Although the 2010 girls soccer season won't be quite the historical event many anticipated, it's still going to be a big year.
The PIAA originally ruled last summer that the 2009-10 academic year was going to be the last in which girls soccer in the state was split in two. All of the programs were supposed to move to the fall beginning in '10. But District 3 officials balked at what they considered to be a quick turnaround time, so many of them will play spring soccer through the 2011-12 school year.
But many schools, particularly some of the bigger ones in District 1, are still joining fall soccer next year. As a result, for the first time ever, there will be three classifications for girls soccer beginning next fall. As luck would have it, next year is also the first year of a new two-year PIAA cycle. That is, the PIAA has re-tabulated the enrollment for all the schools in every sport, and some are either moving up or down in class.
When it comes to girls soccer next year, it probably won't be a surprise to learn that there are no Class AAA teams in The Daily Item coverage area. Shikellamy, Selinsgrove, Shamokin, Midd-West, Danville, Milton, Mifflinburg and Lewisburg will all play in the new Class AA. Montoursville, which has long been a District 4 power and won the Class AA state title in 2008, will also be in AA.
Warrior Run, Mount Carmel, Southern Columbia, Line Mountain, East Juniata, Meadowbrook Christian and Lourdes Regional will all compete in the new Class A.
If you're interested (and I know you are), long-time state power and District 4 slayer Villa Joseph Marie -- of District 1 -- will play in Class AA.
There are fewer changes in boys soccer, since the three-class system has been around for 10 years. The biggest change is that the Lewisburg boys will move back up to Class AA. The Green Dragons advanced to three consecutive District 4 Class AA title games from 2003 to 2005 -- winning one and losing two -- before playing in Class A for the last four years. They won the D-4 A title three straight years before getting upset by Benton on penalty kicks in this year's semifinals.
In other changes, the Mount Carmel boys are moving down to Class A. The East Juniata boys, who won their first District 4 crown this year, will get a chance to defend their championship, as they'll stay in Class A.
WITHOUT BORDERS: The Southern Columbia girls had a great season in 2009. They won the Heartland Athletic Conference Division III championship for the second straight year, finishing 14-5-1 before losing to Loyalsock in the D-4 AA quarters.
But it also should be noted that the Tigers contributed to a worthy cause called Soccer Without Borders. The SWB program, according to its Web site, "uses soccer as a vehicle for positive change in the lives of marginalized youth." The Southern girls put on two fund-raisers, ultimately raising $4,000 for a SWB project in Nicaragua. It's a great cause, and I wanted to say congratulations to the girls for taking the time to help. You can read more about their efforts at soccerwithoutborders.org.
n Sports reporter Todd Stanford covers high school soccer for The Daily Item. E-mail comments to tstanford@dailyitem.com.
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Todd Stanford's column on high school soccer: Changes coming in 2010
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