For a number of local soccer teams, the second season officially begins Tuesday. Seeding meetings took place Sunday, berths have been announced, slots have been set and teams have prepared as best they can for unfamiliar teams with unfamiliar threats.
The Continental Conference placed its top six teams in the Class AAA bracket, while the National Conference sends five squads to the postseason. Champion Wissahickon is the lone American Conference team to qualify (runner-up Upper Moreland will participate in the Class AA tournament).
#2 Central Bucks East (first-round bye)
The Continental Conference champion Patriots are the highest-seeded Suburban One squad, taking the second seed and earning a first-round bye as the result of their Continental Conference title and its accompanying 12-2 record (14-2-1 overall). The Patriots have not lost since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Central Bucks South on Sept. 20.
East will host the winner of the Boyertown (15) and Springfield-Delco (18) matchup in the second round of districts.
True to coach Mike Gorni and the Patriots' style all season, the team is looking no further ahead than the next game.
"We're very happy with (our seed), we're pleased as a team, we worked very hard for this," Gorni said. "But we fully realize the tournament's wide open. Everyone realizes that. Just like in our conference where a sixth-place team can beat the top team, or in cross-conference games where a six can beat a one, it can happen in the districts as well. We're making that point to the kids. There are 28 teams in the tournament. There are so many teams that can beat you on any given day, but there are also teams that can get through the gaps if you give them the opening.
"We do not skip one game in terms of our approach. We've been a very steady team that way. I don't think anybody can skip anybody else. Our approach is to take one game at a time, especially during the single-elimination. These are critical early games, you win or your season is over. We can be sent home as easy as anyone else.
"Our team will take one game at a time, like we have been able to do all season. If anyone beats us, it won't be because we're looking past them or we don't respect them."
#6 Council Rock North vs. #27 Hatboro-Horsham
The National Conference champions (11-2-1 league, 11-2-1 overall) drew the sixth seed in the tournament and will host Hatboro-Horsham, the fifth-place team from the Continental Conference and the district's 27th seed, in the opening round.
While North coach Wendell Beres admits he'd prefer to face a team unfamiliar with the Indians' players and plays, he does feel his squad is ready to go.
"For the first time in a couple of years, I feel like they're really ready," Beres said. "In past years, maybe they've been a little nervous or not quite ready when the districts start, but this year, they know what's at stake. They know what it takes and what's to come. You look at the MLB playoffs. You get a team that's hot and healthy ... we're on a five-game win streak. We're as healthy as we're going to be. It's going to be a matter of execution."
Beres said his team is well prepared for a three-game week. The Indians have had much success in both three-game weeks they've experienced this season.
"We had the situation twice during the season where we had three games in a week," Beres said. "Both times I told them, 'We need to come out of this week with nine points,' and both times we came away with nine points. We know how to win three games in a week. And if we come out strong and play well on Tuesday, I think there's a very good chance we can be playing well for the next couple of weeks."
The Hatters posted a 5-7-2 record in the Continental Conference (7-8-2 overall) in an up-and-down season. While the Hatters are happy to have earned one of the final two berths in the tournament, they are by no means satisfied with simply making a postseason appearance.
Because the Hatters know there is little pressure on them. And that just might make them a dangerous team.
"We're ready to go," said HH coach Kyle McGrath. "We're fortunate to get in, but we realize that once the whistle blows, it's 11 guys vs. 11 guys. The team that plays better soccer and limits its mistakes is the team that's going to move on.
"We're excited. We got in a good practice (Monday), went over a lot of information about North. We've done everything we need to do to prepare for them. It'll be the first playoff appearance for most of the guys, but to me, once the whistle blows, it's just another game against a good opponent, and we have that all the time in our league. We're happy to be here, but the guys realize the opportunity they have in front of them."
#7 Neshaminy vs. #26 Kennett
Second place in the National Conference translates to a seven seed for the Redskins (9-4-1 league, 11-5-1 overall). The powerhouse Redskins pack plenty of experienced and talented players such as Sean Sheridan, Nick Tucci and Austin Transue.
They'll host 26th seed Kennett -- the fourth-place team from the Ches-Mont League's American Division -- in the opening round.
#8 North Penn vs. #25 Radnor
Continental Conference runner-up North Penn is the eighth seed in the district. Sparked by the play of Matt Ross, Matt Robinson, Mike McCullough and goalkeeper Dylan Eiger, the Knights battled their way to a 9-2-3 conference record (10-3-3 overall). The Knights will host 25th seed Radnor (7-9-2 overall, 4-5-2 Central League) in the playoff opener.
Coach Paul Duddy is pleased to get out of the Suburban One League for at least the first round.
"We beat each other up all year," Duddy said with a laugh. "We want to avoid Continental and National teams for as long as we can."
The Knights, who advanced to the second round of districts last year -- have been expanding their roster in recent games in hopes of getting everyone prepared for the district-caliber battles that lay ahead.
"The last couple of weeks I've been going deeper into the bench, and it's good to know we can count on the bench players when we need them," Duddy said. "We gained experience last season in districts, so we hope that's beneficial as well.
"We got a great training session in (Monday). We worked on a lot of things. There's a great level of excitement. I think we have the talent and the work rate that we can hopefully get deep into districts."
#10 Wissahickon vs. #23 Souderton
American Conference champion Wissahickon enters the postseason as the district's 10th seed. Wissahickon rolled to a 10-1-1 league slate (11-5-1 overall), led by senior captains Joe Farrell, Stefan Dasbach and Dan Matthews. One of two all-SOL matchups in the first round, the Trojans will square off against Souderton, the Continental Conference's fifth-place team and the district's 23rd seed, in the opener. The Big Red finished 5-5-4 in the Continental Conference (9-5-4 overall) and with no dearth of talented players -- Luke Hartzell, Ryan Molyneaux, Neil McGarry and one of the league's top goalkeepers in Tyler Afflerbach -- Souderton could be primed to pull off a couple upsets of higher seeds.
#12 Central Bucks South vs. #21 West Chester Henderson
The Titans pull the 12th seed in the Class AAA tournament and will host 21st seed West Chester Henderson in the playoff opener. The third-place team from the Continental Conference (9-4-1 league, 12-5-1 overall) is the lone SOL team in its quarter of the bracket, which means plenty of new and unfamiliar foes as the Titans advance.
Their first unfamiliar opponent, West Chester Henderson, finished third in the Ches-Mont League's National Division with a 7-5-1 league record.
"The biggest thing is to stay away from taking anyone for granted," said Titans coach Don Brady. "Just because we're the higher seed, we can't think we've won already. They've been good about that.
"Last year we made it to districts after being away a couple years. Our motto was to start off where we left off last year. It was contagious. They played three playoff games last year, and we've got 15 guys returning from last year. We'd like to definitely get back to where we were, which was the quarterfinals. But we're taking one game at a time. Henderson will be ready for us, they come from a tough conference as well."
#16 Abington vs. #17 Owen J. Roberts
The Galloping Ghosts check in as the 16th seed in the district. The fourth-place team from the National Conference (8-6 league, 9-9 overall) will host 17th seed Owen J. Roberts, one of two PAC-10 teams to qualify for the Class AAA tournament. Should the Ghosts defeat OJR, they'll go on to face top-seeded Conestoga in the second round.
It'll be a tough task, but the Ghosts feature dedicated, talented players all over the field -- among them Isaac Pitkow, Billy Natter, Kyle Rocks, Chris Tracey, Danny Sheppard, Andrew Brenner and rock-solid goalkeeper Sean Gannon.
In the Wildcats, Abington will face the Pioneer Athletic Conference champions. The Wildcats finished second in the PAC-10's Liberty Division at 10-2-1 in the league, then rolled through the postseason tournament to capture the team's first title since 2008.
#14 Council Rock South vs. #19 Marple Newtown
Drawing the 14th seed in the tournament, the Golden Hawks, who finished third in the National Conference (9-5 league, 11-6-1 overall), will host 19th seed Marple Newtown in the first round. Marple Newtown finished in the middle of the pack in the Central League.
The Golden Hawks feature talent and experience from the likes of defender Mike Discavage, midfielder Chris Spadaro, defender Chase Coleman, forward Nick Pascarella and midfielder Tom Pascarella, among numerous other threats on both sides of the field.
#22 Central Bucks West vs. #11 Garnet Valley
Rounding out the Central Bucks trifecta, West comes in as the 22nd seed. The Continental Conference's fourth-place team (6-6-2 league, 7-7-4 overall) will travel to 11th seed Great Valley in the first round of districts. The Bucks are led by senior Mike Bamford, and have been backstopped impressively by sophomore goalkeeper Redd Brown, who stepped in to take over for the injured Ray Downs.
Garnet Valley finished at 8-8-1 overall during the regular season.
#24 Pennsbury vs. #9 Downingtown West
The Falcons claim the 24th seed despite their struggles down the stretch. The Falcons started the season 6-1-1 in league play (7-2-1) and before dropping their last six games of the season. They'll look to regain that early season form and stop their slide at the best time possible when the Falcons visit ninth-seeded Downingtown West in the opening round.
Even without senior leader Sawyer Waters, who is out with an injury, the Falcons are a dangerous squad, featuring Evan Caterson and Matt Montgomery on attack and stalwart goalkeeper Pat Lestingi minding the net.
Ches-Mont League National Division champion Downingtown West earned its title with an 11-4 league record.
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