District 11 brackets set for several sports

The regular season for many sports across the Times News coverage area is officially over.

That means the postseason is just around the corner.

District 11 released its playoff brackets over the weekend for four sports — boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey and volleyball. A total of 16 area teams will be participating, hoping to earn championships and advance to states.

Of the 16, three area teams have earned top seeds in their respective sports. They include the Jim Thorpe boys soccer team, the Northwestern girls soccer squad, and the Panther Valley volleyball team.

BOYS SOCCER

Four area teams have qualified with Jim Thorpe holding the top seed in Class 2A. Thanks to their No. 1 ranking, the Olympians — who recently captured the Schuylkill League championship — have earned a bye in the quarterfinals. They will face the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Tamaqua and No. 5 seed Pen Argyl next Tuesday in the semis.

The Blue Raiders will host the Green Knights in a quarterfinal contest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

In Class 1A, Weatherly is the No. 5 seed and will travel to No. 4 seed Tri-Valley for a quarterfinal game on Wednesday. That game is scheduled to start at 6:15 p.m.

Northwestern earned the No. 4 seed in Class 3A and will host No. 5 seed Saucon Valley on its turf field Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup.

GIRLS SOCCER

Four area teams qualified for postseason play. Three of them will take part in the Class 2A field, while one will battle in the Class 4A bracket.

In Class 2A, No. 7 seed Tamaqua will play host to No. 10 seed Pine Grove Tuesday afternoon in a qualifying round contest. The winner of that game, which starts at 4 p.m. will face second-seeded Allentown Central Catholic.

Northwestern has earned the top seed in the field and awaits the winner of the No. 8 seed Bethlehem Catholic and No. 9 Pen Argyl qualifying game. The Tigers, who will host their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, earned the No. 1 ranking by winning the Colonial League title last week.

Also on Thursday, sixth-seeded Jim Thorpe will travel to No. 3 seed Salisbury for a 5:30 p.m. start on the Falcons’ home turf.

In Class 4A, Pleasant Valley has gained the No. 5 seed and will hit the road for its quarterfinal game on Thursday. The Bears will take on EPC foe Pocono Mountain East in a 7 p.m. start.

FIELD HOCKEY

Three area teams are part of this field, and all three schools will be competing in the Class 1A bracket.

Two of them will be facing each other when quarterfinal play begins on Wednesday.

Northwestern, the No. 2 seed, will take on a familiar foe in Colonial League division rival Palmerton, the seventh seed, at 5:30 p.m. The Tigers won both matchups this season, 3-1 and 1-0.

Fifth-seeded Lehighton, the defending district champion, will travel to No. 4 Bethlehem Catholic for a 3:30 p.m. contest.

VOLLEYBALL

Five area teams are part of the volleyball playoffs with Panther Valley taking the top seed in Class 2A.

The Panthers, who have won the last three district titles, will face fourth-seeded Jim Thorpe in the semifinals on Thursday at Lehighton. The winner of that 6:45 p.m. matchup will earn a trip to the title game.

On Tuesday, Marian — the No. 4 seed in Class 1A — will host No. 5 seed Minersville at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal contest. The survivor meets top-seeded Nativity in the semis.

Lehighton reached the Class 3A field as the No. 6 seed and will travel to third-seeded Allentown Central Catholic for a 6 p.m. quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday.

In 4A action, Pleasant Valley is also seeded sixth. The Bears hit the road Thursday to face No. 3 seed Emmaus in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY

The District 11 cross country championships will be held on Wednesday at DeSales University.

The boys 1A race will begin at 1 p.m. while the girls 1A race will follow at 1:40 p.m.

The boys 2A run is set for 2:20 p.m. with girls 2A to start at 3 p.m. The boys 3A competition is slated for 3:40 p.m. and the girls 3A will begin at 4:20 p.m.

Awards presentations will occur after each classification of boys and girls run.

The rain date will be Thursday, Oct. 24 with same location and time schedule.