Points — three points for a win, one for a tie — gets a soccer team into the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The seeding committee, however, determines in which division the 40 teams that make the cut will play. In that regard, the CCS soccer seeding committee has joined its CCS basketball counterparts — league representatives, who are well-versed not only about their leagues, but have a general knowledge of the whole of the section.
“The points get you in and it’s kind of a starting point,” said Melissa Schmidt, Sequoia girls’ head coach and the Peninsula Athletic League rep. “We subjectively seed the tournament. … We decided a few years ago the points thing wasn’t really working.”
These soccer experts, working to make the most competitive brackets possible, also make it easier and less dramatic in filling out the brackets. What used to take four to five hours, now takes about two.
“We’re getting pretty good at it,” said Anthony Dimech, Burlingame boys’ head coach and the PAL rep.
It makes it easier when a bulk of the slots are already accounted for. Of the 40 bids in five division for both boys and girls, 31 go to automatic qualifiers, with only nine reserved for at-large bids.
Which makes the PAL’s haul that much more impressive. Not only did the boys’ and girls’ Bay Division get its three automatic qualifiers into the postseason, but the fourth- and fifth-place teams made the cut, as well.
For the boys, the three automatic qualifiers were league champ Hillsdale, Woodside, and Burlingame, with Carlmont and Menlo-Atherton earning two of the at-large bids.
“[Carlmont and M-A] were two of the last three teams in,” Dimech said.
The girls’ Bay AQs were league champ Carlmont, Woodside and Sequoia, with M-A and Aragon making the at-large cut.
The El Camino boys and Terra Nova girls were the Ocean Divisions champ and automatic qualifiers as well.
A combined six teams county teams from the West Bay Athletic League — Crystal, Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo boys’ and girls’ — qualified, along with the Private School Athletic League’s Nueva School girls’ side and Serra out of the West Catholic Athletic League.
All first-round games begin Saturday.
Division I
Boys
PAL Bay Division champ Hillsdale (13-1-6) was one of five teams from “A” leagues, but only the top four would get home games.
The Knights were one of those teams as they earned the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Westmont (12-4-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“I had to fight to get them a home game,” said Dimech, who added Hillsdale’s CCS Division II title last year and a bulk of that roster returning this year were determining factors.
This division features the only team in the entire CCS playoffs that does not have a loss or tie this season. Top-seeded Alvarez went a perfect 20-0-0 during the regular season.
Girls
The reward for Carlmont (11-4-4), which captured the PAL Bay Division title on the last day of the regular season? The No. 8 seed and a date with top-seeded St. Francis (17-0-1) in the Division I opener at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“There are four ‘A’ leagues (in CCS). We’ve never not put one of the four ‘A’ league champs into Division I,” Schmidt said.
Division II
Boys
Three county teams made this bracket, with all three going on the road.
No. 5 Serra (11-4-5) will head to Santa Cruz for a 7 p.m. match with No. 4 Harbor (17-2-1); No. 7 Woodside (10-4-4) is at No. 2 Watsonville (16-1-2) at 7 p.m., while No. 8 Sacred Heart Prep (13-1-4) gets the shortest trip, going to San Jose to take on No. 1 Mitty (9-6-4) at 11 a.m.
Girls
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Despite finishing behind Sequoia in the standings, M-A (9-5-5) got the DII nod over the Ravens, who went into DIII.
“M-A was a higher seed than us, but we beat them twice (during the regular season),” Schmidt said. “They had more (overall) points than we did.”
The Bears got the No. 7 seed at will be at No. 2 Mountain View (14-4-1) at 6 p.m.
Woodside (10-5-3), which was denied the Bay Division title by the Bears, garnered the top seed and will host No. 8 Palo Alto (9-6-3) at 5 p.m.
Division III
Boys
Second-seeded Burlingame (11-4-3) hosts No. 7 Monterey (12-5-3) at 5 p.m.
Menlo School (13-3-4) got the top seed and will host No. 8 Alisal (10-9-1) at 1 p.m.
Girls
By moving into Division III, Sequoia (8-8-4) earned a home game as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Branham (7-5-8) at 1:30 p.m.
“I think we’re in the right spot,” Schmidt said. “We’ve been hot and cold this season. We’re a young team.”
Sacred Heart Prep (8-4-5) got the No. 6 seed and will make the long trek to No. 3 Monterey (14-3-2) for a 1 p.m. match.
Division IV
Boys
The last two Bay Division teams find themselves in this bracket. Carlmont (6-6-6), the No. 4 seed, will host No. 5 Willow Glen (9-8-3) at 5 p.m. M-A (6-7-7) is seeded sixth and will take on No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral (10-8-2) at Beach Chalet in San Francisco at 2 p.m.
Girls
Aragon (6-5-7), despite a fifth-place finish in the Bay Division, got the top seed in Division IV and will host No. 8 Pacific Collegiate (11-4-2) at 3 p.m.
Crystal (10-3-4) is seeded third and will host No. 6 Silver Creek (12-4-4) at 1 p.m.
No. 5 Menlo School (7-4-7) will be on the road at No. 4 Santa Cruz (13-6-1) at 5 p.m.
Division V
Boys
El Camino (18-0-1), which along with Alvarez, is the only other unbeaten team in the CCS, got the No. 3 seed and will have a first-round game for the second year in a row, facing Latino College Prep (15-1-2) at 3 p.m.
Crystal (15-2-2), which eliminated El Camino on their way to the DV final last season, got the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 Yerba Buena (9-2-4) at 3 p.m.
Girls
Ocean Division champ Terra Nova (13-4-1) was awarded the top seed and will host No. 8 Gonzales (8-8-1) at 1 p.m.
No. 3 Nueva School (15-3-1) will take on No. 6 Oak Grove (14-2-2) at Skyline College at 11 a.m.
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