Soccer, water polo playoff matchups released
Last year the Atwater High boys soccer team was seeded No. 1 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs for the first time.
A new rule in the section this year will have the Falcons (22-1-4) playing in the Division I playoffs.
Atwater is the No. 3 seed and will host No. 14 Gregori in the first round on Tuesday. The Falcons are bumped up to Division I because they are champions of the Central California Conference, which is considered a D-I league. The new section rule forces league champions to play at or above the level of their league.
Oak Ridge (12-1-3) is the top seed, and Jesuit (20-2-1), which handed Atwater its only loss of the season, 3-0 last week, is No. 2.
“We were trying to be optimistic and hope the section would put Jesuit on the other half of the bracket so if we faced them it would be on a neutral field, but we’re OK with the draw,” Atwater coach Jimmy Brewer said. “Walking off the field last week after playing Jesuit, our kids were chomping at the bit to play them again. If we can win a couple games we’ll get that chance.”
Golden Valley and Merced both landed in the Division II bracket with the Cougars (10-6-6) earning the No. 9 seed. Golden Valley will open at No. 8 Tracy (12-3-3), and the 14-seeded Bears (9-7-8) will open at No. 3 Cosumnes Oaks (14-1-4). Merced defeated Cosumnes Oaks 2-1 in double overtime in the Division II semifinals last year.
In the Division IV bracket, No. 3 Livingston (13-5-2), which won the Western Athletic Conference, will have a first round bye. Fifth-seeded Pacheco (17-7) will host No. 12 Dixon (8-6-2) in the first round on Tuesday.
Delhi (10-8-1) is the No. 7 seed in Division V and will play No. 2 Escalon (14-3) on Thursday.
Hilmar (14-4-2) is the No. 1 seed in Division VI and will host No. 8 Millennium (5-6-1) on Thursday. Gustine (14-9-4) is the third seed and will open at home against No. 6 Bradshaw Christian (9-6-3).
Boys water polo
After going 10-0 en route to a CCC championship, the Merced boys are seeded third in the Division II playoffs and have a first-round bye. The Bears (23-3) will host the winner of the No. 11 McNair-No. 6 Downey game on Friday.
Atwater (13-12) is the No. 10 seed in Division II and will open at No. 7 Whitney on Wednesday.
El Capitan (21-6) wrapped up its second WAC championship and is the No. 2 seed in Division III. The Gauchos will have a first-round bye and will host the winner of the No. 10 Bear River-No. 7 Oakdale game on Friday.
Livingston is the No. 11 seed in Division III and will open with a first-round game at No. 6 Sonora.
Girls water polo
The Golden Valley girls received the No. 6 seed in Division II after winning the CCC championship. The Cougars (18-11) will host No. 11 McNair on Tuesday. Merced (15-9) also received a home game in the first round as the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Beyer.
WAC champions El Capitan (20-6) is the No. 4 seed in Division III and received a first-round bye. The Gauchos will host No. 5 Oakmont on Thursday.
Los Banos is the No. 11 seed and will travel to No. 6 Sonora for a first-round game on Tuesday.
This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Soccer, water polo playoff matchups released."