It’ll be a little bit different of a road this year for the Newburyport girls soccer team heading into the Division 3 state playoffs, but that doesn’t mean a long run isn’t possible.
Just a touch more difficult.
With the release of the MIAA pairings on Wednesday, the Clippers (11-4-3) find themselves at No. 22 and will host No. 43 Norfolk Aggie in the preliminary round on Thursday at 4 p.m. It won’t be like last year where the Clippers entered the tourney with one loss and were the No. 2 seed, but there’s still plenty of talent back from that roster with the likes of Ana Lynch, Carly McDermott, Sophia Franco, Brela Pavao, Grace Chandler, Caitlin Downey, Alexis Greenblott, Natalie DeGraves, Aoife Tykulsky and Phoebe Whitcomb.
Newburyport will also be looking to make it past the Round of 16 for the first time since the MIAA moved to the new statewide format in 2021.
But the Clippers won’t be the only ones competing in a play-in game this fall.
Pentucket (8-6-3) made the tournament as the No. 30 seed in Division 3, and will host No. 35 Blackstone Valley in the preliminary round at a time and date not yet announced. Meaghan Grenham, Jamie Dahlgard, Ashley Gagnon and Sydney Trout are the Panthers’ goal-scorers to watch, and Gabby Bellacqua will lead the defense in front of goalie Ava DiBurro.
Finally, the Georgetown girls are the highest local seed in any tournament. The Royals (9-7-2) enter as the No. 10 seed in Division 5, and will host the winner of the play-in game between No. 42 Boston Collegiate and No. 23 Nashoba Valley Tech in the first round (time/date TBD). The talented sister tandem of Kayla and Shannon Gibbs control the midfield for the Royals, while Olivia Hiltz, Lyla Schneider, Avery Upite, Lexie Sheahan, Jenna Johnson and Kathryn Greenblatt are all scoring threats. The program has also received solid goalie play from sophomore Cora Robinson, with senior leadership in Abby Stauss headlining the defense in front.
Here are the pairings for each division that includes a local school.
DIVISION 3
Seedings: 1. Medfield 16-1-1; 2. Dover-Sherborn 14-3-1; 3. Hanover 17-0-1; 4. Norwell 18-1-1; 5. Pope Francis 15-1-0; 6. Cardinal Spellman 15-1-2; 7. Nipmuc Regional 14-2-2; 8. Tantasqua Regional 14-4-0; 9. Danvers 13-3-2; 10. Dedham 10-5-3; 11. Weston 10-3-5; 12. Apponoquet Regional 16-1-3; 13. Auburn 15-1-2; 14. Belchertown 8-5-5; 15. Norton 9-6-3; 16. Saugus 14-3-1; 17. North Reading 13-3-2; 18. Medway 5-9-4; 19. Wilmington 8-6-4; 20. Nauset Regional 12-2-4; 21. Archbishop Williams 7-7-6; 22. NEWBURYPORT 11-4-3; 23. Sandwich 10-5-1;
24. St. Mary’s 10-6-2; 25. East Bridgewater 8-9-3; 26. Foxborough 6-12-0; 27. Swampscott 8-5-5; 28. Tewksbury Memorial 10-5-3; 29. Martha’s Vineyard 11-5-2; 30. PENTUCKET 8-6-3; 31. Pembroke 6-8-4; 32. Dighton-Rehoboth 9-8-2; 33. Hudson 9-6-3; 34. Old Rochester 10-8-2; 35. Blackstone Valley 9-8-1; 36. Greater New Bedford 8-8-2; 37. Gloucester 7-7-3; 38. Falmouth 6-6-6; 39. Notre Dame (Worcester) 8-8-2; 40. Greater Lowell 13-2-1; 41. Revere 16-1-1; 42. Holyoke 10-5-3; 43. Norfolk County 16-3-1; 44. Boston Latin Academy 11-5-3
Local Preliminary Round Games
Thursday, Nov. 2
No. 43 Norfolk County at No. 22 Newburyport, 4 p.m.
TBD
No. 35 Blackstone Valley at No. 30 Pentucket, TBD
DIVISION 5
Seedings: 1. Whitinsville Christian 16-2-0; 2. Monson 17-0-1; 3. Hull 13-2-2; 4. Mount Greylock 16-1-0; 5. Douglas 9-7-2; 6. Maynard 10-5-3; 7. Tahanto Regional 11-4-3; 8. Saint John Paul II 15-2-1; 9. Millis 6-10-2; 10. GEORGETOWN 9-7-2; 11. Hopedale 5-10-3; 12. Palmer 10-7-1; 13. David Prouty 6-7-3; 14. West Boylston 12-5-1; 15. Mystic Valley 11-6-1; 16. Quaboag Regional 6-8-3; 17. Lenox Memorial 9-7-2; 18. Bromfield School 5-11-2; 19. Parker Charter 11-4-2; 20. Granby 7-10-1; 21. Hopkins Academy 12-3-3; 22. Drury 9-8-1; 23. Nashoba Valley 15-2-1;
24. Smith Academy 12-3-3; 25. St. Mary (Westfield) 6-7-3; 26. Ayer Shirley 7-9-3; 27. Westport 12-5-1; 28. Notre Dame Academy 16-2-0; 29. Mount Everett 8-5-5; 30. Holbrook 7-8-3; 31. Smith Vo-Tech 11-3-2; 32. Franklin County Tech 10-5-3; 33. Upper Cade Cod 10-5-2; 34. Athol 12-3-3; 35. Innovation Academy 9-5-4; 36. Rising Tide Charter 10-8-0; 37. McCann Tech 11-5-2; 38. Pioneer Valley 7-7-1; 39. Prospect Hill 8-4-0; 40. Bristol County 7-7-2; 41. Avon 6-6-2; 42. Boston Collegiate 11-5-1; 43. Gateway Regional 6-6-2; 44. South Shore Charter 8-4-0; 45. Burke 7-6-0; 46. Tech Boston Academy 6-6-2
Local First Round Games
TBD
No. 42 Boston Collegiate at No. 23 Nashoba Valley Tech winner at No. 10 Georgetown, TBD