In the first year of a postseason format designed to spread the action across all of Massachusetts, the girls soccer tournament could end up feeling hyperlocal.
If the perception during the regular season was that the Patriot League was the pacesetter for the state, the final rankings seem to reinforce it. And if things break right, the league could find itself with a hat trick’s worth of state titles in a few weeks.
How likely is it and who could stand in their way? Here is a look at the brackets in all five divisions and how they might shake out.
Unbeaten Hingham (1) leads the way in Div. 1 as the consensus top team in the state, even checking in at second overall in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll. But as much as the Patriot League Keenan champs would have to be considered the favorite, it would be a mistake to look past the most recent state titlists, Bishop Feehan (2), which has outscored foes 88-4 and has lost just once in the last three years.
A dream final for sure, but far from a lock in a stacked division. The Dual County League has a triumvirate that could break through with Acton-Boxboro (3), Newton South (6) and Concord-Carlisle (10), while the Bay State Conference is always a factor and will be again with five teams earning home games in Natick (6), Wellesley (7), Needham (11) and Brookline (13) and Framingham (16).
In Div. 2, three of the top four seeds hail from the Keenan in Plymouth North (1), Whitman-Hanson (2) and Silver Lake (4), who took turns beating up on each other this year and could be licking their chops to see some outside competition in the postseason.
There are plenty of teams for that trio to worry about, however. Oliver Ames (2) and Medfield (6) navigated difficult schedules in claiming division titles in the TVL Large and Hockomock Davenport, respectively. Danvers (5) boasts reigning Gatorade Player of the Year Ariana Bezanson, and Westborough (7) is the division’s only team without a loss. And don’t forget about a criminally under-seeded 15-3 Nauset (34) team.
No division provides the type of balance at the top as Div. 3, which has a slew of teams that can be considered legitimate threats to lift the trophy.
Norwell (1), the highest-scoring team in the bracket at more than four goals per game, might need to get past the stingiest in Bishop Fenwick (8), which has allowed three all season, just to reach the semifinals, while the path for unbeaten Dedham (3) will likely include its two biggest TVL Small rivals in Dover-Sherborn (6) and Medway (14).
Foxboro (2) not only held up well against bigger programs in the Hockomock League but has an impressive tie with Bishop Feehan on its resume, while Hanover (4) managed to thrive in the aforementioned minefield of the Patriot.
There certainly seems to be a pair of programs that separated themselves in Div. 4, a bracket that features 16 teams below .500. Cohasset (1) might have the two most talented players in the division in Cat Herman and Tess Barrett, while Hamilton-Wenham (2) can counter with tremendous depth.
Of the next tier, Millbury (4) has the track record to make some noise as the defending Div. 4 state champs and West Bridgewater (6) has a veteran team that ripped through the Mayflower League this fall.
Div. 5 has its version of the Group of Death as one quadrant not only contains the only two unbeaten teams in the field in Monson (1), which was one goal away from a perfect own value in the ratings, and Drury (17), but two dangerous squads from tough leagues with a history of postseason success in Millis (8) and Hull (16).
The rest of the bracket is littered with teams coming off Central or Western Mass. sectional titles in Whitinsville Christian (2), Palmer (3) and Sutton (4), any of whom could challenge for the crown.
PICKS
DIVISION 1
Champion: Hingham
Final four: Bishop Feehan, Hingham, Natick, Newton South
Sleeper: Brookline
Best first-round matchup: Andover at Marshfield
DIVISION 2
Champion: Plymouth North
Final four: Danvers, Oliver Ames, Plymouth North, Whitman-Hanson
Sleeper: Westwood
Best first-round matchup: Scituate at Notre Dame (H)
DIVISION 3
Champion: Hanover
Final four: Bishop Fenwick, Dedham, Foxboro, Hanover
Sleeper: South Hadley
Best first-round matchup: Bishop Stang at Weston
DIVISION 4
Champion: Hamilton-Wenham
Final four: Cohasset, Hamilton-Wenham, Millbury, West Bridgewater
Sleeper: Mashpee
Best first-round matchup: St. Mary’s (W) at Ipswich
DIVISION 5
Champion: Sutton
Final four: Millis, Palmer, Sutton, Whitinsville Christian
Sleeper: Carver
Best first-round matchup: Drury at Hull