The MIAA playoffs continue. We’re 10 days away from Championship Saturday on Nov. 21. Cross-country divisionals will be held this Saturday and the fall swim championship slated for Sunday at MIT.
Oh, and we may have a landing spot for the MIAA Super Bowls: It looks like Boston College could host at least some of the games. We’ll stay on the news, so make sure to check out Globe.com/Schools.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve learned so far in the playoffs.
1. Division 1 soccer will have new champions
Natick claimed the boys’ and girls’ Division 1 titles last fall. Both squads were eliminated in the first round this year. The 20th-seeded Natick girls lost 5-0 to No. 13 Beverly, while the eighth-seeded boys were sent packing, 4-3, by No. 25 Arlington when Kellen Kachoria buried the double-OT winner.
2. Not many football upsets
The MIAA football playoffs will contract next year, with the Round of 16 being eliminated. This year’s results demonstrate we aren’t losing many upsets. Of the 56 first-round games this season (excluding No. 8 vs. No. 9 games), the higher seed was 51-5.
Division 6 was the only bracket with multiple first-round upsets; No. 5 Stoneham and No. 6 Fairhaven were bounced. Also losing early: No. 5 North Quincy in Division 2, No. 7 Hull in Division 8, and No. 7 Leominster in Division 1. Winchester (Division 2) and Winthrop (Division 6), at 12, are the lowest seeds to advance.
3. Field hockey went to chalk
Just two teams outside the top 17 across all 64 first-round field hockey games advanced: No. 22 Nipmuc and No. 19 St. John Paul II, both in Division 4.
4. Boys’ soccer is upset central
Plenty of parity can be found in the boys’ soccer brackets.
In Division 1, No. 25 Arlington took down Natick and No. 18 Bishop Feehan beat No. 15 Ludlow. No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury needed OT to hold off No. 30 Braintree and No. 9 Needham snuck by No. 24 Westborough in double OT.
In Division 2, No. 25 Duxbury defeated No. 8 Reading, No. 24 Melrose took out No. 9 Agawam, No. 20 Milton beat No. 13 Longmeadow, and No. 18 Sharon dispensed with No. 15 Ashland.
That’s more upsets than the field hockey and girls’ soccer brackets saw combined.
In Division 3, No. 21 Latin Academy beat No. 12 St. Mary’s and No. 23 Falmouth flew past No. 10 Greater Lowell. In Division 4, No. 22 Westport edged No. 11 Clinton, No. 20 Mystic Valley beat No. 13 Northeast, and top-seeded Cohasset barely survived No. 32 Ipswich.
ICYMI: Best games this week
Senior Gavin Bohan delivered the winner as the 25th-seeded Dragons stunned No. 8 Reading in the Division 2 first round.
The 24th-seeded Tanners nearly shocked No. 9 Brookline, but Juli Segal delivered the dagger in double OT to advance to the second round in Division 1.
Last year, Newton South stunned top-seeded Chelmsford. The fourth-seeded Lions won the playoff rematch this year behind 14 kills, 10 digs, and 3 aces from Bonnie Politzer and 13 kills, 25 digs, and 5 aces from Kyra Ward.
The 11th-seeded Cardinals not only won their first playoff game in 34 years, but took down South Coast Conference rival and defending Division 6 champion Fairhaven, which had made three consecutive Super Bowls.
See more scores: Football | Boys’ soccer | Girls’ soccer | Field hockey | Girls’ volleyball
Athletes of the week: Aedan Borges, Joseph Case and Audrey Manning, Lynnfield
Senior Audrey Manning powered the third-seeded Pioneers to a pair of Division 3 tournament wins, totaling 37 kills, 25 assists, 11 digs, and 5 blocks against St. Mary’s and Notre Dame (Worcester). The 2025 Cape Ann League MVP posted a triple-double with 23 kills, 12 assists, and 11 digs to defeat NDA-W in the second round. She recently reached 800 kills and 1,000 assists in quick succession.
Senior Aedan Borges shifted to quarterback in Week 2 after the Cardinals dropped their opener, and has led them to a 7-1 record. He produced all six touchdowns in Case’s 42-37 first-round upset of Fairhaven while rushing for 182 yards.
Honorable mentions: Division 2 girls’ soccer: Hingham’s Taylor Bello had three goals and four assists to defeat Shepherd Hill, 8-0 . . . Division 5 football: Norton defeated Medfield, 22-20 on Andrew Bernstein’s 41-yard field goal with 38 seconds left . . . Division 4 girls’ volleyball: West Bridgewater junior Ella Holden became the second player in program history to reach 1,000 career assists during a 3-0 win over Wahconah . . . Girls’ swimming: Milton senior Allison Boynton broke the South sectional record in the 100 backstroke in 56.06 seconds. Haverhill sophomore Alexandra Story (50 free, 100 fly) and Reading senior Laila Paulsen (500 free, 100 backstroke) were double winners in the North sectional.
The best videos we saw this week 🎥
🏈 Hingham’s James Slankas drilled a 38-yard field goal through steady rain in a first-round loss to Duxbury.
🏈 Speaking of field goals, here’s Bellingham’s Anthony Barrasso nailing a 27-yarder with four seconds left to beat Medway, 17-14.
🏈 Nobody had more fun following their first-round win than Bishop Feehan, which defeated North Andover, 29-0, then went into Slip-N-Slide mode.
⚽ West Bridgewater’s Kendall Conley put on her dancing shoes to shuffle through the Leicester defense in a 3-2 girls’ soccer first-round win.
Dan Shaughnessy: Boys are allowed to play field hockey in Massachusetts. It’s still a touchy subject.
Senior Ryan Crook, son of coach Jen, has been a big part of Somerset Berkley’s run through the MIAA playoffs.
Five more stories you shouldn’t miss:
- Belmont captured the North swimming championship for the first time in decades, and Framingham was the champion in the South.
- We highlighted the top 48 performances from the first round of the MIAA football playoffs.
- Matt Porter followed the English High football saga all the way to its conclusion: A judge denying a last-minute injunction request.
- And here’s the latest edition of Globe Schools Insider, featuring eight stars of the day and 300 wins by a field hockey coach.
Check out our latest high school student photo gallery, chock-full of amazing images.
Are you a high school student in Massachusetts with a passion for photojournalism? Join the Globe’s free program by filling out this form.
Wednesday: D2 field hockey, No. 11 Norwood at No. 3 Milton, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday: D1 boys’ soccer, No. 10 Newton South at No. 7 Newton North, 4:50 p.m.
Thursday: D2 girls’ soccer, No. 9 Brookline at No. 8 Central Catholic, 6 p.m.
Friday: D1 football, No. 6 Xaverian at No. 3 Central Catholic, 6 p.m. (livestream on Globe.com/Schools)
Saturday: Cross-country divisional meets, D1 at Devens, D2 at Wrentham, D3 at Northfield Mountain, 11 a.m.
Sunday: Swimming state meet at MIT, 4:15 p.m.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.