The playoffs for winter sports are here, starting Tuesday, with soccer and basketball starting Tuesday.
Girls soccer
In Division 1, top-seeded Chico High will kick off against No. 4 Las Plumas at Chico High starting at 3 p.m.
The Eastern Athletic League champion Panthers, 15-1-1 on the year, have not played the Butte View League champion Thunderbirds (14-5-1) this year.
On the other half of the bracket, league runner-up Pleasant Valley will play host Tuesday to Shasta at an undetermined time. But it’s likely that it will be a part of a doubleheader with the boys’ team, which is playing Shasta as well.
The Vikings (15-1-4) will be playing Shasta 10-4-2) for the third time this year. The Vikings defeated the Wolves 4-0 at Asgard Yard on Jan. 19 in a game in which four different Vikings scored.
The second game was a 1-0 victory at Shasta for Pleasant Valley in a hotly contested game that saw junior Jenna Norberry scored the game-winning goal.
The winners of Tuesday’s games will play in the championship Saturday at the highest remaining seed’s home field.
In Division 2 soccer, four teams got a first-round bye, including top-seed Live Oak, University Prep, West Valley and Orland.
First-round games on Tuesday include No. 9 Gridley at No. 8 Lassen, No. 12 Central Valley at No.5 Paradise at 3 p.m.; No.11 Pierce will play at No. 6 Corning, and No. 7 Yreka will play No. 10 Anderson.
In Division 3, Winters has a first-round bye and will get the winner of Tuesday’s Williams at Willows first-round match-up.
In other first-round matches on Tuesday, No. 6 Maxwell will play No. 3 Colusa while No. 2 Hamilton hosts No. 7 Durham.
Boys soccer
On Tuesday, the Division 1 playoffs begin with a very similar bracket to the girl’s side of the equation. The Pleasant Valley boys will be playing Shasta, except that the Vikings are the No. 1 seed in the Northern Section.
The 13-4-3 Vikings were unbeaten in two contests against Shasta (10-8-2) this year, beating the Wolves 6-2 on Jan. 19 in Redding and then shutting them out 2-0 at Pleasant Valley on Feb. 7.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Chico (12-2-3) will also host the Thunderbirds (14-5-1). The two schools haven’t met on the soccer field this year.
The winners of Tuesday’s action will play Saturday in the championship at the highest remaining seed’s site.
In Division 2, University Prep, Gridley, Live Oak, Yreka and Orland all get a first-round bye. The Orland Trojans get a first run by as the fifth seed because there were only 11 teams in the tournament this year. Pierce was disqualified after a brawl that ended Friday’s season finale against Willows early.
It also means that Orland will be traveling to Yreka on Thursday for a second-round game.
On Tuesday, No. 9 Anderson will play No. 8 Lassen in a first-round game, No. 11 Central Valley will play at No. 6 Corning, and No. 7 West Valley will host No. 10 Oroville.
In Division 3 play, there will be only six teams in the tournament as Willows has been disqualified and Los Molinos opted out.
That means No. 1 seed Williams will get a bye and will play the winner of the Colusa at Reading Christian game, which is a matchup of the four and five seeds. Also, on Tuesday, No. 3 Maxwell will host No. 6 Hamilton, while No. 2 Winters will get a bye and awaits the winner.
