristol Aggie
41. Avon (6-6-2)
42. Boston Collegiate
43. Gateway Regional
44. South Shore Charter (8-4)
45. Burke
46. Tech Boston Academy
Who do the locals play?
No. 35 Innovation at No. 30 Holbrook (prelim)
Innovation/Holbrook winner at No. 3 Hull
No. 36 Rising Tide at No. 29 Mount Everett (prelim)
No. 41 Avon at No. 24 Smith Academy (prelim)
No. 44 South Shore Charter at No. 21 Hopkins Academy (prelim)
Bracket Breakdown
Best first-round game: No. 17 Lenox at No. 16 Quaboag
Upset pick: No. 36 Rising Tide over No. 29 Mount Everett
State-champ prediction: No. 3 Hull