Boys soccer draw: Rochester to face in Maconaquah in sectional rematch; Valley draws Eastern

Sectional 36: Argos gets Manchester, Caston to face Winamac, NM gets bye

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Rochester faced Maconaquah in the Class 2A, Sectional 22 final last year.

This year, they will face each other right off the bat.

That was among the revelations of the IHSAA draw held Sunday night.

Sectionals week is Oct. 5-10, regional semifinals are Oct. 15, regional finals are Oct. 17, semistates are Oct. 24, and the state finals will be held at the Michael Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium on the IU Indianapolis campus on Oct. 30-31.

Sectional tickets are $8 per session or $20 for an all-sectional ticket.

Class 2A, Sectional 22 was moved from Wabash to Northwestern after Wabash did not have enough players to field a team this year.

Here are the area matchups:

Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley

Rochester has not beaten Maconaquah since Sept. 22, 2020. Since then, they are 0-7 and have been outscored 41-4 against Maconaquah.

That included a 6-0 loss to the Braves at the Brent Blacketor Memorial Sports Complex Sept. 19.

The teams will meet again in a Class 2A, Sectional 22 quarterfinal at Northwestern.

The winner will meet the Eastern (Greentown)-Tippecanoe Valley winner in the semifinals. Valley has already finished their regular season with a 4-10-1 record. Eastern is 6-1-2 and has scored 39 goals in nine games.

Valley beat Rochester 1-0 on Sept. 16 and does not play Maconaquah during the regular season.

Argos, Caston, Culver, North Miami, Winamac

Argos has won 13 sectionals in 15 years since the institution of class soccer in 2011, and they will take aim at another title when they play Manchester in a Class 1A, Sectional 36 quarterfinal at Eugene Snyder Field on Oct. 6.

The winner will face North Miami, who received a bye. North Miami is 3-9 and lost to Argos 6-0 on Sept. 12.

In the other half of the bracket, Caston drew Winamac, and Lakeland Christian drew Culver.

Caston will also host Winamac at the Comet Crater Thursday in their regular season matchup before turning around six days later for their sectional meeting.

Culver (3-8-2) lost to Lakeland Christian 4-0 on Sept. 15.

Culver’s only sectional title came in 1994, Caston’s only sectional came in 2021, and Winamac’s only sectional came in 2001. North Miami won three straight sectional titles from 2007-09 but has not won one since.