After sending two teams to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association girls’ soccer state championships last year, Chatham County is looking to repeat that feat.
The girls’ soccer regular season will wrap up this week with the first round of the playoffs starting Monday.
Teams will be seeded for the state tournament brackets Friday. All five county teams find themselves in the field or on the bubble for a playoff berth as of Sunday.
In both the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A and Central Tar Heel 1A conferences, there will be two automatic state playoff berths reserved for the regular season conference champion and the regular season conference runner up. The remaining non-automatic qualifying teams will be determined by the ratings percentage index, or RPI, standings.
RPI considers the winning percentage of a team, its opponents and its opponent’s opponents when determining how a team will be seeded.
The NCHSAA will seed 32 eastern and 32 western teams in each state bracket. Based on conference and RPI standings as of Sunday, here’s a playoff outlook for the county teams projected to make the state tournament.
Seaforth (2A East, automatic bid)
Conference/conference record/place: Mid-Carolina 1A/2A, 11-0, first place
RPI: 0.597649
Projected seed: 4
Seaforth, the defending 2A state champions, are set to possibly earn another top four seed in the upcoming state playoffs. The Hawks have already clinched their conference title and will likely host the first couple of rounds. As it looks to repeat, the key for Seaforth will be health. The Hawks have had multiple players miss time with injuries this season, including leading scorer Sofia Viana. Prior to returning to action this week, Viana, a junior, had only played in seven games this season missed multiple games since April 17. Freshmen have filled in and stepped up in some players’ absence this year, but it will take the valuable experience of its seasoned veterans to win in the later rounds.
Northwood (2A East)
Conference/conference record/place: Mid-Carolina 1A/2A, 10-3, second place
RPI: 0.522439
Projected seed: 17
Northwood has put together another solid season with hopes of finishing second in the conference and earning its third straight playoff berth. The Chargers will likely land in the middle of the bracket with a seed in the low teens. Led by senior striker Sarah Anne Murrell and freshman midfielder Madelyn Bolejack, Northwood is battle tested after playing a tough schedule. The Chargers got their young team acclimated to fiercer competition in higher classifications throughout the season, which could make for a more prepared team back on the 2A level.
Jordan-Matthews (2A East)
Conference/conference record/place: Mid-Carolina 1A/2A, 4-8, fifth place
RPI: 0.415263
Projected seed: 32
Jordan-Matthews, which ranks 33rd in the RPI standings, sits on the fence of good playoff standing. The young Jets squad took some tough losses throughout the season and struggled in conference play, but their playoff hopes aren’t all lost yet. Should Jordan-Matthews make the state tournament, it’ll have to travel and play one of the best teams in the 2A East classification. The Jets haven’t won a playoff game since 2022 despite making the postseason every year since then.
Woods Charter (1A East)
Conference/conference record/place: Central Tar Heel 1A, 10-0, first place
RPI: 0.554267
Projected seed: 4
Should Woods Charter win its last two conference games this week, it’ll finish as conference champions for the fourth straight time and earn another automatic bid to the playoffs. The Wolves are in good standing regardless of what happens, looking at a potential top four seed if they win out. After losing a plethora of players from last year’s state runner up team, the Wolves aren’t quite the same force, but they are still capable of a deep playoff run. They showed that against 2A juggernaut Franklin Academy when they trailed 1-0 at the half, but they couldn’t sustain that level of play the rest of the night. The key for Woods Charter, which is likely to host, will be putting together a complete game, especially in the later rounds.
Chatham Charter (1A East)
Conference/conference record/place: Central Tar Heel 1A, 3-7, fifth place
RPI: 0.402196
Projected seed: 24
Chatham Charter is in good playoff standing, sitting at 24th in the RPI rankings. The Knights, led by freshman Emily Scheidt, will likely have to travel in the first round. Chatham Charter didn’t have the season it wanted, but they showed flashes of being competitive against playoff teams. For example, the Knights put up four goals against Southern Wake Academy (second in the Central Tar Heel 1A conference). Although the playoffs may not last long for the Knights, this has still been their best season in recent memory as they’ve won five games for the first time since 2022.