Boys and girls soccer, field hockey and girls volleyball all enter into state tournament action Tuesday as the fall high school sports season turns toward the home stretch.
Cross country, golf and girls tennis have completed their seasons and only football still has district and/or subregional steps to complete before moving into state play.
In each of the sports that begins today, there are 16-team brackets, meaning teams need four wins to become state champion. Today’s winners play again in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The first round features home games this year before the remainder of the tournaments switch to neutral field games.
Highlighting the schedule are one game each in girls soccer and field hockey that match ranked teams against each other.
Dallas hosts District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh in Class 3A girls soccer at 5:30.
According to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association final top 10 poll, taken before district playoffs, Northwestern Lehigh is the No. 2 Class 3A team in the state and Dallas is No. 9.
Crestwood is home against Villa Maria Academy in a Class 2A field hockey game at 5.
Both teams have been to eight state finals, with Crestwood going 5-3 and Villa Maria Academy going 4-4. They met in two state finals, splitting with Crestwood winning in 2012 and Villa Maria winning in 2014.
Both available field hockey rankings list Villa Maria above Crestwood.
In state rankings done by maxfieldhockey.com, Villa Maria is fifth and Crestwood 16th, regardless of classification.
Villa Maria is also sixth nationally, according to maxfieldhockey.com, and among eight Pennsylvania schools in the top 40 in the country – based on its position on an honorable mention list – according to topofthecircle.com.
Another nationally ranked field hockey team, Wyoming Seminary begins pursuit of a fourth straight state title in Class A at Klassner Field at 6 against Susquehanna Township.
Wyoming Seminary is ranked seventh nationally by both topofthecircle.com and maxfieldhockey.com.
Delaware Valley, Wyoming Seminary and Hazleton Area each have two teams playing at home.
The North Pocono-Danville boys soccer game has been moved back a half hour since the original announcement. The Class 3A game at the North Pocono Middle School will start at 6.
For a full rundown of all first-round matchups, follow the links below:
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Boys soccer: https://nepasportsnation.com/boys-soccer-state-pairings-set/.
Field hockey: https://nepasportsnation.com/district-field-hockey-champs-at-home/.
Girls soccer: https://nepasportsnation.com/dallas-hosts-battle-of-ranked-teams/.
Girls volleyball: https://nepasportsnation.com/tough-state-draws-for-d2-champs/.
Home site explanation: https://nepasportsnation.com/dv-sem-hazleton-teams-at-home/.
