A field of 286 boys teams and 249 girls teams are entered as pairings for the 17th Annual IHSAA Soccer State Tournaments were announced this evening by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
Boys sectional action at 64 sites will be played Thursday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 9. Sixteen regional sites will host semifinal matches Wednesday, Oct. 13, and championship matches on Saturday, Oct. 16. The semi-states will be played Saturday, Oct. 23, and the state finals Saturday, Oct. 30, in Indianapolis.
The top-ranked Lake Central boys team will start with Boone Grove in Sectional 4 at Crown Point while defending state champion Zionsville will host Lebanon in the opening match of Sectional 33.
The girls sectionals will begin the week after the boys on Monday, Oct. 11, at 32 sites and run through Saturday, Oct. 16. One-match regionals are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 16 sites with the four semi-states on Saturday, Oct. 23. The state finals will be Saturday, Oct. 30.
The No. 1 Evansville Memorial girls team drew a bye and will face the Heritage Hills-Castle winner in Sectional 32 at Castle. Defending state champion Indianapolis Cathedral will begin its post-season against Lawrence North in Sectional 20 at Warren Central.
Baptist Academy, located on Indianapolis’ southeast side, is eligible for the state tournament for the first time after becoming an IHSAA member school two years ago. Its boys team drew a bye and will face the Beech Grove-Roncalli winner in Sectional 45 at Roncalli. The school did not enter a girls team.