Marin Academy boys land county's lone top seed
Four soccer teams from Marin won North Coast Section titles last season but none of them enter this year's tournaments as the favorites.
Redwood and Archie Williams won the D-II and D-II boys titles last season respectively, while the Branson School and Marin Academy did the same for the girls in D-III and D-IV.
This year Marin is home to just one top-seeded team, the Marin Academy boys who fell 2-1 to Archie Williams in last year's DIII title game. The MA boys program is the most decorated in the county for soccer, having won 11 section titles since 2000.
The No. 1 Wildcats begin their quest for another one — which would be their first since 2019 — with a road game against No. 16 Campolindo at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The rest of the D-III bracket features four other Marin teams, all on the opposite side of the field from
MA. Freshly minted MCAL champion Terra Linda is the No. 2 seed, raising the possibility of an all-Marin final. TL opens with a home game against Albany at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The D-III bracket also houses the only all-Marin battle of the first round as No. 10 Archie Williams travels to No. 7 Novato for a 3:30 p.m. game on Tuesday. The winner of that game could see the Trojans in the quarterfinals. Sixth-seeded San Rafael rounds out the Marin contingent in D-III and hosts Sonoma Valley at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
All 11 boys teams from Marin made it to the section playoffs.
Girls D-III
Marin sends seven girls programs into the section playoffs with three of them landing in D-III, including both defending section champions as Marin Academy was moved up from D-IV.
The newly crowned MCAL champions, Branson, lead the way as the No. 3 seed this year. The Bulls
host DeAnza at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
MA slots in just behind Branson at No. 4, meaning they'd both need to make it to the final to see each other in NCS. The Wildcats host Pinole Valley at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Archie Williams snagged the No. 6 seed and hosts Albany at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Boys D-I
Redwood was pulled up to D-I this season after winning the D-II title in 2022. The Giants drew the
No. 4 seed and host Castro Valley at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Boys D-II
Fourth-seeded Tam is the lone Marin representative and hosts Northgate at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Redwood and Tam are both higher seeds who will have to win their opening matches on the road. The No. 5 Giants travel to face Newark Memorial at 5 p.m. Wednesday while No. 8 Tam travels to face Los Lomas.
Boys D-IV
Four Marin teams made it in D-IV but only No. 7 San Domenico is projected to survive the first round based on seeding. The Panthers host Mount Diablo at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at College of Marin.
San Marin (No. 11), Marin Catholic (No. 12) and Branson (No. 13) round out the Marin field. They face LickWilmerding, Healdsburg and Saint Mary's, respectively. in road games Wednesday.
Girls D-IV
Marin Catholic was selected as the No. 4 seed and hosts Head-Royce at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. San Marin, seeded 10th, hits the road to face Saint Mary's at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Albany High.