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By Vincent Tannura of the Marin IJ | 11/01/2009

North Coast Section playoff brackets for boys soccer and boys and girls water polo were announced Sunday, with Marin County qualifying several teams in each draw. In all, seven boys soccer teams, four boys water polo and three girls water polo teams were selected for their respective section tournaments.

The boys soccer draw saw several expected seedings, as well as a few surprises. Marin Catholic (21-2-2) was expected to be the No. 1 seed in the 16-team Division I bracket and the selection committee did not disappoint. A bit of a surprise was the Wildcats first-round opponent, MCAL rival Redwood, which snuck in as the No. 16 seed.

With the Giants (7-6-8) already having beaten MC during the regular season and having taken three of the last four against the Wildcats overall, Wednesday's first round game should be one of the livelier contests between first and last seed teams one could hope to see.

"I think we'll definitely be excited for another game with MC," Redwood coach Brandon Murphy said. "All our boys felt we played a pretty good game (against them in the MCAL semis) and we caught a little bit of bad luck in that one."

Terra Linda coach Mike Crivello had stated he thought his squad would get a top-four spot and that was right where the Trojans (13-4-6) ended up, drawing No. 13 Piner (10-9-2) in the first round. On the other hand, Drake coach Rene Ayala said he thought his Pirates squad might land a bit lower but was hoping for the No. 6 seed, which Drake (11-6-5) was awarded.

"I thought six was generous given the talent across NCS, but that's what we hoped for," said Ayala, whose Pirates take on No. 11 Casa Grande (12-8-2) in the opening round. "If you had asked me where I wanted to be beforehand, I would have said sixth."

Tam, which lost to MCAL runner-up TL on penalty kicks in the league semifinals, got the No. 10 seed. The Hawks (9-2-6) will face Sonoma Valley (15-5-1), the No. 7 seed.

In the small school division (D-III) Marin teams took the top two seeds of the 16-team tourney. As expected, Marin Academy (14-3-1) took the No. 1 spot and will face Fremont Christian (13-3-2), while Branson (11-5-5) got the No. 2 seed and a first-round pairing with St. Helena (12-9-1).

In the water polo draws, more teams than expected got in as the brackets expanded from 20 to 24 teams this year. MCAL boys champion Drake was awarded the No. 13 seed and takes on No. 20 Irvington (14-8).

Also reaching the tournament were MCAL runner-up Marin Catholic (10-16), which got the No. 18 seed and a first-round contest against No. 15 Clayton Valley (18-8), and Terra Linda. The No. 19 Trojans (20-6) take on No. 14 Alhambra (11-13) in Wednesday's first round. Also getting in as the No. 24 seed after winning the Redwood Empire League title was Marin Academy (16-7), which faces No. 9 Foothill.

MC coach Peter Urmini was excited for another shot at Clayton Valley, which beat a shorthanded Wildcats side 8-4 during the regular season.

"I'm happy to be in and excited to play Clayton Valley," said Urmini, who noted that MCAL teams were seeded lower than in the past. "I'm hoping (my players) are feeling confident and sure of themselves. I feel good about it."

On the girls side, MCAL title-holder MC (22-4) got the No. 7 seed and a first-round bye, as did No. 8 seed Drake (16-8). The only MCAL squad with a first-round game is Tam, as the Hawks (15-11) take on Liberty (14-10).

The Pirates being seeded higher than the Red-tailed Hawks was a bit of a surprise, as it was Tam, not Drake, that reached the MCAL final against the Wildcats. Drake coach Peter Galli thought his squad may have gotten the higher seed because they beat College Park (21-5), the No. 9 seed and the Pirates' likely second-round opponent, three times.

"They were all extremely close games, but we won all three," Galli said said. "We played in two tournaments and won each of those tournaments, so (the selection committee was) probably looking at that."

NCS play in all four brackets starts Wednesday.
NCS first round
All games on Wednesday

BOYS SOCCER
Division I
No. 16 Redwood (7-6-8) at No. 1 Marin Catholic (21-2-2), 2:30 p.m., Kentfield
No. 13 Piner (10-9-2) at No. 4 Terra Linda (13-4-6), 2:30 p.m., Terra Linda
No. 10 Tam (9-2-6) vs. No. 7 Sonoma Valley (15-5-1), 7 p.m., Sonoma
Division III
No. 16 Fremont Christian (13-3-2) at No. 1 Marin Academy, 2:45 p.m., San Rafael
No. 2 Branson (11-5-5) at No. 15 St. Helena (12-9-1), 5 p.m., St. Helena

BOYS WATER POLO
No. 18 Marin Catholic (10-16) vs. No. 15 Clayton Valley (18-8), 4:30 p.m., Orinda
No. 20 Irvington (14-8) vs. No. 13 Drake (14-9), 5 p.m., San Pablo
No. 19 Terra Linda (20-6) vs. No. 14 Alhambra (11-13), 5:45 p.m., Walnut Creek
No. 24 Marin Academy (16-7) vs. No. 9 Foothill (13-11), 7:30 p.m., San Pablo

GIRLS WATER POLO
No. 22 Lberty (14-10) vs. No. 11 Tam (15-11), 6:15 p.m., San Pablo
Marin Catholic, Drake have first-round byes and play Saturday.

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