Soccer sectional pairings announced by IHSAA

The pairings for the 31st Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association's Boys and Girls Soccer State Tournaments were announced Sunday.

There will be 311 boys teams and 280 girls teams, both record numbers, vying for state championships in three different classes.

Both tournaments mirror each other beginning with 16 sectionals in each of the three classes running Oct. 7-12. Regional semifinals will be played Oct. 16-17 with regional championships on Oct. 19.

Semistate contests are Oct. 26 at four sites with the winners advancing to the state championship matches on Nov. 1-2 at Michael Carroll Stadium at Indiana University Indianapolis.

Boys soccer

Class 3A

Center Grove Sectional

Shelbyville is assigned to the seven-team sectional that features a pair of top-10 ranked programs.

The opening match at the Center Grove Sectional features Columbus East and No. 1 Center Grove. The winner will face No. 10 Columbus North in the semifinal round.

In a pair of quarterfinal matches, Franklin will battle East Central and Whiteland (3-8-2) takes on Shelbyville (7-7). The winners advance to the other semifinal match.

Shelbyville and Whiteland have not met this season.

Class 2A

Rushville Sectional

The host Lions will open the five-team sectional against Greensburg in a quarterfinal match.

The second quarterfinal pits Connersville (11-3-1) against Triton Central (3-9-1). The Spartans and Tigers have not played this season.

Those quarterfinal match winners will meet in the semifinals.

Centerville and New Castle earned byes into the semifinal round and will face each other for the right to play in the sectional championship.

Class A

Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional

Morristown’s sectional-opening opponent is its opponent this week on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets and Knightstown meet Tuesday as a preview to a quarterfinal round match at the sectional.

The Lutheran Sectional opener has No. 6 Greenwood Christian taking on Providence Cristo Rey. The winner advances to the semifinal round to take on Christel House.

The second quarterfinal has Central Christian facing No. 16 Indianapolis Lutheran with the winner facing the winner of Morristown-Knightstown in the semifinals.

Class A

Southwestern Sectional

The No. 9-ranked Southwestern Spartans (9-3-1) open the sectional against Hauser. Southwestern defeated the Jets, 5-1, on Sept. 20.

The quarterfinal round winner advances to face either Shawe Memorial or Austin in the semifinals.

Trinity Lutheran and Southwestern (Hanover) meet in the other semifinal.

Girls soccer

Class 3A

New Palestine Sectional

The five-team sectional includes three programs from the Hoosier Heritage Conference, including Shelbyville.

The Golden Bears (5-8-1) get a rematch with Greenfield-Central (5-8) in the second quarterfinal match. The Cougars defeated the Golden Bears, 5-0, on Sept. 25.

The winner advances to the sectional championship match.

The other quarterfinal match has No. 13 East Central taking on Richmond with the winner advancing to meet New Palestine in the semifinals.

Class A

Monrovia Sectional

Triton Central (8-6) will open the sectional against Brown County (3-6). The winner advances to take on Hauser in the semifinal round.

In the other quarterfinal matches, Providence Cristo Rey battles No. 6 Monrovia while Indianapolis George Washington meets Greenwood Christian.

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