It’s a soccer horn of plenty this weekend at Manning Field

High school soccer fans will have plenty to choose from as the MIAA North finals roll into Manning Field in Lynn beginning today and continuing through Monday.Several local teams, in addition to the St. Mary’s boys, are still alive. The Lynnfield High girls will play North Reading Saturday at 2 p.m. in Division 3. St. John’s Prep will play Acton-Boxborough in Division 1 Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the Winthrop High girls will play Georgetown Sunday at 2 p.m. in Division 4.Lynnfield vs. North ReadingLynnfield (15-4-2) entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Pioneers beat No. 14 Wayland, 2-0, No. 11 Weston (4-1), and No. 7 Triton (2-1) on their way to the final. Lynnfield lost to Newburyport in the North final last year and will face another Cape Ann League foe in the title game today. Although Lynnfield is in the CAL Small division and North Reading (No. 9, 13-6-2) is in the CAL Middle, they met once during the regular season. Lynnfield won that game, 2-1.The Pioneers will be counting on All-State player Emily Scollard to shore up the midfield and Hannah Travers to put up a wall in net. Liz Reed at outside forward has been a huge factor, as has Jess Duhaime, the Pioneers’ most prolific goal scorer.Winthrop vs. GeorgetownThe Winthrop High (10-9-2) girls team may be the least likely team to still be playing ? that is, if you pay any attention to seedings. The Vikings entered the tournament as the only team in Division 4 North with a sub-.500 record, and the No. 16 seed. That is the last slot in the division. Winthrop started its tournament drive by knocking off No. 1 Mt. Alvernia with an 8-0 shellacking before squeaking by No. 8 St. Mary’s, 1-0. They defeated No. 4 Essex Tech, 3-0, in the semifinals and now find themselves in the final against No. 10 Georgetown (10-5-6).St. John?s Prep vs. Acton-BoxboroughSt. John’s Prep (No. 4, 17-1-3) returns to the North final hoping for better results than it had the last two years, with losses to Somerville. The Eagles have plenty of firepower to throw at Acton-Boxborough (No. 7, 15-3-3), including EMass All-Star Pat Foley, who leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and nine assists, and Catholic Central League All-Star Paul Magazzu, who has 12 goals and 10 assists. Centerback Steve Heintz was the Catholic Conference Player of the Year and an EMass All-Star.The Prep is very strong in net, as well, with Zach Rowell, an EMass All-Star who has only allowed 10 goals this season. He also has 13 shutouts under his belt.Prep coach Dave Crowell said he had confidence at the start of the season that this year’s team could go deep in the tournament.?We loaded up the schedule and hope it will help us at this time of year,” Crowell said.Crowell, who is in his 14th year, said Acton-Boxborough does much the same, playing in a good league and seeking out tough competition.?They play in the Dual County League, which I think is the best in the state,” he said. “They also play a tough non-league schedule on top of the league schedule.”?They’re well-coached and disciplined,” Crowell said. “They’re one of the best programs every year.”The Eagles? lone loss was to Silver Lake, 3-2. They beat No. 13 Revere, No. 12 Westford, and No. 1 Malden to get to the final.