MANSFIELD — Richland County’s reputation as a girls soccer hotbed was reinforced again Sunday.
For the seventh straight year, local heavyweights Ontario, Clear Fork, Lexington and Madison grabbed the top four seeds in the Division II district tournament draw.
The last time another program cracked the top four was 2016, when Norwalk earned the No. 4 seed. That was the last year before Madison dropped from Division I to Division II.
Postseason play begins next week with sectional tournaments. The higher seed will host through the sectional finals.
Ontario (11-2-1) earned the top seed and opted to play a first-round game. The Warriors will host No. 8 Mansfield Senior at 5 p.m. Oct. 17. The winner will host No. 9 Shelby at noon Oct. 21 in the sectional championship game.
Clear Fork (10-2-3) snagged the second seed and will host No. 7 Vermilion at 5 p.m. Oct. 17. Third-seeded Lexington (7-4-3) will host No. 6 Sandusky Perkins at 5 p.m. Oct. 17, while No. 4 Madison (8-2-4) will host No. 5 Norwalk at 5 p.m. Oct. 17.
Division I
Ashland is the area’s lone remaining Division I girls soccer program. The ninth-seeded Arrows (4-11-2) will play at No. 6 Oregon Clay at 6 p.m. Oct. 18.
Division III
Of the area’s six Division III programs, only Mapleton will open tournament play at home. The seventh-seeded Mounties (10-2-0) will host No. 18 Cornerstone Christian at 6 p.m. Oct. 18.
Also in the northeast district, No. 27 seed Hillsdale (2-12-0) will visit No. 23 Tuslaw at 10 a.m. Saturday, while No. 29 Loudonville (0-13-1) is at No. 19 Cuyahoga Heights at 10 a.m. Saturday.
In the northwest district, No. 7 Galion (3-7-2) will visit No. 5 Ada at 5 p.m. Oct. 17. No. 6 Crestview (5-9-0) is at No. 3 Genoa at 7:15 p.m. Oct. 19, while No. 8 Mansfield Christian (4-9-1) is at No. 2 Bluffton at 5 p.m. Oct. 19.