The Section V girls soccer tournament brackets have been released, and there are some changes from last year among the small schools.
This season, there is a single Class B bracket instead of two, and two defending champions will compete in different tournaments this fall.
Here's a look at the Section V small school brackets:
Class B
- Defending champion: Livonia (B-1), Gananda/Marion (B-2), Williamson (B-2)
- Top seed: Livonia
- Championship: Friday, Oct. 30
Livonia (15-1-0) reached the Class B state final last year, and looks motivated to do so again. The Bulldogs' only loss was against Class A Wayne in mid-September. The midfielder tandem of Blair and Reghan Maxwell, daughters of legendary Livonia boys soccer coach Ray Maxwell, are both among the top scorers in Class B. No player in Section V finished with more shutouts than Gwen Strom (11).
Perhaps the only comparable tandem
is at Hornell, where Brynna Wilkinson and Ella White combined for 47 goals during the regular season. Wilkinson, only a freshman, finished second in all of Section V with 79 total points.
Penn Yan, known mostly for its lacrosse prowess, has never won a girls soccer title. There's no better time than the present, though, as the Mustangs slot in with the No. 3 seed.
Class C-1
- Defending champion: Holley
- Top seed: Avon
- Championship: Friday, Oct. 30
Class C-2
- Defending champion: Byron-Bergen
- Top seed: Kendall
- Championship: Friday, Oct. 30
Class C might be the most competitive division in Section V. This school size enters tournament play with six state-ranked teams.Notably absent from that list are two defending champions, Byron-Bergen and Williamson, who figure into the bracket with lower seeds than usual (both still host first-round matchups).
Avon has had an impressive rise in recent years. The team took a step back following its section title in 2020, but from 2023 on steadily grew its win total from three to five to 11. The RiverHawks stacked another 11-win regular season to earn the top seed in C-1.
First-year Kendall coach Nino Pilato is no stranger to long postseason runs. He led McQuaid to multiple boys soccer state finals and had Hilton's girls team in the Class AA final only two years ago. The Golden Eagles had a turn atop the Class C state rankings and boast a formidable offense led by junior Ryleigh Denning (24 goals, 53 individual points).
Beware of Wheatland-Chili in the Class C-2 bracket. The Wildcats dropped to the seventh seed, but their resume includes impressive wins against Kendall and Batavia Notre Dame.
Class D
- Defending champion: Fillmore
- Top seed: Northstar Christian
- Championship: Saturday, Oct. 31
There will be a new victor in the Class D bracket this year, as defending champion Fillmore moved up to Class C. Four teams finished the regular season with 10-plus wins and look poised to take the mantle.
Northstar Christian (12-2-1) is the No. 1 seed, its only two losses to teams in Class C. The Knights' schedule included a pair of 1-0 wins over second-seeded CG Finney, one in mid-September and the other to wrap the regular season. There's also this rarity: senior Alisha Demarest is both an effective field player (seven goals, 22 points) and goalkeeper (0.79 goals-against average, third in Section V).
Batavia Notre Dame looked like the team to beat earlier this season, and ranked as high as No. 2 in the state rankings. October hasn't been kind to the Fighting Irish, who suffered all four of their losses this month. Notre Dame wrapped its regular season on a strong note with a 1-0 win against Honeoye, as goalkeeper Sofia Falleti earned her fifth shutout of the season.
Justin Ritzel is a sports reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on Section V athletics and high school trends.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who will win Section V’s small school girls soccer titles? What to know
