Field hockey pairings set

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Opening-round pairings for the Section II field hockey tournament were released Saturday. Here are five things to know.

TOP SEEDS

Suburban Council champion Shenendehowa (Class A), Scotia-Glenville (Class B) and unbeaten Foothills Council champion Johnstown (Class C) are the No. 1 seeds for this year’s tournament. Shenendehowa won its last Section II title in 2016, while Scotia-Glenville secured its last title in 1979. Johnstown’s last championship came in 2011.

SPARTANS ON RECORD QUEST

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is striving to become the first Section II team to win seven consecutive Section II championships. When Burnt Hills won the Class B flag in 2017, it tied Germantown (Class C 1982-87) and Hoosick Falls (Class B 1986-87, Class C 1988-91) for the most titles in a row for a Section II team with six.

Johnstown strung five Section II titles (Class B 1993-95, Class A 1996-97).

STREAKS

Each of the last 10 Class A title games were decided by one goal, with three of those finals going overtime.

Shenendehowa appeared in each of the last eight Class A championship games, going 5-3. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake appeared in each of the last six Class B finals, going 6-0 with wins over Queensbury every year from 2014-17. Hoosick Falls appeared in the last six Class C title games, going 3-3.

Since 2006 Shenendehowa, Saratoga Springs and Niskayuna are the only teams to play for the Class A championship. Shenendehowa and Saratoga met in the last four and split those games.

SEEDING PROCESS

Section II this year introduced a new formula to seed teams in Class B and Class C, those being classification where multiple leagues are represented. The idea, according to Section II field hockey coordinator Michele Venditto, is to eliminate “personal opinion” during the seeding process. The formula includes all games played, both league and non-league, and goes as follows: 1. Compute winning percentage of each team in Section II by dividing the number of wins by the total number of games. 2. Award 4 points for every game a team won. 3. A team receives two bonus points for every team it played with a .750 or above win percentage, regardless if it won or lost. 4. A team receives one bonus point for every team it played with a .500-.749 win percentage, regardless if it won or lost. 5. Combine the number of win points with bonus points. Divide by the number of games played to create a seeding index.

Class A, which includes only Suburban Council teams, is seeded by league record.

LOOKING BACK: 2017 FINALS

Lindsey Frank scored twice and assisted on goals by Katelyn Ginley and Emily Leonard to lift Saratoga Springs over Shenendehowa 4-3 in the highest-scoring Class A title game in the history of the Section II tournament. With the loss, Shenendehowa was denied an opportunity to defend the state title it captured in 2016.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake extended its Class B title streak to six years with a 4-2 win against Queensbury. Caroline Muller, Sadie Mitchell, Sydney Plemenik and Courtney Kruzikas scored for BH-BL.

Morgan Gunter scored two goals and set up another as Schuylerville beat Hoosick Falls 5-0 for its second Class C title in three years.

CLASS A

Quarterfinals

Thursday

1. Shenendehowa, bye; 5. Guilderland at 4. Bethlehem, 3 p.m.; 7. Columbia vs. 2. Saratoga Springs at Adirondack Dome, 4:30 p.m.; 6. Shaker at 3. Niskayuna, 3 p.m.

Semifinals

Thursday, Oct. 25 (3 p.m.)

At Shenendehowa and at highest remaining seed.

Championship

Saturday, Oct. 27 (6 p.m.)

Semifinal winners at Gloversville.

CLASS B

Quarterfinals

Tuesday (3 p.m.)

1. Scotia-Glenville, bye; 5. Emma Willard at 4. South Glens Falls; 2. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, bye; 6. Glens Falls at 3. Queensbury.

Semifinals

Tuesday, Oct. 23 (3 p.m.)

At Scotia-Glenville and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

Championship

Saturday, Oct. 17 (2 p.m.)

Semifinal winners at Gloversville.

CLASS C

First round

Monday (3 p.m.)

9. Cambridge/Salem at 8. Ichabod Crane; 10. Greenwich at 7. Granville.

Quarterfinals

Wednesday (3 p.m.)

Cambridge/Salem/Ichabod Crane at 1. Johnstown; 5. North Warren at 4. Schuylerville; Greenwich/Granville at 2. Hoosick Falls; 6. Corinth at 3. Warrensburg.

Semifinals

Wednesday, Oct. 24 (3 p.m.)

At highest remaining seeds.

Championship

Saturday, Oct. 27 (4 p.m.)

Semifinal winners at Gloversville.

Reach Gazette Sportswriter Jim Schiltz at 518-395-3143, [email protected] or @jim_schiltz on Twitter.

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Categories: High School Sports, Sports