Eastern Mass. Soccer Power Rankings: Week 3

Want to know who the best soccer teams are in Eastern Massachusetts? We’ve got you covered.

Each Friday, our Eastern Mass. Soccer Power Rankings will clue you in on the top teams, players and games, as well as highlight performances from the week.

Think your team has been left off unfairly or deserves a higher spot? Let us know in the comments section below.

(Results through Wednesday, Sept. 21)

BOYS' RANKINGS

DIVISION 1

1. Lexington (3-0-2) (North, Middlesex League): Once again, the Minutemen are refusing to lose during the regular season (they haven’t since 2007). After three straight wins to start the year – , 4-0 against Wilmington and 1-0 against Melrose – they have been tied up in their last two contests – 2-2 at Woburn and . They’ll host Arlington at 3:45 p.m. today, before a showdown at undefeated Winchester at 3:45 p.m. Monday.

2. Lincoln-Sudbury (3-0-1) (North, Dual County League): , but the Warriors are still rolling in 2011. Striker Chris Kafina is leading the charge – he scored once in the Warriors , once in their 1-0 win against Concord-Carlisle and twice in their . The Warriors tied Waltham 1-1 in their only other match to stay unbeaten. They faced Acton-Boxborough on the road yesterday and will stay on the road to play Newton South at 4 p.m. Monday and Weston at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday.

3. Weymouth (4-0-1) (South, Bay State Conference): Last year’s Division 1 South runner-up already has a signature win in 2011, a . In addition, the Wildcats have beaten Natick 2-1, Dedham 6-0 and Wellesley 2-0 and tied Framingham 2-2. They’ll travel to Needham tonight for a 7:15 p.m. game, then host Brookline at 4 p.m. Monday and go on the road to face Braintree at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

4. St. John’s Prep (3-0-2) (North, Catholic Conference): With an early exit from last year’s Division 1 North sectional , the Eagles, led by goal scorers Deklan Robinson and Ryan McManus, are off to a hot start in 2011, with three wins – 1-0 at Xaverian, 7-1 against Catholic Memorial and 4-0 against BC High – in their last three games. The Eagles started the season with ties at Masconomet and against Xavier (Middletown, Conn.). They’ll head to Malden Catholic Saturday for a noon game and then host Lynnfield at 4 p.m. Thursday.

5. Needham (4-1-0) (South, Bay State Conference): Besides a , the Rockets are off to a perfect start with wins over , , Framingham, 1-0, and Natick, 3-1. They’ll face their toughest test yet, however, when they host Weymouth at 7:15 p.m. tonight in a Bay State Conference showdown. Next week, they host Braintree at 3:45 p.m. Monday and travel to Newton North Wednesday for a 3:45 p.m. game.

6. Brookline (3-1-1) (North, Bay State Conference): shutout three of its first four opponents – 4-0 against Milton, 1-0 at Norwood and 5-0 at Braintree – with first-year starter Miles Rubin in goal. On the field, the Warriors are . They’ve suffered one loss – – and in their most recent contest. They’ll host Pembroke at 4 p.m. today, before traveling to Weymouth Monday for a key game at 4 p.m.

7. Masconomet (1-0-2) (North, Cape Ann League): After losing only one game last regular season, at 15-1-2, the Chieftains were upset by Newton North (as many teams were) in the first round of the Division 1 North sectional. This year, they’re off to an undefeated start, beating Danvers, 5-1, and tying St. John’s Prep, 0-0, and North Andover, 1-1. They’ll travel to Hamilton-Wenham today for a 3:45 p.m. game, then host Lynnfield Tuesday at 6 p.m.

8. Walpole (3-0-2) (South, Bay State Conference): Despite a tough early season schedule, the Rebels, led by a veteran defense, have remained unbeaten, with wins over Braintree, 3-1, Natick, 1-0, and Wellesley, 1-0, and ties against Newton North, 1-1, and Brookline, 1-1. They faced Milton yesterday and have Dedham on the road at 7 p.m. Monday and Norwood at home at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

9. Newton North (2-2-2) (North, Bay State Conference): , the Tigers got off to a relatively slow start in 2011, with 1-0 losses to Braintree and and 1-1 ties against Walpole and Newton South. However, since then, they’re 2-0, beating Norwood 3-0 and Milton 2-1. The Tigers deserve some patience, and some faith, after last year’s postseason run – same reason New Bedford, who , are on the bubble at 1-2-2. The Tigers will host Framingham and Needham, both at 3:45 p.m., Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

10. Greater New Bedford (6-0-0) (South, South Coast Conference): After a disappointing first-round exit in last year’s Division 1 South sectional, the Bears have won their first six games in 2011, over Bourne, Apponequet, Seekonk, Dighton, Fairhaven and, most recently, New Bedford, the defending Division 1 South champs and state finalists who are off to a 1-2-2 start. The Bears beat their rival New Bedford 1-0 Tuesday. They’ll travel to Case today for a 3:30 p.m. game, before hosting Wareham at 3:30 p.m. Monday and facing Old Rochester on the road at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

On the Bubble: Silver Lake (4-0-0), Medford (4-0-0), Oliver Ames (3-0-2), Framingham (3-1-1), New Bedford (1-2-2), Brighton (4-0-0)

DIVISION 2

1. Concord-Carlisle (4-1-0) (North, Dual County League): , the will have their work cut out for them to three-peat. Led by three-year starters Mikey O’Brien and , the Patriots have won four in a row – at Bedford 2-1, at Boston Latin 4-0, at Cambridge 4-1 and against Acton-Boxborough 4-2 – since dropping their opening game at Lincoln-Sudbury 1-0. The Patriots will host Weston at 3:45 p.m. Monday and then travel to Westford Wednesday for a 4 p.m. match.

2. Winchester (4-0-0) (North, Middlesex League): The Sachems took . Coach Paul Austin may be gone, along with a host of starters, but striker Connor Calnan is back, along with sweeper Jonathan Redwine, and the Sachems are off to a perfect start. They beat Stoneham 1-0, Wakefield 8-0, Watertown 3-0 and, most recently, . The Sachems will go on the road to face Woburn tonight at 7 p.m., before Monday’s 3:45 p.m. home showdown with Lexington, in a match-up that usually decides the Middlesex League crown.

3. Canton (3-0-3) (South, Hockomock League): The Bulldogs had , going undefeated for the first time in history and , before . This year, they’re off to another good start, with wins over Foxborough, 5-1, , and North Attleborough, 5-0, and ties against Duxbury, 0-0, , and . They’ll look to stay unbeaten against Oliver Ames at 7 p.m. Saturday at home and at Stoughton at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

4. Sandwich (4-0-0) (South, Atlantic Coast League): , the Blue Knights, who went 16-0-2 last regular season, have outscored opponents 18-2 in their first four games of 2011 with prolific goal-scorer Peter Alvaregna on top of his game. So far, they’ve taken care of Nauset 4-0, Falmouth 6-0, Hingham 3-1 and Plymouth South 5-1 with relative ease. Next up, they’ll play at Marshfield at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

5. Hopkinton (4-0-0) (South, Tri-Valley League): The Hillers were stopped by Canton, 1-0, in last year’s Division 2 South quarterfinals. This season, they’re off to a perfect start with wins over Medfield, 1-0, Norton, 3-2, Holliston, 2-1, and Bellingham, 4-0 (they lost yesterday 3-0 to defending Divison 3 state champ, undefeated Dover-Sherborn). is leading the way thus far – . The Hillers will be on the road twice next week, at Medway at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and at King Philip at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

6. Duxbury (2-1-1) (South, Patriot League): The Green Dragons are coming off a . After tying Canton 0-0 to open this season, the Green Dragons lost to Marshfield 1-0, before recording two shutouts in a row, 3-0 at Quincy and 4-0 against Scituate, in Scituate’s only loss of the season thus far. They were at North Quincy yesterday and will be at Silver Lake at 10 a.m. Saturday in an important league game. Next week, they host Pembroke at 4 p.m. Monday and are at Hingham at 4 p.m. Wednesday, in another key league match-up.

7. Belmont (2-1-2) (North, Middlesex League): Led by hyper-energetic sweeper Paul Connor, the Marauders have only dropped one game thus far – . They beat Watertown 3-1 to open the season and have also bested Wakefield, 2-0; they also tied , and Arlington, 0-0. If the team can continue to improve – it has 14 new faces this season – it should be able hang with Lexington and Winchester in the Middlesex League standings. The Marauders are at Reading today at 3:45 p.m. and then host Woburn Monday at 6 p.m. and are at Burlington Tuesday at 6 p.m.

8. Norwell (4-1-1) (South, South Shore League): After going 14-1-3 last regular season, the Clippers lost to Norton in the first round of the Division 2 South sectional. After opening this season with a 3-1 loss at Scituate, the Clippers are unbeaten, taking care of Cohasset, 3-1, Carver, 2-0, Rockland, 2-0, and Abington, 4-0, and tying Harwich, 1-1. They played East Bridgewater yesterday and will Hull Monday for a 7:15 p.m. game and Mashpee Wednesday for a 4 p.m. match.

9. Hingham (4-1-0) (South, Patriot League): The Harbormen’s sole loss thus far came against Sandwich, 3-1. In their other four games, they’re undefeated, with wins over Falmouth, 2-1, Whitman-Hanson, 5-0, North Quincy, 7-0, and Pembroke, 3-0. The Harbormen are led by . They’ll host Hanover at 11 a.m. Saturday and travel to Quincy Monday for a 4 p.m. game, before their big game at home against Duxbury 4 p.m. Wednesday.

10. Pentucket (3-0-0) (North, Cape Ann League): After going 13-3-2 a year ago but , Pentucket has won its first three games by identical 3-0 scores – against Newburyport, Central Catholic and Triton. They went on the road to face Georgetown yesterday, and they’ll be at Ipswich at 3:45 p.m. today before returning home to play Georgetown at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

On the Bubble: North Andover (0-1-2), Scituate (4-1-1), Westwood (3-0-1), Woburn

GIRLS' RANKINGS

DIVISION 1

1. Central Catholic (4-0), n-1 – The defending state champions are undefeated. The team’s averaging five goals a game in its last three matches.

2. Newton North (5-0-1), s-1 – Its only slip up was a 1-1 tie to Walpole. Other than that, Newton North has been solid in three straight road victories – Weymouth (1-0), Newton South (4-0) and Milton (4-1).

3. Lincoln-Sudbury (4-0), n-1 – Has outscored its opponents 19-1 so far this season.

4. Andover (5-0-2), n-1 - An impressive start to the season, but it’ll be tested by Central Catholic twice over the next month.

5. Stoneham (3-0-2), n-1 – While Stoneham isn’t blowing anyone away, it has squeaked out one-goal victories over Belmont and Arlington, while tying Winchester.

6. Lexington (4-1-1), n-1 – The Lady Minuteman suffered a setback to Concord-Carlisle (5-2), but with games against Winchester, Belmont and an improved Arlington team, this will be an interesting week for Lexington.

7. Winchester (4-1-1), n-1 – A victory against Belmont last week proves that the Sachems will again be at or near the top of the Middlesex League.

8. Oliver Ames (5-1), s-1 – Won all five of its home games, but lost 3-2 to a dangerous Arlington team.

9. Concord-Carlisle (4-1), n-1 – An impressive 5-2 victory against Lexington has the team looking strong.

10. Peabody (3-0-2), n-1 – Started the season strong with a 3-2 win over Acton-Boxborough, but two ties in league play have slowed its momentum.

On the Bubble: Arlington, Needham, Dartmouth, Westford, Franklin.

DIVISION 2

1. Medfield (4-0-1), s-2 – Medfield has scored one goal in each of its last three games, but it is still undefeated (2-0-1) during that stretch. The defending state champions are looking to repeat.

2. Canton (6-0), s-2 – After losing to eventual state champ – Medfield – Canton hasn’t lost a game all season.

3. Belmont (2-2-1), n-2 – The defending North Division 2 champions are looking to claim the state title this season.

4. East Bridgewater (6-0), s-2 – After securing the No. 1 seed in last year’s tournament, East Bridgewater suffered an early exit. This season it’s off to a 6-0 start with an impressive 2-1 win over Cardinal Spellman earlier this season.

5. Dedham (4-1), s-2 – After making an impressive run to the South Division 2 semifinals last year, Dedham isn’t surprising anyone this season.

6. Stoneham (3-0-2), n-2 – The Spartans have only played Middlesex League competition so far, but have yet to lose a game. Opening the season with a tie against Winchester was a good start.

7. Danvers (3-1), n-2 – Last year’s North Division 2 runner-up is looking to get back to the championship game. Its only loss this season is a 4-1 setback to defending Division 1 state champion, Central Catholic.

8. Arlington (1-1-1), n-2 – Still early in the season, but after struggling last year, the Spy Ponders brought in a new coach and already have tied Belmont and defeated Oliver Ames, 3-2.

9. Melrose (5-1), n-2 – After failing to make the playoffs a year ago, Melrose is off to a strong start this season.

10. Wilmington (3-1-2), n-2 – Still looking for that premier victory, but Wilmington has tied two of the top teams in the league – Lexington (1-1) and Stoneham (0-0).

On the Bubble: Tewksbury, Old Rochester, Cardinal Spellman

Statistics and results compiled from a variety of media sources, primarily our local Patch.com sites. Click on the links throughout to see the full game recaps.