Saratoga County girls soccer teams received high seeds when the Section II playoff brackets were announced Tuesday.
Defending champion Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake was tabbed as the No. 1 seed in Class A, while Ballston Spa and Shenendehowa earned top-four seeds in Class AA.
Ballston Spa (12-4-2) earned the No. 3 seed after finishing second to Niskayuna in the Suburban Council North Division standings the Scotties’ best finish since joining the league several years ago. Shen (11-5-2) received the No. 4 seed after its third-place finish in the North Division, while Saratoga Springs (10-7-1) got the No. 5 seed after placing fifth.
Ballston Spa, Shen and Saratoga all begin their postseason runs Saturday with home games. Ballston Spa takes on Troy (8-9-1), Shen hosts Schenectady (10-6-2) and Queensbury (9-9-0) visits Saratoga. The winners advance to next Wednesday’s quarterfinals, which will take place at the site of the higher seed.
BH-BL (11-5-2) grabbed the No. 1 seed in Class A following a season in which the Spartans edged Saratoga for fourth place in the Suburban Council North Division. As a result, BH-BL earned a home game for Friday’s quarterfinals against the winner of Wednesday’s opening-round contest between Glens Falls (10-6-2) and Catholic Central (12-5-1).
The Class AA semifinals take place Nov. 1 at the Morse Complex in Glens Falls, with the finals to follow Nov. 5 at Broadalbin-Perth High School. The Class A semifinals are Oct. 28 at Broadalbin-Perth, with the finals taking place Oct. 31 at the same site.
The boys soccer seedings were also announced Tuesday, with Suburban Council North Division champion Shen (14-2-2) receiving the No. 2 seed. The Plainsmen host Christian Brothers Academy (3-9-2) Thursday, with the winner moving on to Monday’s quarterfinal game against either Queensbury (10-7-1) or Saratoga (8-8-2). The Blue Streaks travel to Queensbury Friday for their opening round game.
Ballston Spa (6-9-3) begins its playoff run Friday when it hosts Suburban Council North Division rival Niskayuna (2-12-4). Ballston Spa is the No. 7 seed out of the Suburban Council, while defending Class AA champion Niskayuna is the No. 8 seed.
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (7-9-2) received the No. 10 seed for the Class A Sectionals. The Spartans visit Suburban Council rival Mohonasen (9-8-1) in Thursday’s opening round.`