The march to a state title begins with the bracket release.<\/p>\n
A total of 210 boys\u2019 soccer teams across five divisions learned their postseason fates Saturday afternoon when the MIAA released the tournament brackets \u2014 with games able to begin as early as Sunday and the state championships projected to be held Nov. 21-22.<\/p>\n
St. John\u2019s Prep (15-1-2) leads the 42-team Division 1<\/a> field<\/a>, followed by second-seeded Natick (12-5) and No. 3 Newton South (12-2-3). Reigning runner-up St. John\u2019s (Shrewsbury) is the 12th seed at 11-4-3, and reigning champ Newton North<\/a> (5-8-5) \u2014 no stranger to a Cinderella run<\/a> \u2014 is 26th.<\/p>\n Three-time defending Division 2 champion Oliver Ames<\/a> (12-1-3) leads the 39-team pack<\/a>. Northampton (13-0-5) is the second seed, with Longmeadow (12-1-6) and Duxbury (14-3-1) right behind them.<\/p>\n Medfield (14-3-1) earned the top seed in the 40-team Division 3 tournament<\/a>, with Norwell (18-0-1) and defending champion Dover-Sherborn<\/a> (13-4-1) rounding out the top three seeds. In its first year in Division 3, East Boston (11-3-4) earned the No. 8 seed.<\/p>\n The largest field is Division 4, with 49 teams and 17 preliminary-round games<\/a>. Sutton (15-1-2) leads the pack as the top seed, followed by Bromfield (15-1-2) and Hamilton-Wenham (14-2-2).<\/p>\n The winner of the last two Boston City League tournaments<\/a>, Boston International (15-1-2) earned the top seed in the 40-team Division 5 bracket<\/a>. No. 2 Hopedale (7-6-5), No. 3 St. John Paul II (13-0-4), and No. 4 Brighton (7-6-4) are close behind.<\/p>\n Mike Puzzanghera can be reached at michael.puzzanghera@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on X @mpuzzanghera<\/a>.<\/p>\n