The Section 1 field hockey playoff seedings were released Wednesday, Oct. 21, offering a few surprises, among them John Jay-Cross River gaining the No. 2 seed in Class B behind Yorktown and John Jay-East Fishkill getting the second slot in Class A behind Mamaroneck.
Thirty-six teams will participate in the tournament, which is scheduled to conclude in all three classes Nov. 1 at Nyack High School.
Lakeland, 13-2-1, which had more regular-season wins and beat 12-4 John Jay-Cross River is the No. 3 seed. One of John Jay-Cross River's losses was to a non-Section 1 team, so that was not factored into the seedings.
In Class A, Mamaroneck, which swept all Section 1 opponents and whose only loss was to a Maryland team in a national tournament, was the
no-doubt-about-it top seed.
The Tigers have been to three straight Class A state championship games, winning in 2023 and 2024 and finishing as state runner-up last year.
The No. 2 seed went to 11-4-1 John Jay-East Fishkill with White Plains, at 12-4 and a 1-0 winner over the Patriots, getting the No, 3 slot.
The seeming inconsistency is due to the indexing method employed in seeding, in which total points accrued in Section 1 games are divided by the number of Section 1 games played. Weight in the form of points is given to competition with opponents with better records. Head-to-head outcomes are only considered when point totals are tied.
Yorktown sewed up the top seed in Class B after its one-goal upset of Lakeland last week.
Section 1 Class B will be sending its winner and its runner-up to state regionals as it has the at-large bid in the state tournament. In Class A, Long Island's Section 8 (Nassau County) has the at-large bid.
Class C seedings also didn't go as might have been predicted.
Bronxville, which routed Pawling 7-1 during the season, got the second slot behind the Tigers.
While Bronxville's schedule was tougher that wasn't enough to overcome Pawling's slightly better record — 13-3 vs. 12-4.
Below are this year's seeds and the playoff schedule. Game times are still to be determined.
2026 Section 1 field hockey tournament
Note: All games are at the higher seed until the finals, which will all be played at Nyack High School.
Class A
First round
Friday, Oct. 23
No. 10 Arlington at No. 7 Clarkstown
No. 9 Ossining at No. 8 Ketcham
Quarterfinals
Monday, Oct. 26
Ketcham/Ossining winner at No. 1 Mamaroneck
Clarkstown/Arlington winner at No. 2 John Jay-East Fishkill
No. 6 Mahopac at No. 3 White Plains
No. 5 Suffern at No. 4 North Rockland
Semifinals
Thursday, Oct. 29
Final
Sunday, Nov. 1
At Nyack High School, 2 p.m.
Class B
Outbracket
Friday, Oct. 23
No. 17 Croton/Hen Hud at No. 16 Nyack
First round
Saturday, Oct. 24
Nyack-Croton/Hen Hud winner at No. 1 Yorktown
No. 15 Fox Lane at No. 2 John Jay-Cross River
No. 14 Sleepy Hollow/Briarcliff at No. 3 Lakeland
No. 13 Panas at No. 4 Horace Greeley
No. 12 Nanuet at No. 5 Somers
No. 11 Harrison at No. 6 Pearl River
No. 10 Brewster at No. 7 Rye
No. 9 Ursuline at No. 8 Pelham
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Oct. 27
Semifinals
Thursday, Oct. 29
Final
Sunday, Nov. 1
At Nyack High School, noon
Class C
First round
Friday, Oct. 23
No. 9 Irvington at No. 8 Hastings
Quarterfinals
Monday, Oct. 26
Hastings-Irvington winner at No. 1 Pawling
No. 7 Albertus Magnus at No. 2 Bronxville
No. 6 Rye Neck at No. 3 Pleasantville
No. 5 North Salem at No. 4 Putnam Valley
Semifinals
Thursday, Oct. 29
Final
Sunday, Nov. 1
At Nyack High School, 10 a.m.
Nancy Haggerty covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Who are the top seeds in the Section 1 field hockey tournament?
