Boys, Girls Soccer Tournaments Get Under Way This Week

GRANBY, Mass. -- The Wahconah girls soccer team will begin the defense of its 2014 MIAA Western Massachusetts Division 3 championship as the second seed in the 2015 tournament.

 

Wahconah (14-3-1) was installed as the No. 2 seed when the Western Massachusetts coaches held their seeding meeting on Tuesday at Granby High School.

 

And it is Granby that Wahconah may have to face if it makes it back to the D3 final. The Rams (16-0-2) who dropped a 1-0 decision to then No. 1 seed Wahconah in the '14 finals, pulled down the top seed this time around.

 

The Wahconah girls and Lenox's girls and boys earned the highest seeds among the Berkshire County teams qualifying for the sectional tourney. Each was ranked second.

 

For Wahconah, the road back to the Western Mass final begins on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals against the winner of Thursday's first-round game between No. 10 Putnam (9-5-4) and No. 7 Mahar (8-7-3).

 

The other side of the D3 draw features fifth-seeded Monument Mountain (11-6), which will travel to No. 4 Palmer (8-8-2) in the quarters.

 

The county's first soccer girls playoff game will be in Division 1, where no. 8 Pittsfield (12-6) will host No. 9 Holyoke (6-5-7) at Kirvin Park on Thursday at 2 p.m. The winner goes to top-seeded Ludlow (13-1-4), which owns a 2-0 victory over the Generals from earlier this season.

 

The D4 bracket features four teams from Berkshire County in a 10-team field.

 

No. 2 Lenox (11-4-3) leads the way and awaits the winner of Thursday's match between No. 10 Pathfinder (7-7-4) and No. 7 Smith Academy (9-6-3) in the quarters.

 

Lee (8-8-2), McCann Tech (14-3-1) and Mount Everett (11-5-1) all will start in the quarterfinals as well.

 

The No. 4 Wildcats will host the No. 5 Hornets on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a berth in the semis. No. 6 Mount Everett opens on the road at third-seeded Gateway (12-1-3).

 

Lenox's boys earned one of three first-round boys in the crowded 13-team Division 4 boys field.

 

The second-seeded Millionaires (11-5-2) host either No. 10 Pioneer Valley Christian (13-4-1) or No. 7 Gateway (9-6-3) in the quarters.

 

No. 5 Mount Everett (11-2-4) gets a home game on Wednesday against No. 12 Ware (9-8-1).

 

The 10th-seeded McCann Tech boys (8-7-3) -- just like their school's girls team -- go on the road to face a Berkshire County opponent. For the boys, it's No. 6 St. Joseph (10-1-5) on Wednesday at Clapp Park. The Crusaders already have two wins over the Hornets this year, by sores of 2-1 and 5-1.

 

In Division 3, Monument Mountain and Mount Greylock both open the post-season at home.

 

For the seventh-seeded Spartans (7-6-4), it is a first-round game against No. 10 Putnam (8-7-3) to set up a date against No. 2 Hampshire (12-2-2) in the quarters.

 

For No. 3 Mount Greylock (10-5-1), the post-season starts in the quarterfinals against No. 6 Palmer (13-5).

 

The Pittsfield boys (8-3-4) are seeded sixth in Division 1 and open the tournament on Wednesday against No. 11 Chicopee Comp (8-8-2). The one that earns its ninth win goes to No. 3 Amherst-Pelham (10-3-4) in the quarterfinals.