The MIAA released its 2021 girls soccer playoff brackets Tuesday night, and the Lynn Classical girls found out that — despite an undefeated regular season — the Rams will have to not only play in the preliminary round, but also play on the road.
Classical went 15-0-3 this year, but the Rams officially came in at No. 46 in the Division 1 power rankings — just 11 spots ahead of last-place Lawrence, which went 0-18-0. After all of the teams that finished under .500 ahead of Classical were eliminated, the Rams earned the No. 37 seed and will play on the road at No. 28 Central Catholic in the preliminary round Thursday.
Peabody came in at No. 23 in the Division 1 bracket, finishing 7-5-4 during the regular season. That was good enough to earn the Tanners a preliminary round bye, but it also means they will have a tough opening matchup against No. 10 Concord-Carlisle — which only lost two games this year — in the Round of 32.
The Division 3 bracket is bursting with local teams, as Bishop Fenwick, Swampscott, Lynnfield, Saugus and Revere all made it into the 44-team field.
Fenwick is the highest-seeded local team, coming in at No. 8 in the bracket after finishing the regular season at 8-1-7. The top-10 seed gives the Crusaders a bye into the Round of 32, where they’ll face the winner of No. 40 Boston Latin vs. No. 25 Tantasqua.
Swampscott comes in at No. 18 in the rankings after a 10-4-4 year, which was also good enough for a preliminary round bye. The Big Blue will go up against the always-talented Newburyport Clippers in the Round of 32.
Lynnfield closed out the regular season at 9-5-4 and earned the No. 24 seed. It wasn’t quite enough to get a bye, and the Pioneers will take on No. 41 Greater Lowell in the preliminary round with the winner moving on to face No. 9 Austin Prep.
Saugus finished at 10-8-0 and picked up the No. 35 seed, eventually moving up to No. 33 after teams below .500 were eliminated. The seeding puts the Sachems into the preliminary round, with a road game against No. 32 Sandwich set for Thursday. A win would give Saugus a date with No. 1 Norwell in the Round of 32.
Revere came in at No. 48 in the final rankings, but was moved up to No. 38 after the teams below .500 were knocked out. The Patriots, led by star scorer Carolina Bettero, will play on the road at No. 27 St. Paul Diocesan Thursday in the preliminary round. A win would move Revere on to the Round of 32, where it would face No. 6 Dover-Sherborn.
In the Division 2 bracket, the high-powered Danvers Falcons checked in at No. 5 after their 13-2-3 regular season. Danvers, which is led by All-American Arianna Bezanson, has a bye in the preliminary round before facing the winner of No. 28 North Attleboro and No. 37 Somerville in the Round of 32.
Marblehead came in at No. 26 in Division 2 after a 13-4-1 regular season, good enough to also earn a preliminary round bye. The Magicians are set to face off against No. 7 Westborough ― which went 11-0-5 this year ― in the Round of 32.
It should be noted that all pairings are not fully official for 24 hours and dates and times are subject to change.
