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Seeding scenarios cause major headaches
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
Examine the District 18-4A boys soccer standings for too long and you’re bound to need a calculator and a bottle of Advil.
Entering the final round of regular season games tonight, determining playoff seeding is equivalent to ascertaining the luminosity of a black body with the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
“It’s very absurd,” Wakeland head coach Rusty Oglesby aptly stated.
Nothing else is as cut and dry. The Wolverines and Raccoons are both still in the running to split the district title. Victories over R.L. Turner and Liberty, respectively, would accomplish as much. Because the standings are such a logjam, both schools could also finish fourth.
Turner has the most wins (6) of any district team and leads the rest of the jumbled pack by at least two points. But the Lions would enter the playoffs as the third seed if Wakeland and Frisco both take care of business today.
“It shows you how tight the district is and how good the teams are that we’re playing,” Frisco coach Daniel Dollinger said.
Dollinger and Oglesby both want to avoid the fourth slot, which would pit either team against District 17-4A champ McKinney in the bi-district round, which begins next week. Frisco has been there before having met the Lions in the early playoff stages the past two seasons. Even if the Raccoons split the 18-4A championship with Wakeland, they would drop to the second seed by virtue of being swept by the Wolverines this season.
Both Dollinger and Oglesby are just happy to have a berth in hand entering the madness that is mid March.
“This is the first time I can say ‘Thank God there are four teams going,’” Oglesby said. “Soccer is a strange sport. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Centennial is in a more precarious position entering tonight’s finale. Winners of three of their last four, the Titans have come from nowhere to join the discussion thanks to a key 1-0 victory over Turner on Tuesday. Centennial (12-6-3, 3-4-2) didn’t notch its first district win until the second half of play, but is two victories away from a second playoff appearance in three seasons.
Head coach Jason Aune credits cohesion for the abrupt turnaround. What the Titans boast in talent they lacked in chemistry early in conference play.
“I think any time a team can come back from what we have and gone through the struggles they are always stronger,” Aune said. “We stumbled through the first half of district, which has never been the case since I have been here. But I also haven't seen a Titan team get hot at the right time and it may possibly be what is happening.”
Sizzling would be the more appropriate adjective to describe the Raccoons, who have won five of their last six since a 0-1-2 start. Senior captain Brad Hunt has 11 goals in district play and leads area 4A in scoring with 31 total goals. Twice in the past five games the fiery forward has netted a hat trick, including Friday in a 4-1 win over Centennial.
Dollinger said Hunt has excelled in his leadership role and benefitted from the return of fellow forward Alphonse Coleman, a big body that commands the attention of multiple defenders.
“The guys are playing with a lot more confidence. We were a little tired going into district play because we don’t have the depth we’ve had in previous years,” Dollinger said. “It’s always good to have a few games where you struggle to find yourself. We found ourselves and now we’re playing the soccer we need to be playing coming into playoff time. We’re finally hitting our stride.”
Based strictly on results, Wakeland’s best soccer was played early in district. The Wolverines have lost three of their last five, including a shootout setback to Newman Smith on Friday. Leading 3-1 with less than 15 minutes to play after Len Smith netted a pair of goals to bring his season total to 11, Wakeland was whistled for a phantom foul and inadvertent hand ball in the penalty box. Newman Smith drilled both penalty kicks to send the game to a shootout, where it prevailed 3-2 in seven rounds.
“We didn’t do anything to lose that game. Circumstances sometimes by one individual can take things away from a team,” Oglesby said. “I felt like we should have won the game, it’s unfortunate the game of soccer turned its head on us.”
The Wolverines (17-3-5, 5-2-2) bounced back Tuesday with a 2-1 win over Liberty, which didn’t go down without a fight. The Redhawks, who are winless in district play, fired until the bitter end, putting three shots on goal in the final 2:30 minutes, including a potential equalizer that skimmed off the crossbar.
“I’ve never enjoyed playing them because they don’t quit,” Oglesby said. “They were right where we were a year ago and a better team than we were two years ago. I see the progression. They have a lot of pride about them.”
Oglesby said multiple times this season he has felt Wakeland was on the verge of where it wanted to be. Then something bad happened.
To their credit, the Wolverines have remained relevant and managed to continually linger at the top of the standings. A win tonight on the road against Turner would deliver at least a share of the district title to complement the program’s first playoff berth.
“It’s ours to lose so we need to go out there and take it. I’d rather have that opportunity of taking it from somebody than having to protect it tonight,” Oglesby said. “They’ve felt all along that we should be a district champion. We started the season that way and don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we finish fourth.
“The goal is always to win a district title, but you’ve got to get into the playoffs to have a chance to make it to Austin. Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.”
Playoff scenarios
Wakeland
Win over R.L. Turner: first seed in playoffs, co-district champs if Frisco beats Liberty
Loss to R.L. Turner, Newman Smith win: fourth seed in playoffs
Loss to R.L. Turner, Centennial win: third seed in playoffs
Tie with R.L. Turner: second, third or fourth seed in playoffs
Frisco
Win over Liberty, Wakeland win: second seed in playoffs, co-district champs with Wakeland
Win over Liberty, Wakeland loss: second seed in playoffs
Loss to Liberty: third or fourth seed in playoffs
Tie with Liberty: second or third seed in playoffs
Centennial
Win over Newman Smith: tie for fourth playoff spot, play-in game Monday with Newman Smith
Loss to Newman Smith: eliminated from playoff contention
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