Highland girls get third seed in soccer tournament draw

One season after reaching the Division III state final, the Highland girls soccer team was rewarded for another solid record with the Northeast District's third seed in Division II.The Hornets (11-1-2) open tournament play against No. 31 Firestone, which entered the voting process with a 0-4 record, in an Oct. 16 district quarterfinal. The only other team in Highland's district with a winning record is Massillon Perry (12-3), a possible final opponent. The Hornets opted to go into Region 7 with three Central Ohio districts.Highland was one of seven Medina County teams to earn a top-10 district seed.Both Medina teams earned the fourth seed in D-I and will be heavy favorites against Canton McKinley in the district semifinals.The Medina boys (8-2-3) would have a potential district final against county and Greater Cleveland Conference rival Brunswick (8-3-3). The Blue Devils face fifth-seeded GlenOak (11-3-1) in the semifinals. The Golden Eagles beat Brunswick and the Bees in last season's run to a district title.With a win, the Medina girls (11-0-2) would face either fifth-seeded Magnificat (4-5-5), which the Bees tied 2-2 in the regular season, or No. 18 Toledo Whitmer (2-12-1) in the district final.The Buckeye girls (8-2-3) were rewarded with the sixth seed in D-III after taking on a hefty regular-season schedule.The Bucks open in a district quarterfinal against No. 41 Barberton (2-9-3), the third lowest seed in the Northeast District. Things get more difficult from there with No. 17 Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (6-7-2) on their half of the bracket and eighth-seeded Aurora (9-4-2) on the other half.After reaching the first regional final in program history last fall, the Wadsworth boys (8-3-4) are the ninth seed in D-II and will face No. 28 Cuyahoga Falls (3-10) in a district semifinal. A potential Suburban League National Conference rematch with third-seeded Brecksville (8-2-2) could be on tap for the district final. The Bees edged Wadsworth 4-3 in the regular season.Rounding out the top-10 seeded teams in the county are the Brunswick girls (5-6-3), who are seeded 10th in D-I. The Blue Devils meet No. 14 Stow (3-7-5) for the right to take on top-seeded Perrysburg (10-1-1) in the district final.Sitting outside the top 10 but hosting their first tournament games are the Medina Christian boys (10-3) at No. 18 in D-V, the Highland boys (7-6-2) at No. 21 in D-II and the Cloverleaf girls (8-5-1) at No. 22 in D-III.The Knights have a chance to win their first tournament game when they host No. 41 Brookfield (2-14). The Hornets meet No. 23 Austintown Fitch (4-7-1) in a district quarterfinal. The Colts face No. 31 Alliance (5-8-3).In D-II, the No. 15 Wadsworth girls (4-6-3) drew a SL National rematch against No. 6 Brecksville (8-3-3), which the Grizzlies tied 2-2 earlier this season.In D-III boys, No. 37 Buckeye (2-12-2) take on 10th-seeded University (7-6-1). No. 27 Cloverleaf (9-5-1) goes up against No. 21 Northwest (11-2-2).Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.SchedulesBOYSDivision I, Northeast 3Oct. 22 — Canton McKinley at Medna; Brunswick at Canton GlenOak. Oct. 25 — District final at North Royalton.Division II, Northeast 4Oct. 13 — Austintown Fitch at Highland. Oct. 22 — Highland-Fitch winner at Hudson; Massillon Perry at Shaker Heights. Oct. 25 — District final at Kenston.Division II, Northeast 6Oct. 22 — Euclid at Brecksville; Cuyahoga Falls at Wadsworth. Oct. 25 — District final at Copley.Division III, Northeast 4Oct. 13 — Brush at Ashtabula Lakeside. Oct. 15 — Cloverleaf at Canal Fulton Northwest; Willoughby South at Chesterland West Geauga; Cleveland Rhodes at Revere. Oct. 18 — Brush-Lakeside winner at Westlake. Oct. 23 — Brush-Lakeside-Westlake winner vs. Cloverleaf-Northwest winner; West Geauga-South winner vs. Rhodes-Revere winner. Oct. 25 — District final at Mayfield.Division III, Northeast 6Oct. 15 — Painesville Harvey at Chardon; Buckeye at University; St. Vincent-St. Mary at Geneva. Oct. 18 — Niles McKinley at Warren Howland. Oct. 23 — University-Buckeye winner vs. Harvey-Chardon winner; Howland-McKinley winner vs. Geneva-St. Vincent-St. Mary winner. Oct. 25 — District final at Ravenna.Division V, Northeast 3Oct. 13 — Brookfield at Medina Christian. Oct. 16 — Massillon Tuslaw at Open Door; Vienna Mathews at Smithville; Youngstown Liberty at Bristol. Oct. 18 — Medina Christian-Brookfield winner vs Loudonville. TBA — Medina Christian-Brookfield-Loudonville winner vs Open Door-Tuslaw winner; Smithville-Mathews winner vs. Bristol-Liberty winner. TBA — District final at TBA.GIRLSDivision I, Northeast 1Oct. 21 — Stow at Brunswick. Oct. 25 — Stow-Brunswick winner vs. Perrysburg at North Ridgeville.Division I, Northeast 2Oct. 21 — Canton McKinley at Medina; Toledo Whitmer at Magnificat. Oct. 25 — Medina-McKinley winner vs. Magnificat-Whitmer winner at Twinsburg.Division II, Northeast 3Oct. 16 — Firestone at Highland. Oct. 21 — Highland-Firestone winner at Warren Harding; Cleveland Heights at Massillon Perry. Oct. 25 — District final at Strongsville.Division II, Northeast 7Oct. 21 — Wadsworth at Brecksville; Massillon at Olmsted Falls. Oct. 25 — District final at Warren Howland.Division III, Northeast 1Oct. 16 — Barberton at Buckeye; Geneva at Cuyahoga Valley Christian; Warren Howland at Canfield; Tallmadge at Aurora. Oct. 21 — Buckeye-Barberton winner vs. Cuyahoga Valley Christian-Geneva winner; Howland-Canfield winner vs. Tallmadge-Aurora winner. Oct. 25 — District final at Nordonia.Division III, Northeast 4Oct. 16 — Madison at Copley; Painesville Harvey at Cleveland Height Beaumont; Alliance at Cloverleaf. Oct. 21 — Copley-Madison winner vs. Louisville; Cloverleaf-Alliance winner vs. Beaumont-Harvey winner. Oct. 25 — District final at Brooklyn.