TOP OF THE CROP

Girls soccer 1:

(1) Kenston 3-0-1 (2) Kirtland 2-0-1 (3) Chagrin Falls 4-1 (4) West Geauga 2-1-3 (6) NDCL 3-2-1 (7) Madison 3-2 (5) Lake Catholic 0-1-3 (8) Mentor 1-2-2 (9) Gilmour 1-2-1 10: (NR) Perry 4-1

Dropped out: Hawken

Watch list: Hawken (0-2-1), Berkshire (4-1-1), Mayfield (15-1), Chardon (3-1-1)

Crop comments: The top four is fine the way it is for now. … Chagrin Falls impressed with a 2-1 win over Magnificat. … West Geauga made its annual trek to the River View Labor Day Showcase and emerged with a 3-1 win over Parkersburg South, a quality result vs. one of West Virginia’s top sides. … NDCL and Madison both toppled Mayfield, and the Blue Streaks also logged a massive result in addition, beating Lake Catholic for the first time, 2-1. The Lions block Madison’s path further up due to their headto-head win. … The simple fact of the matter with Lake is ties are good, especially against great opponents, but there also comes a point at which wins need to come vs. high-caliber foes as well. … It’s been at least several years, perhaps a decade or more, since Perry was in the Crop. But the Pirates are back, possibly with some red-hot form in front of them. That said, the one constructive criticism in the last two seasons for Crop placement has been having a signature match result to complement a good record. That Kirtland-Madison closing stretch in October is a tall order. Until then, though, we’ll find out a lot about Perry on Sept. 11with Holy Name in town. Arguably, it’s the biggest regular-season match in years for the program.

Note: Matches considered through Sept. 6.