Check out tonight’s scores here, and read about all of Tuesday’s action:
1. Soccer finals breakdown
The fan buses will likely be packed as they pull out of Duxbury and Natick on Saturday, both of which qualified their boys’ and girls’ teams. Natick will play in back-to-back Division 1 finals on Saturday morning at Doyle Field, followed by a Division 2 Duxbury doubleheader.
Of the 20 teams remaining, 16 were seeded in the top four, the exceptions being sixth-seeded Franklin in the Division 1 girls’ final, sixth-seeded Littleton in the D4 girls’ championship, fifth-seeded Rockland in D4 boys, and the only double-digit seed remaining, No. 11 West Springfield, in the D2 boys’ final. There are six No. 2 seeds still dancing, five No. 1s, four No. 4s, and just one No. 3, Hull girls.
Division 1 boys: Top-seeded St. John’s Prep is back in the final for the first time since winning it all in 2022, and it faces No. 2 Natick, which is aiming for its first title. This is one of four No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups, along with D2 girls, D3 girls, and D5 boys.
D1 girls: The Natick girls, however, won it all in 2021 and 2023, and are hoping to add a third odd-year title as they take on Franklin, which is making its first final appearance since winning it all in 2012. Natick and Franklin drew, 3-3, in the regular season.
D2 boys: Duxbury, the No. 4 seed, is in the final a year after losing in the preliminary round, while No. 11 West Springfield, easily the lowest seed remaining, is looking to win its fifth title, and first since 2021.
D2 girls: Top-seeded Duxbury, which lost in last year’s final to Masconomet, took the Chieftains out in the semifinals and now face first-time finalist No. 2 Longmeadow.
D3 boys: Like the Natick girls, the second-seeded Norwell boys captured crowns in 2021 and 2023, setting up an odd-numbered pattern that No. 4 Greater New Bedford, playing in its first final since 1999 but without a state title, is hoping to break.
D3 girls: It’s a rematch of last year’s final, which was won, 1-0, by Nipmuc. This year, Medfield, which hasn’t won it all since 2010, is the top seed and has cruised through the first four rounds (28-2 total score), while undefeated No. 2 Nipmuc eyes its fifth title since 2005.
D4 boys: Fifth-seeded Rockland eyes its first title since 1985, which came in D2, against a second-seeded Bromfield team that captured five straight titles from 2017-22 (no championship was held in 2020), the last two of which came in D5 before a move back up to D4.
D4 girls: Top-seeded Sutton is headed to its fifth straight final, and a win would extend its own record most consecutive girls’ championships, while No. 6 Littleton makes its debut in the title game.
D5 boys: No Boston City League team has ever won a boys’ state soccer title, and top-seeded Boston International, which was DQed from last year’s tournament after a quarterfinal win, is hoping to be the first. Dearborn nearly pulled it off last year, but lost to Sutton on PKs. No. 6 Hopedale is in its first final.
D5 girls: Fourth-seeded Monson is looking for its second title in three years after claiming the 2023 championship, while No. 3 Hull returns to the final after losing, 1-0, to Douglas last year.
Debuting Wednesday will be Varsity News, a weekly newsletter written by yours truly (Brendan Kurie) that will hit your inbox every Wednesday, recapping the week that was with all the highlights, results, and trends, while also previewing the week ahead. Think of it as a big-picture weekly Takeaways for your inbox.
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▪ The Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association announced its 2026 Hall of Fame class: Dave MacLaughlan (Greater Lowell), Billy O’Connell (Braintree), Kevin Stannard (Taconic), and Jim Woods (Granby).
The ceremony will be held Jan. 24 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and the banquet starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased here. Children and HOF member tickets are $30.
▪ Phillips Andover baseball coach Kevin Graber will serve as dugout manager for the Lowell Spinners in the Futures League, in addition to his prep coaching duties. Graber returned to PA last year after a two-year stint with the Cubs. He led the Big Blue to five CNEPSBL championships between 2012-22.
▪ The United Soccer Coaches have named Oliver Ames’s John Barata and Norwell’s Michael O’Dea as the Massachusetts large and small school boys Coaches of the Year, respectively.
▪ Taunton junior catcher Aniyah Bailey announced she will play softball at UMass. The three-time Division 1 state champion, who plays club for New England Fury Platinum 18U Roumelis, led the Tigers in batting average (.525), on-base percentage (.554), doubles (8), home runs (10), and RBIs (58). The last two seasons she caught for Cate Larson, now at Georgetown, and Sam Lincoln, now at Texas Tech.
▪ North Andover held a signing ceremony for its 10 college-bound senior athletes: Ethan Ackerman-Vallala (swimming, Providence), Sofia Bea (field hockey and track, St. Joseph’s), Matt Donovan (lacrosse, Roger Williams), Tommy Farrell (lacrosse, Fairfield), Nicolas Flores Quero Llamas (cross-country and track, Merrimack), Elle Gordon (field hockey, Bates), Kylie Kean (lacrosse, Vassar), Maggie Murphy (lacrosse, Colby-Sawyer), Chase Seidel (lacrosse, Plymouth State), and Whitney Smith (track, Trinity).
▪ UMass Dartmouth freshman Aleek Kuot, a Beverly graduate, was named to the Little East Conference volleyball second team. The middle blocker recorded 160 kills with 39 digs and 18 aces, finishing second on the team in total blocks with 65. Corsairs junior Maddie Carter, also a Beverly graduate, was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
▪ Connecticut College sophomore Carrick Shea, a Grafton graduate, was named NESCAC men’s swimming Performer of the Week after posting lifetime bests in the 50-yard freestyle (20.59) and 100 freestyle (45.78) to lead the Camels to a 213-71 victory over Middlebury.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
