Maine South and Maine East both earned spots in the IHSA Class 3A boys soccer playoffs, with regional-round games set to begin Monday, Oct. 19.
The Hawks enter as the No. 8 seed in the Chicago (Taft) Regional. Maine South opens against No. 9 Chicago Von Steuben at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Taft. A win there would send the Hawks into a regional semifinal against top-seeded Taft at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, according to the IHSA bracket.
The Blue Demons drew the No. 12 seed and land in the Evanston Regional. Maine East faces No. 5 Evanston Township at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. The winner advances to the regional final at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. That opponent comes from the 4:30 p.m. Oct. 20 match between No. 4 New Trier and No. 13 Chicago Prosser.
The Journal & Topics reported Oct. 15 that 20 area teams are in the playoff field across all three classes.
Maine South's path through the Taft Regional puts the Hawks on the road for both rounds. If they survive, the regional champion advances to the DePaul College Prep Sectional, where the semifinal is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m. The sectional final follows Friday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 p.m.
An Evanston Regional title would send the Blue Demons to the same DePaul College Prep Sectional, where they could meet the Taft Regional winner in the Oct. 27 semifinal. That means Maine South and Maine East could face each other if both win their regionals.
District 207 sibling Maine West, based in Des Plaines, earned the No. 1 seed in the Hoffman Estates Regional and opens Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The state tournament runs through Rockford, with the Class 3A semifinals set for Friday, Nov. 6, and the championship match Saturday, Nov. 7, at Guilford High School.
Maine South opens the postseason Monday, Oct. 19, at Taft. Maine East follows Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Evanston.
