Girls soccer draw: Lady Zs seek first goal vs. Argos in sectional quarterfinals

Undefeated Lady Cavs to face Manchester; Valley gets NorthWood

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Rochester girls soccer team will seek their first ever win against Argos in the sectional quarterfinals, according to the IHSAA draw released Sunday.

Meanwhile, undefeated Culver, the only area team that is ranked, was also the only area team to receive a bye.

Here is the breakdown of the draw for area teams:

Rochester, Argos, Culver

Rochester drew Argos in a Class 1A, Sectional 36 quarterfinal at Argos Oct. 7. This will mark the teams’ first meeting since a 4-0 Argos win at the Brent Blacketor Memorial Sports Complex Sept. 13, 2021.

This will be their first postseason meeting since a 4-0 Argos win in the 2020 sectional semifinals. Rochester went 10-3 in 2020, but two of their losses were to Argos.

Rochester has never beaten Argos before in girls soccer. In fact, Rochester has never scored against the Lady Dragons.

Rochester coach Chantal Rensberger is an Argos grad, and Argos coach Ty Adley is a Rochester grad.

The Rochester-Argos winner will face LaVille, who received a bye, in the semifinals.

In the other half of the draw, Culver and Manchester received byes and will face each other in the semifinals. At No. 18 in the coaches poll released Monday, Culver is the only ranked team in the poll, and they improved to 13-0 following a 5-0 win over Taylor Saturday. 

Culver has outscored their opponents 45-7 so far this season.

This will be the first meeting between the teams since Manchester rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat Culver 5-4 in penalty kicks in last year’s sectional. Culver has never won a sectional title in girls soccer.

Tippecanoe Valley

Valley drew NorthWood in a Class 2A, Sectional 21 quarterfinal, and the teams will meet at Plymouth Oct. 7.

Valley has been outscored 40-0 in four sectional games dating back to 2021.

The Valley-NorthWood winner will take on Culver Academy, who received a bye, in the semifinals. In the other half of the draw, Wawasee will take on Plymouth in the semifinals.

There are no ranked teams in Sectional 21. Culver Academy is the defending sectional champion. Culver Academy has won 11 sectionals, more than the other four schools in the sectional combined (8).

The tournament

Sectionals are Oct. 7-11, regional semifinals are Oct. 16, regional finals are Oct. 18, semistates are Oct. 25, and the IHSAA state finals are Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at the Michael Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium on the campus of IU Indianapolis.

Sectional tickets are $8 per session or $20 for an all-sectional ticket. Regional semifinal and regional final tickets are $10 per session, semistate tickets are $12, and state tickets are $15 per person per day.