Redwood Empire teams poised for run in section soccer tournament

The Montgomery girls and boys secured the top seed in their respective Division 2 North Coast Section soccer tournaments, while the Analy High girls got the top seed in Division 3, to lead a large contingent of North Bay teams that will kick off postseason play this week.

On the boys’ side, the North Bay League champion Vikings (18-2-1 overall and 14-0 in league) were awarded the No. 1 seed and given a first-round bye. At home on Saturday, they will face the winner of Wednesday’s No. 8 Concord-No. 9 Santa Rosa match at Mt. Diablo High School. Santa Rosa finished third in the NBL.

Also in Division 2, Maria Carrillo was given the No. 12 seed and will travel to Las Lomas High in Walnut Creek Wednesday to face the No. 5 Knights.

In Division 3, Rancho Cotate, runner-up in the North Bay League with a 12-2 record and 16-3-0 overall, got the highest local seed at No. 4. The Cougars will play No. 13 Kennedy at home Wednesday.

Piner High, nipped in the final game by Sonoma Valley for the Sonoma County League title, got the No. 5 seed, likely courtesy of its preseason wins against Rancho Cotate, 1-0, and Santa Rosa, 4-1. The Prospectors will host No. 12 seed and league rival, Analy, Wednesday afternoon.

Sonoma Valley was awarded the No. 9 seed and will travel to play No. 8 Drake High in San Anselmo Wednesday.

In Division 4, the top local seed went to Cardinal Newman at No. 9. The Cardinals will hit the road to play No. 8 Lick-Wilmerding in San Francisco Wednesday. No. 10 seed Healdsburg will travel to play Kennedy High in Richmond.

In girls’ action, North Bay League champ Montgomery got the No. 1 seed in Division 2 and will host No. 16 Richmond on Wednesday, while the No. 2 seed Maria Carrillo Pumas will host No. 15 Alameda at Santa Rosa High because of ongoing work on the Pumas’ home field.

Ukiah earned the No. 10 seed and will travel to face Northgate in Walnut Creek. Casa Grande High is the No. 11 seed and will go to No. 6 Redwood High School in Larkspur.

The Analy High Tigers, who won the SCL title by a half-game ahead of Sonoma Academy, earned the No. 1 seed in Division 3 and will host No. 16 Encinal High of Alameda Wednesday.

The Petaluma Trojans, who finished 10-2-2 to finish third in the SCL, got the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 De Anza of Richmond Wednesday.

Sonoma Valley, the No. 13 seed, will travel to play No. 4 Drake Wednesday.

In Division 4, Cardinal Newman, a squad that finished 7-7 in the NBL, got the No. 4 seed and earned a bye Wednesday. The Cardinals on Saturday will play the winner of No. 5 Marin Catholic-No. 12 El Molino game.

Sonoma Academy, which by a half-game lost out on a league title in its first season in the SCL, was given the No. 6 seed and will host Head-Royce of Oakland Wednesday.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 and at Kerry.benefield @pressemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and Instagram @kerry.benefield. Podcasting on iTunes and SoundCloud “Overtime with Kerry Benefield.”