Final Eastern Mass. Soccer Power Rankings

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.

BOYS’ RANKINGS

DIVISION 1

(North Bracket, South Bracket)

1. (1) Lincoln-Sudbury (14-0-2) (North, Dual County League):
Key Wins: 3-1 and 1-0 Concord-Carlisle (10/1, 9/9)
Key Losses: None
Key Stat: The undefeated Dual County League Large Division champs only have two small blemishes on their record – a scoreless tie against Acton-Boxborough (10/24) and a 1-1 tie at Waltham (9/15).

2. (2) Needham (14-2-3) (South, Bay State Conference):
Key Wins: 1-0 Weymouth (10/20), 3-2 and 1-0 Framingham (10/14, 9/15), 4-3 Walpole (10/4), 2-0 Brookline (9/9)
Key Losses: 2-0 Weymouth (9/23), 4-2 Wellesley (9/15)
Key Stat: The Bay State Conference Carey Division champs ended the season on a six-game winning streak and are 10-0-3 since losing to Weymouth back on Sept. 23.

3. (4) Weymouth (13-4-3) (South, Bay State Conference):
Key Wins: 1-0 Silver Lake (10/22), 1-0 Walpole (10/12), 2-1 Oliver Ames (10/10), 1-0 Brookline (9/26), 2-0 Needham (9/23), 2-0 Wellesley (9/20)
Key Losses: 1-0 Brookline (10/25), 1-0 Needham (10/20), 1-0 Framingham (10/6), 1-0 Braintree (9/28)
Key Stat: The Wildcats have 10 shutouts on the season and are holding opponents to 0.5 goals per game. However, they’ve also been shutout four times, so they’ll need to find their scoring touch to advance deep into the tournament.

4. (3) St. John’s Prep (13-2-3) (North, Catholic Conference):
Key Wins: 1-0 and 7-1 Catholic Memorial (10/13, 9/17), 3-1 Danvers (10/10)
Key Losses: 1-0 BC High (10/15), 2-1 Lynnfield (9/29)
Key Stat: The Catholic Conference champs boast an impressive record but have settled for ties against their tougher competition – 0-0 at Acton-Boxborough (10/26), 1-1 at Weymouth (10/1) and 0-0 at Masconomet (9/8).

5. (5) Silver Lake (12-2-5) (South, Patriot League):
Key Wins: 3-1 Canton (10/26), 2-1 Quincy (10/4), 5-1 Hanover (9/20)
Key Losses: 6-1 Hingham (10/24), 1-0 Weymouth (10/22)
Key Stat: The Lakers don’t have a lot of wins over top teams, but they do have some impressive ties – 1-1 at and 1-1 against Duxbury (10/13, 9/24), 1-1 against Hingham (10/6), 0-0 at Scituate (9/28).

6. (6) Somerville (12-2-4) (North, Greater Boston League):
Key Wins: 1-0 East Boston (10/7), 2-0 Medford (10/5), 5-1 Cambridge (9/21)
Key Losses: 4-1 Medford (9/9)
Key Stat: If Brookline beats Newton North in the preliminary round of the Division 1 North tournament, the Highlanders will get their shot at redemption. They lost to Brookline 1-0 in last year’s Division 1 North semifinals.

7. (7) Nauset (15-3-0) (South, Atlantic Coast League):
Key Wins: 3-1 Barnstable (10/29), 2-1 Sandwich (10/5)
Key Losses: 2-1 Barnstable (9/16), 4-0 Sandwich (9/12), 1-0 New Bedford (9/9)
Key Stat: The Warriors are riding a 13-game winning streak into the playoffs, and they were the only team to beat Sandwich during the regular season.

8. (On the Bubble) Woburn (8-4-6) (North, Middlesex League):
Key Wins: 1-0 Lexington (10/13), 3-1 Reading (10/1), 3-2 Arlington (9/20)
Key Losses: 4-0 Belmont (10/24), 2-0 Winchester (10/21), 1-0 Arlington (10/18), 1-0 Melrose (9/10)
Key Stat: It all depends which Tanners show up during the tournament, the ones that went 7-0-5 in the middle of the season or the ones that went 1-3-0 to finish the season.

9. (8) Masconomet (12-3-3) (North, Cape Ann League):
Key Wins: 2-1 North Andover (10/28), 1-0 Lynnfield (9/27), 4-0 Hamilton-Wenham (9/23), 5-1 Masconomet (9/15)
Key Losses: 3-1 Peabody (10/31), 2-1 Pentucket (10/20), 2-1 Georgetown (10/3)
Key Stat: The Chieftains are averaging 3.1 goals per game and only allowing 0.9 goals per game.

10. (9) Lexington (8-4-5) (North, Middlesex League):
Key Wins: 2-0 and 3-1 Arlington (10/20, 9/23), 2-1 Stoneham (10/10), 2-0 Belmont (10/1), 1-0 Melrose (9/13)
Key Losses: 1-0 Newton North (10/29), 2-1 and 2-0 Winchester (10/24, 9/26), 1-0 Woburn (10/13)
Key Stat: Once our top-ranked team, the Minutemen are limping into the playoffs, as they’re 1-3-2 in their last six games. That being said, they really don’t have any bad losses on the season, and they still should be a threat to make some noise in the tournament.

On the Bubble: Brookline (10-4-4), Chelmsford (10-2-4), Oliver Ames (11-3-3), Lowell (11-3-4), Walpole (12-3-3), Dartmouth (15-2-1)

DIVISION 2

(North Bracket, South Bracket)

1. (1) Sandwich (17-1-0) (South, Atlantic Coast League):
Key Wins: 3-2 and 3-1 Hingham (11/1, 9/19), 4-3 and 2-1 Brockton (10/23, 10/17), 4-0 Nauset (9/12)
Key Losses: 2-1 Nauset (10/5)
Key Stat: The Blue Knights average just under four goals per game and let up less than one goal per game.

2. (2) Winchester (13-2-2) (North, Middlesex League):
Key Wins: 1-0 Arlington (10/26), 2-1 and 2-0 Lexington (10/24, 9/26), 2-0 Woburn (10/21), 1-0 and 2-1 Belmont (10/18, 9/20), 2-1 Melrose (10/4), 1-0 Stoneham (9/7)
Key Losses: 2-0 Cambridge (11/1), 2-0 Arlington (10/1)
Key Stat: The Middlesex League Large Division champs may have more wins over quality teams than any other team in the state.

3. (3) Hingham (13-3-3) (South, Patriot League):
Key Wins: 6-1 Silver Lake (10/24), 1-0 Duxbury (9/28), 4-0 Quincy (9/26), 3-2 Hanover (9/24)
Key Losses: 3-2 and 3-1 Sandwich (11/1, 9/19), 2-0 Duxbury (10/20)
Key Stat: The Harbormen impressively won the Patriot League Keenan Division title over Duxbury and Silver Lake. However, they were an average 2-2-2 in their last six games.

4. (4) Canton (10-1-6) (South, Hockomock League):
Key Wins: 2-0 Oliver Ames (9/24)
Key Losses: 3-1 Silver Lake (10/26)
Key Stat: Assuming they’re good at penalty kicks, the defending Division 2 South champs might be all right. The Bulldogs had only one loss but six ties during the regular season – against Oliver Ames, Sharon (twice), Franklin, King Philip and Duxbury.

5. (7) Concord-Carlisle (10-4-2) (North, Dual County League):
Key Wins: 3-1 and 4-2 Acton-Boxborough (10/20, 9/20), 1-0 and 2-1 Bedford (10/6, 9/13), 4-1 Cambridge (9/17)
Key Losses: 4-0 Newton South (10/24), 3-1 and 1-0 Lincoln-Sudbury (10/1, 9/9), 4-2 Westford (9/28)
Key Stat: The Dual County League Small Division champs are the two-time defending Division 2 state champs.

6. (Unranked) Stoneham (9-2-7) (North, Middlesex League):
Key Wins: 2-1 Arlington (9/14)
Key Losses: 2-1 Lexington (10/10), 1-0 Winchester (9/7)
Key Stat: The Middlesex League Small Division champs have some impressive ties – against Woburn (twice), Melrose and Belmont.

7. (5) Hopkinton (15-2-1) (South, Tri-Valley League):
Key Wins: 2-1 and 3-1 Westwood (10/28, 9/30), 3-0 and 2-1 Holliston (10/17, 9/16)
Key Losses: 3-0 and 3-0 Dover-Sherborn (10/5, 9/22)
Key Stat: Only two losses to defending Division 3 state champ Dover-Sherborn stood between the Hillers and an undefeated season.

8. (6) North Andover (11-3-3) (North, Cape Ann League):
Key Wins: 4-2 Pentucket (9/30), 2-1 Lynnfield (9/23)
Key Losses: 2-1 Masconomet (10/28), 1-0 Georgetown (10/21), 2-0 Salem (9/14)
Key Stat: The Scarlet Knights won 10 games in a row from Sept. 23 to Oct. 17.

9. (8) Duxbury (10-4-4) (South, Patriot League):
Key Wins: 2-0 Hingham (10/20), 4-0 Scituate (9/20), 3-0 Quincy (9/13)
Key Losses: 2-1 Marshfield (10/15), 5-1 Hanover (10/4), 1-0 Hingham (9/28), 1-0 Marshfield (9/9)
Key Stat: The Green Dragons have some quality ties – against Franklin, Silver Lake (twice) and Canton. However, they’ll need more than ties to advance deep into the tournament.

10. (Unranked) Danvers (14-2-2) (North, Northeastern Conference):
Key Wins: 1-0 Swampscott (10/28), 4-2 and 6-0 Peabody (10/20, 9/26), 1-0 Salem (9/22)
Key Losses: 3-1 St. John’s Prep (10/10), 5-1 Masconomet (9/15)
Key Stat: The Northeastern Conference North Division champs won seven games in a row early in the season and then closed the year 3-1-3.

On the Bubble: Salem (13-3-2), Pentucket (11-4-2), Melrose 9-5-3), Norwell (12-3-3), Dracut (8-3-5), Scituate (10-3-4)

GIRLS’ RANKINGS

DIVISION 1

(North Bracket, South Bracket)

1. (1) Andover (14-0-3), (North, Merrimack Valley):

Key Wins: 3-0 Danvers (10/22), 1-0 Central Catholic (9/22), 4-0 Winchester (9/17)

Key Losses: None

Key Stat: The undefeated Merrimack Valley champs only have three small blemishes on their record – 1-1 ties against Central Catholic and Chelmsford and a scoreless tie against Westford. Andover has only allowed five goals all season.

2. (2) Bishop Feehan (16-0-1), (Eastern Athletic Conference):

Key Wins: 3-1 Canton (11/22)

Key Losses: None

Key Stat: The Eastern Athletic Conference winner has only lost one regular season game in the last two years.

3. (3) Lexington (13-1-3), (North, Middlesex):

Key Wins: 2-0 Central Catholic (11/2), 4-0 Belmont (10/26), 1-0 and 3-1 Winchester (10/24, 9/26) 

Key Losses: 5-2 Concord-Carlisle (9/17)

Key Stat: The Middlesex League champs have not lost a game in its last 13 matches (11-0-2). Lexington also won its last four games (Arlington, Belmont, Winchester and Central Catholic), outscoring its opponents 12-1.

4. (4) Peabody (16-0-2), (North, Northeastern):

Key Wins: 4-1 Danvers (10/21, 9/26)

Key Losses: None

Key Stat: If all goes according to seeding, No. 1 Peabody will have to play No. 16 Westford Academy in the first round of the MIAA North Division 1 Tournament. Westford eliminated Peabody in the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament on its way to the North Division 1 championship game.  

5. (5) Lincoln-Sudbury (16-1), (North, Dual County):

Key Wins: 3-2, 4-1 Concord-Carlisle (10/12, 9/10)

Key Losses: 3-0 Acton-Boxborough (10/24)

Key Stat: After finishing last year at 6-6-4 and the 22nd seed in the Division 1 North tournament, Lincoln-Sudbury has won 16 games this season, allowing three goals all year en route to the No. 2 seed.

6. (7) Oliver Ames (13-2-3), (South, Hockomock):

Key Wins: 2-1 Franklin (9/19)

Key Losses: 3-0 Canton (9/23), 3-2 Arlington (9/17)

Key Stat: If Oliver Ames wants to win the Division 1 South title, it will have similar competition it had in last year’s tournament. Last season, Oliver Ames defeated Falmouth before losing to Bishop Feehan in the semifinals. Both teams look to be in Oliver Ames’ path again this year.

7. Concord-Carlisle (13-4), (Dual County):

Key Wins: 5-2 Lexington (9/17)

Key Losses: 4-0 Acton-Boxboro (10/22), 3-2, 4-1, Lincoln-Sudbury (10-12, 9-10)

Key Stat: It’s going to be a challenge for Concord-Carlisle to get past the quarterfinals this year. The Patriots open the tournament against Central Catholic (12-3-2). A win would see Concord-Carlisle play Peabody (16-0-2), before a possible match against either Lexington (14-1-3), Winchester (11-3-4) or Brighton (16-2).

8. (on the bubble) Franklin (12-2-4), (South, Hockomock):

Key Wins: 1-1 Mansfield (10/25, 9/27)

Key Losses: 2-1 Canton (11/1), 2-1 Oliver Ames (9/19)

Key Stat: We could see a rematch of last year’s South Division 1 Championship game a little earlier than expected. Franklin is on pace to play Bishop Feehan in the quarterfinals, assuming both teams win their favored matchup.

9. (8) Central Catholic (12-3-2), (North, Merrimack Valley):

Key Wins: 1-0 Tewksbury (10/6), 4-1 Danvers (9/15)

Key Losses: 2-0 Lexington (11/1), 2-1 Winchester (10/15), 1-0 Andover (9/22)

Key Stat: It’s going to be tough for Central Catholic to repeat as state champs. It opens the tournament against Concord-Carlisle (13-4) and follows that up with a game against Peabody (16-0-2). And that’s just to get to the semifinals of the North Division 1 tournament.

10. (8) Winchester (11-3-4), (North, Middlesex):

Key Wins: 2-1 Central Catholic (10/15)

Key Losses: 1-0, 3-1 Lexington (10/24, 9/26), 4-0 Andover (9/17)

Key Stat: Third time’s the charm? Well, Winchester hopes so. The Lady Sachems open the North Division 1 tournament by travelling to play Lexington – a team that has beaten Winchester twice already this year.

On the Bubble: Newton North, Dartmouth, Wellesley.

DIVISION 2

(North Bracket, South Bracket)

1. (2) Medfield (14-0-4), (South, Tri-Valley):

Key Wins: 2-0 Medway (10/17)

Key Losses: None

Key Stat: The defending state champs find itself in a similar position to last year – No. 2 seed with its first game against Hopkinton.

2. (1) Canton (14-1-2), (South, Hockomock):

Key Wins: 2-1 Franklin (11/1), 3-0 Oliver Ames (9/23)

Key Losses: 3-1 Bishop Feehan (11-2)

Key Stat: Canton played five Division 1 teams that had combined to lose four games all season. Canton went 2-1-2 in those games, handing those three teams (Feehan, Franklin and Oliver Ames) half of their losses.

3. (4) Cardinal Spellman (17-2-1), (South, Catholic Central):

Key Wins: 2-1 Brockton (11-1), 2-0 East Bridgewater (10/15)

Key Losses: 3-1 Brockton (10-7), 2-1 East Bridgewater (9/16)

Key Stat: Spellman has allowed more than two goals three times all season, two came in losses against Bridgewater and Brockton.

4. (3) East Bridgewater (16-1-1), (South, South Shore):

Key Wins: 2-1 Cardinal Spellman (9/16)

Key Losses: 2-0 Cardinal Spellman (10/15)

Key Stat: Look familiar? This is the second year in a row East Bridgewater was awarded the top see in the South Division 2 tournament. Last year, the team lost in the first round to Ashland (2-0)

5. (5) Duxbury, (12-2-4), (South, Patriot):

Key Wins: 3-0 Scituate (9/20)

Key Losses: 3-1 Whitman-Hanson (10/24), 4-3 Canton (9/7)

Key Stat: The defending South Division 2 state champs finished third in a league where the top two teams play in the Division 1 tournament.

6. (6) Dedham (15-3-2), (South, Bay Patriot):

Key Wins: 1-0 Wellesley (9/9)

Key Losses: 1-0 Newton North (10/12), 1-0 Wellesley (10/6), 3-1 Weymouth (9/13)

Key Stat: All three of Dedham’s losses came against Division 1 schools, two of which (Wellesley and Weymouth) are in the South Division 1 tournament.

7. (10) Stoneham (5) (9-1-5), (North, Middlesex):

Key Wins: 2-1 Wilmington (10/17), 2-1 Belmont (9/10)

Key Losses: 1-0 Wakefield (10/26)

Key Stat: In eight of its last 10 games Stoneham has allowed at least one goal. The team is 6-1-3 over that stretch.

8. (7) Newburyport (13-2-3), (North, Cape Ann):

Key Wins: 1-0 Tewksbury (9/17)

Key Losses: 1-0 Amesbury (9/21)

Key Stat: For the second straight year Newburyport is on course to play Belmont for a right to advance to the North Division 2 semifinals. Belmont won last year’s match, 1-0.

9. (Unranked) Wilmington (10-4-4), (North, Middlesex):

Key Wins: 1-0, 2-1 Melrose (10/20, 9/23)

Key Losses: 2-1 Stoneham (10/17), 3-0 Winchester (10/10)

Key Stat: After failing to make the tournament last year, Wilmington will be the No. 6 seed and play No. 11 Arlington. The two teams tied 1-1 earlier this year.

10. (9) Belmont (9-4-3), (North, Middlesex):

Key Wins: 1-0 Arlington (10/13), 1-0 Wilmington (10/4)

Key Losses: 4-0, 2-0 Lexington (10/26, 10/21), 1-0 Winchester (9/20), 2-1 Stoneham (9/10)

Key Stat: Three of Belmont’s losses were to Winchester and Lexington – two of the top teams in the Division 1 tournament.

On the Bubble: Old Rochester, Hingham, Dracut, Saugus, Danvers

Statistics and results compiled from a variety of media sources, primarily our local Patch.com sites and the Boston.com standings (boys) (girls).