The Northern Section soccer season will wrap up Friday with crucial games that could impact playoff positions. On Friday night, the Vikings and Panthers will square off to determine who will be the top seed in Division 1 soccer and the Eastern Athletic League champion.
The Division 1 and 2 playoffs will begin on Feb. 13. However, the Division 1 final will be on Feb. 17, with the Division 2 final being played on Feb. 24.
The Division Three playoffs will begin on Feb. 15 and conclude on Feb. 24. Norcal regional play will start on Feb. 27 and conclude on Saturday, Mar. 2.
Boys
Heading into tonight’s Eastern Athletic League showdown between the Pleasant Valley High Vikings and the Chico High Panthers, the Vikings (2.558 points) hold the top spot in the section point standings, with the Panthers (2.510) just behind them.
Division One playoffs will begin on Feb. 13, with the championship slated for Feb. 17.
The two teams tied earlier this year and enter into tonight’s action at Chico High School, starting at 7 p.m. with an 8-0-1 record.
The Vikings shut out Shasta on Wednesday night (3-0), while the Panthers took care of business against Foothill with a 3-0 win.
Third behind those two schools is Las Plumas (2.411). The 14-4-1 Thunderbirds closed their regular season yesterday at Butte View League champion Gridley.
Wednesday night’s victories by the Panthers and Vikings kept them on a collision course. They also appear to have settled the fourth spot in the playoffs.
When the points were released on Monday, Foothill was in the fourth spot, but Shasta is fourth in the Eastern Athletic League with a 4-5 mark ahead of both Red Bluff and Foothill, who are 3-6.
Teams cannot be seeded out of league finish, so even if the Cougars defeat Red Bluff on Friday and Enterprise upsets Shasta, Shasta will still have a 2-1 edge in head-to-head matchups for the year.
If Red Bluff defeats the Cougars and ends up tying Shasta at 4-6 in league play, Shasta will likely have the edge since it has swept the season action in league play from the Spartans.
In Division Two, University Prep (2.480) looks likely to be the top seat in the division as it was set in the season against winless Central Valley.
Gridley was second in points going into its game against the Thunderbirds, followed by Live Oak, Corning, Yreka, Orland, Lassen, Anderson, West Valley, Pierce, Oroville and CV.
Fourth-ranked Corning ended its season on Thursday against Oroville, and a victory over the Tigers would tie them with Orland in third place in the BVL. A three-way second-place time could occur if Gridley defeats LP and Corning defeats Oroville.
In the 12-team bracket, only Paradise would miss the playoffs. However, schools had until Thursday to opt-out. Williams appears to be locked into the top seed in Division Three with Winters behind them. Maxwell was third, followed by Colusa, Redding Christian, Durham, Hamilton, Willows, and Los Molinos.
In this eight-team bracket, only Los Molinos would miss the playoffs.
Girls
In Division I, the four-team bracket and their seedings seem fairly set except for the fourth spot, which depended upon Thursday’s Los Plumas and Gridley match.
A Thunderbird victory over Gridley would give them a share of the Butte View League title and a spot in the playoffs.
Eastern Athletic League champion Chico High is the number one seed despite the Monday points standings that showed Pleasant Valley (3.047) ahead of the Panthers (2.903).
Shasta and Foothill are tied for third in the EAL, but the Wolves have the season series over Foothill, having beaten and tied the Cougars.
Live Oak has a stranglehold on the top seed in Division 2, just ahead of University Prep. Following the Panthers are West Valley, BVL leader Orland, Yreka, Paradise, Corning, Lassen, Gridley, Anderson, Pierce, and then Central Valley in the final playoff spot
In Division Three, Winters looks to be a lock for the top seed, with Hamilton set to be the second seed in the eight-team playoff. Colusa was third in points, followed by Williams, Willows, Maxwell, Durham, and Los Molinos.
