The regular season is winding down. The state tournament looms.
For many teams in the region, the next two weeks will provide a chance to polish their skills in pursuit of a state title while also presenting the opportunity to pick up some additional hardware.
There’s no shortage of local programs set to take part in the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association (CMADA) tournaments next week. Across the sports of volleyball, soccer and field hockey, teams will compete in three classes for the equivalent of a sectional crown.
The top eight teams in order of the MIAA’s power rankings for each class were seeded in the CMADA tournaments.
The contests begin early next week, with dates and times set for some matchups and others still to come.
The Class A field hockey brackets alone are loaded with local teams, with three of the four matchups featuring North Central Mass. standouts. Fifth-seeded Leominster will visit No. 4 Doherty with a date and time yet to be announced, while No. 7 Nashoba Regional heads to No. 2 Algonquin Regional Monday at 4 p.m. Eighth-seeded North Middlesex Regional is at top-seeded Wachusett Regional Monday at 5 p.m.
In the field hockey Class B pairings, top-seeded Lunenburg will host No. 8 Monty Tech with a time to be determined, while No. 5 Oakmont Regional travels to Barre to face No. 4 Quabbin Regional Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
The boys soccer Class A pairings, much like Class A field hockey, has a trio of local teams competing. Top-seeded Nashoba hosts No. 8 Westboro Tuesday at, while third-seeded Leominster plays host to No. 6 Algonquin. Fifth-seeded North Middlesex Regional heads to No. 4 Shrewsbury High.
Top-seeded Oakmont Regional hosts No. 8 Lunenburg in the Class B boys soccer tournament Tuesday at 7 p.m., while No. 8 Ayer-Shirley heads to top-seeded Sutton in Class C. In the Class D pairings, eighth-seeded St. Bernard’s will visit No. 1 Whitinsville Christian.
The girls soccer pairings saw Nashoba draw the top seed in Class A. The Wolves will host No. 8 Leominster Tuesday at 5, while in Class B, No. 6 Lunenburg travels to No. 3 Northbridge with a time and date still to come.
In the volleyball pairings, No. 6 Nashoba plays at No. 3 Nipmuc at 5:15 p.m. Monday in the Class A tournament. In those same pairings, No. 8 Leominster will visit top-seeded Shrewsbury.
Sixth-seeded Monty Tech travels to No. 3 Millbury in the Class B bracket and in Class C, No. 8 St. Bernard’s plays at top-seeded Whitinsville Christian Monday at 5 p.m.