MADISON TOWNSHIP — The tournament bracket soccer fans have been speculating over for months came out Sunday afternoon.
Madison earned the top seed in the new-look Division III boys district field and will host No. 8 Tiffin Columbian in a sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. Oct. 15.
The Rams (13-1-0) dropped to Division III from Division I when the Ohio High School Athletic Association decided to expand the boys and girls soccer tournaments from three to five divisions.
The expansion is intended to level the playing field for teams like Madison and Ashland, among the smallest Division I programs in the state in the old three-division format.
The Arrows (5-6-2) earned the No. 4 seed and will host longtime rival and No. 5 seed Lexington (5-6-2) in a sectional final at 11 a.m. Oct. 19.
Third-seeded Ontario (7-3-3) will host No. 6 Norwalk at 11 a.m. Oct. 19 in a sectional final. No. 7 Mansfield Senior (7-7-1) will visit No. 2 Sandusky Perkins for a sectional final at 11 a.m. Oct. 19.
Division IV
Clear Fork, which dropped from Division II to the new Division IV, earned the No. 3 seed and will host No. 5 Upper Sandusky in a sectional final at 6 p.m. Oct. 17. No. 7 Galion (2-10-2) will visit No. 2 Vermilion for a sectional final at 5 p.m. Oct. 17.
Division V
Both Mansfield Christian and Crestview dropped from Division III to Division V. The Flames (7-7-1) picked up the No. 4 seed and will host No. 7 Old Fort in a sectional final at 3 p.m. Oct. 19.
The fifth-seeded Cougars (2-5-1) will host No. 6 Huron for a sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. Oct. 16.
In the Northeast District, No. 45 Loudonville (1-11-2) will visit No. 22 Northwestern in a sectional final at 7 p.m. Oct. 16.