By Craig Forde, Globe Correspondent

The MIAA has released the pairings for this year’s boys’ soccer tournament and once again we are in for a thrilling couple of weeks of top-notch action on the pitch, crowning three new Eastern Mass champions on the way to the state championships. Below is a glimpse into how things may shake out in each of the six sectionals. Please keep in mind that last year we didn’t even have Division 1 EMass champion Masconomet in our Top 20 poll heading into the tourney, so take it all with a grain of salt and feel free to post your own predictions.

DIVISION 1 NORTH:

This sectional boasts defending EMass champion and current No. 1 Masconomet, and is very top heavy with the likes of No. 2 Somerville, No. 3 St. John’s Prep and No. 6 Acton-Boxborough standing out as favorites here.

Best first round matchup: Framingham at St. John’s Prep - Framingham heads to Danvers on Saturday to face off against No. 3 St. John’s Prep. The Eagles stumbled slightly down the stretch, catching two draws over their last three games. The Flyers are always battle-tested come tourney time thanks to their brutal Bay State schedule and have tied No. 5 Needham, 2-2, early in the season and beat No. 11 Wellesley last week.

Finals prediction: Masconomet and Somerville – The two favorites should make it through for a heavyweight collision into the finals.

Sleeper: Chelsea – They are quick, skilled and underrated and despite not losing all season long they have garnered little-to-no fanfare.

DIVISION 1 SOUTH

This sectional is as loaded as it gets. With 25 teams in the mix, it will be a free-for-all, so expect some big teams to get knocked off early. Fourth-ranked Needham and fifth-ranked Weymouth have been top-five teams all season long, but No. 7 New Bedford, No. 12 BC High and No. 16 Nauset are all on the verge. Then there are the Oliver Ames's of the world who bring with them one of the best goalies around as David MacKinnon brings in an EMass best 0.17 goalies against average.

Best first-round matchup: Wellesley at Nauset – If the Raiders can get by preliminary opponent King Phillip, it would set up a solid first round bout with Nauset and Cody Savonen, a scoring machine looking to make a mark in his final season.

Finals prediction: Needham and Weymouth – The Rockets took the season series 1-0-1, but of course things were only decided by one goal. These Bay State behemoths would provide a must-see class in this final.

Sleeper: Silver Lake – The Patriot League Keenan division champions had an impressive closing stretch against ranked teams where they tied St. John’s Prep and Dartmouth and defeated Hingham.

DIVISION 2 NORTH

Concord-Carlisle will be looking for a stunning fourth straight D2 North crown and they hope it will lead to their third state title in four years. It won’t be easy and of course it never is. Teams primed to knock the Patriots off of their perch include No. 18 Pentucket and No. 8 North Andover.

Best first-round matchup: Salem at Lynn Classic - Although Lynn Classical just took down Salem, 4-1, last Thursday, you can always expect the best when two teams from the same league make it a one-and-done deal. These two Northeastern League Large foes will get Manning Field ready for what is always a very busy postseason.

Finals prediction: Concord-Carlisle and Winchester – A rematch of last year’s D2 North semifinal that saw the Patriots escape with a 2-1 win.

Sleeper: Wilmington – Just like his Division 2 state champion hockey team, coach Steve Scanlon will have his Wildcats ready to execute their game plan.

DIVISION 2 SOUTH

It’s the anti-Division 1 North with regards to the team powers that you we may be used to. But don’t for a second take this division and section lightly. There are plenty of teams in this one who may not have had the regular season success that they are used to, but tougher schedules make these contenders strong. See Canton, Milton, Hingham, Holliston, Norton, and Duxbury.

Best first-round matchup: Medfield at Westwood – The Lis brothers (Olek and Seb) will look to defend home turf for the Warriors, but Tri-Valley rival Medfield tied Westwood, 0-0, early in the season and defeated them, 1-0, on October 23rd.

Finals prediction: Hingham and Holliston – The H’s have it in Division 2 South.

Sleeper: Martha’s Vineyard – Opponents should not dismiss the Vineyarders because of their commute. It gives them more time to hammer out their game plan!

DIVISION 3 NORTH

This sectional is maybe the most up-for-grabs in the North. Matignon is poised to push things past their quarterfinals appearance last year, while St. Mary’s wants to catch at least one more win than a year ago to put themselves in position for a D3 North title. Of course you can never count out the ports, as Newburyport and Rockport are always forces to watch in this region.

Best first-round matchup: Georgetown at Watertown – The defending EMass champion Royals have to make the long trek to Watertown to try to defend their title, which won’t come easy with a scrappy Red Raiders team first on the docket.

Finals prediction: Rockport and Matignon – Two years ago the Warriors didn’t even make the postseason, but over the last two seasons coach Michael Haynes has gotten the best of his bunch and now they are serious contenders. The Vikings boast Cape Ann goal scoring leader Conor Douglass (24) who alongside Shaun Aspesi (18 goals) make a lethal scoring combo.

Sleeper: Bishop Fenwick – They have tied (0-0) and beat (1-0) preliminary round opponent Austin Prep and if they get by them it will set up a first round matchup with St. Mary’s, whom the Crusaders defeated, 2-1, in mid-October.

DIVISION 3 SOUTH
This sectional is filled with all sorts of gems that have yet to be admired. From Seekonk to Bourne to Coyle & Cassidy. This region could find some new blood to represent them in the EMass final. Of course, last year’s sectional finalists Cardinal Spellman and Dover Sherborn lurk in the depths of the low seeds, waiting to strike.

Best first-round matchup: Cardinal Spellman at Mashpee – The Cardinals must first take out Holbrook in the prelims, but if they do, they will post a massive threat for Mashpee in round one.

Finals prediction: Nantucket and Mashpee – The Cape and Island teams are a lot stronger this year than in year’s past and these two teams will prove it.

Sleeper: Bourne – The leadership of 30-goal scorer Jack Canterbury can be enough to carry the Canalmen at times.

Best of luck to all the teams who have made it this far. The road to the hardware will be a tough one, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

By Mary Pavlu, Globe Correspondent

On the day of Wellesley varsity basketball team’s final game of the season in February 2011, coach Paul “Wally” Seaver was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“It’s a progressive disease, there’s no cure, and barely any treatment,” Seaver’s eldest son, also Paul, said. “For 95 percent of treatments, they don’t even know what caused it.”

In honor of his father’s fight against the disease, Seaver’s eldest son will be running the first annual high school basketball tournament, titled the “Wally” Seaver High School Invitational. The two-day tournament consisting of 16 teams will take place at Milford High School and Milford Middle School East on Saturday July 21 and Sunday July 22.

The 16 teams in the tournament are from Massachusetts, with the exception of one from Connecticut, and one from Rhode Island.

“It’s a life-changing situation, but the community has been great,” Paul Seaver said. “We’ve received tons of support, especially from Milford, but everywhere … We have 16 teams coming in.”

"Wally" Seaver coached varsity basketball at Franklin and Wellesley high schools, and coached youth teams for Milford. Seaver’s sons Paul and Daniel are also Milford High graduates.

For donations or more information on the invitational, contact Paul Seaver at wallyinvitational@gmail.com.

Tournament Schedule:

Group A (all games at Milford High School): Milford, Hopedale, Rocky Hill (CT,) Dedham

Group B (all games at Middle School East): Wellesley, Sutton, Ashland, Lunenburg

Group C (all games at Milford High School): Franklin, Uxbridge, Framingham, Mount St. Charles (RI)

Group D (all games at Middle School East): Wachusett, Canton, Brookline, BMR

Saturday, July 21:
8 a.m.: Franklin vs. Uxbridge (Milford High School)
8 a.m.: Sutton vs. Ashland (Middle School East)
9 a.m.: Milford vs. Dedham (Milford High School)
9 a.m.: Wellesley vs. Lunenburg (Middle School East)
10 a.m.: Rocky Hill vs. Hopedale (Milford High School)
10 a.m.: BMR vs. Wachusett (Middle School East)
11 a.m.: Franklin vs. Framingham (Milford High School)
11 a.m.: Lunenburg vs. Ashland (Middle School East)
Noon: Rocky Hill vs. Dedham (Milford High School)
Noon: Canton vs. Brookline (Middle School East)
1 p.m.: Framingham vs. Mount St. Charles (Milford High School)
1 p.m.: Wellesley vs. Sutton (Middle School East)
2 p.m.: Milford vs. Hopedale (Milford High School)
2 p.m.: Wachusett vs. Canton (Middle School East)
3 p.m.: Uxbridge vs. Mount St. Charles (Milford High School)
3 p.m.: Brookline vs. BMR (Middle School East)

Sunday, July 22:
8 a.m.: Franklin vs. Mount St. Charles (Milford High School)
8 a.m.: Wellesley vs. Ashland (Middle School East)
9 a.m.: Framingham vs. Uxbridge (Milford High School)
9 a.m.: BMR vs. Canton (Middle School East)
10 a.m.: Milford vs. Rocky Hill (Milford High School)
10 a.m.: Wachusett vs. Brookline (Middle School East)
11 a.m.: Hopedale vs. Dedham (Milford High School)
11 a.m.: Lunenburg vs. Sutton (Middle School East)

Semifinal Round
12:30PM: Group A Champion vs. Group C Champion (Milford High School)
12:30PM: Group B Champion vs. Group D Champion (Middle School East)

Championship Round
2:15PM: Winner of Group A/Group C vs. Winner of Group B/Group D

Pavel Dzemianok for the Boston Globe

The high school boys got off to a fast start in the Boston Athletic Association Scholastic Invitational Mile on Sunday morning.

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

Ben Groleau is hitting .500 lifetime at the boys’ Boston Athletic Association Scholastic Invitational Mile.

Running the race — which loops around Boylston and Newbury Streets before finishing on the Boston Marathon’s finish line — Sunday morning for the fourth straight year, the Framingham High senior had a winning time of 4 minutes, 27.2 seconds. The race features two athletes from each city or town along the Boston Marathon course.

“That was rough,” said Groleau, who also won the race as a sophomore. “Coming into it I knew it was going to be a hard field, I knew I was going to have to take it out early, but man I didn’t know I had [that kind of kick] in me. I’m excited. I guess experience paid off a lot.”

Groleau said he was surprised to win by such a large margin. Justin Keefe from Newton North (4:39.7) finished second and Tim Bolick of Hopkinton (4:40.4) was third.

“You can’t get caught up behind anyone right off the bat,” Groleau said when asked about what he’s learned from running the race in the past. “On a course with this many turns, you get boxed in way too much on the corners so you have to take it out. I knew that going in, so I jumped in front at the beginning of the race and I figured I’d let those guys figure it out.”

In the girls’ race, Newton North sophomore, Evelyn Heffernan, won with a time of 5:23.1. Shelby Aarden (5:24) of Hopkinton was second and Melissa Lodge (5:24.8), also of Hopkinton, third.

“It was great,” Heffernan said. “The crowd is incredible and they are really helpful. There are people all around and they just push you through the whole thing and it’s great.”

A freshman, Aarden was running the race for the first time.

“I was trying to keep up with the leaders,” Aarden said. “At the end I had some more energy so I went ahead, I passed one or two in the final 100 yards.”

The morning also featured a boys’ and girls’ middle school 1-kilometer race. Zachary O'Leary of Ashland won the boys’ race in 2:54.5, ahead of John Lara of Boston (3:00) and Thomas D’Anieri of Wellesley. Leah Metzger of Newton won the girls' race in 3:35.9, ahead of Piper Higgins of Wellesley (3:43.3) and Nicole Anselmo of Natick (3:44.5).

“I was really nervous so I just decided to go out and have fun,” Metzger said.

O’Leary said, “John Lara caught me at the end of the first lap; I had to pump through it. I couldn’t feel my legs. The first lap I had to pump it. Then I said to myself ‘I have to kick it in.’

"I can't feel my legs right now but it was worth it."

In the high school boys’ race, Newton North’s Keefe didn’t have enough kick to eclipse Groleau. Keefe was running the race for the first time.

“I was hoping for the win but what can I say, he has the most experience,” Keefe said of Groleau. “He’s a strong kid. I’ll get him later in the season.”

Justin A. Rice can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

Westwood's Wolverines celebrated their state championship in 2011. The defending champions come back as the No. 2 team in the Globe Top 20. (Mark Wilson / For the Boston Globe)

By Ryan Mooney, Globe Correspondent

The first thing one might question upon first glance at the Boston Globe girls lacrosse Top 20 is the placement of Westwood.

Some will wonder why the Lady Wolverines are in the No. 2 slot instead of at the top, while others wonder why they are ranked second and not further back. So let’s just lay out the facts, because they speak for themselves.

Westwood only has five returning starters. Of them, three are seniors. All three of those seniors -- Kate Rich, Laura McHoul, and three-year starting goaltender Mollie Brown -- are committed to play lacrosse in college. Brown will play at Plymouth State, but Rich (Boston College) and McHoul (UNH) are headed for Division 1. They will give opponents headaches all season. The Lady Wolverines are also the defending Division 1 champions, and coach Leslie Frank has been fielding the most successful team in the state for the last decade.

Is Westwood a serious contender for the Division 1 title? Absolutely. The only thing that keeps them out of the top spot on this list is that they lost to Lincoln-Sudbury. The Warriors are expected to run away with Dual County League and contend for the Division 1 title, and they have already made a case for themselves by taking down Westwood in the season opener. Right now, they are the top team in the state.

Andover held off No. 9 Framingham on Wednesday to improve to 2-0, and is a serious threat in the North. Notre Dame has 10 returning starters and is currently unbeaten at 4-0. Hopkinton returns nine starters, and has a real chance to repeat in Division 2, which rounds out the top 5.

More than one Division 1 coach has stated how dangerous Needham looked throughout the preseason, and the Rockets won handily to open their season.

See the full Globe girls lacrosse Top 20.

By Lorenzo Recupero, Globe Correspondent

After 19 years of coaching, Mike Tarlin has decided to step down as varsity boys' basketball coach at Framingham High, citing a combination of family matters and teaching English at the school as reasons for his resignation.

Former Wellesley High basketball standout and assistant coach Adam Cluff was named as Tarlin's replacement.

Tarlin, who also coached seven seasons as a junior varsity assistant at Needham High, had his best season in 2008, when the Flyers made the semifinals of the Division 1 South sectionals before being ousted by Brockton. Framingham was 16-7 that year.

Cluff, a three-time Bay State league all-star while at Wellesley High, is excited to take on the task as he gets set to started on the first head coaching position of his career. He spent nine seasons as an assistant.

"I've been working toward this for some time, and I know there's a great deal of potential at Framingham," Cluff said. "Framingham has had a few tough seasons of late, but the infastructure is in place to turn things around".

Cluff's outlook on the season is promising.

"I just think any time there's a coaching change there's going to be a lot of optimism," Cluff said. "I'm going to build off that."

Highlights from the Tri-Valley League playoffs, Xaverian's shut out of BC High, North Andover's win over Wilmington, Walpole-Framingham and Brighton-Latin Academy. Plus, a look ahead with the Globe's Bob Holmes and our game of the week: Lawrence Academy vs. BB&N.

See past episodes of The Huddle at http://www.boston.com/huddle.

Subscribe to The Huddle via iTunes. (There's an audio version on iTunes too!) You can also submit or view submitted videos on Boston.com. Check it out.

High school soccer is about two weeks into the 2010 season and we’re already getting signs that this year might be unpredictable.

With the first round of standings set to be posted on Sunday (and with it a fresh Top 20), there are few things worth talking about before then.

I don’t think Catholic Memorial coach John Finn is too surprised, but the defending Division 1 state champs are struggling. The Knights had to settle with a tie against Billerica and St. John’s Prep, and fell victim to an emerging BC High squad in a 1-0 loss.

I thought knocking them down to No. 5 in the first set of rankings was low enough, but sadly for Finn and his team, the loss of five Division 1 college athletes might be too much to replace. The season is still early though, and anything can happen in the playoffs, as they proved last year.

Lexington was nothing but dominant in its first three games, scoring 13 goals. Alex Herbert had seven of them. And while the Minutemen tied Winchester, 2-2, in a recent Middlesex League matchup, that might be more of a testament to the Sachems’ strength than anything else. Winchester has also beaten Reading and Stoneham and might give Lexington a run for the league title.

Lincoln-Sudbury might struggle a little bit more than anticipated without the majority of the defensive unit and the goalkeeper from last year’s squad. The offensive shouldn’t have trouble, but the Warriors might have a hard time posting any clean sheets. They dropped a 1-0 game to last year’s D3 champs, Weston last week.

Masconomet has maintained a perfect record after two dramatic come-from-behind wins within two days of each other. The Chieftains fought back against Danvers last Wednesday to win 2-1 and then barely escaped North Andover, 3-2, on Friday.

Framingham appears to be struggling in a big way. The Flyers were expected to see a regression after graduating a core of last year’s 16-2-3 squad, but I don’t think anyone saw this coming. They are 0-1-3 after their first four games and have scored just once.

Be sure to check back on Monday as a new Top 20 will be posted as well as a weekly notebook. And feel free to send me feedback or story ideas at jmastrodonato@globe.com.

Division 1A: Westford Aims to Continue Success

At the beginning of each season it is a safe bet to assume Acton-Boxboro and Lincoln-Sudbury would duke it out for the Dual County (Large) title.

However, last season another player entered the ring. Westford swooped in and won the league title and nearly pulled off an upset of Gloucester in the first round of the MIAA playoffs.

This season, the Grey Ghosts expect to be back in the hunt for a DCL (Large) title.
The Grey Ghosts return a handful of offensive weapons from last year’s squad that averaged more than 30 points per game. Patrick Dugan returns at quarterback. He threw for 25 touchdowns last season. 17 of those touchdowns went to Mark Cornelius, who is also returning. Mark Hennessy and Zach Ingalls return in the backfield. The two combined for 1700 rushing yards a year ago.

“It’s not just talent that is coming back but also a lot of leadership,” said coach Rich McKenna.

Elsewhere in Division 1A, Gloucester looks to be the favorite again in the Northeastern (Large) Conference. Nipping at its heels are Lynn English and its high-flying offense and Lynn Classical.

In the Bay State Carey, Weymouth and Framingham lead the pack. In the Old Colony League, the race is a toss up between Taunton, Bridgewater-Raynham and Barnstable.

FULL ENTRY

By Lizzy Snell, Globe Correspondent

Far be it of a state final to end without some theatrics.

With 15 seconds left in the Division 1 girls lacrosse state title game, Longmeadow senior Paige Cuscovitch scored a goal to tie Framingham 7-7. However, what looked like a game heading into overtime ended with Framingham celebrating an 8-7 win over their opponents as senior Tanner Guarino scored with one second remaining in the fourth quarter.

Framingham senior Moira Barry had four goals in the game.

Rose Lincoln / For the Globe

The girls' lacrosse pairings were announced Thursday and the new power-ranking system to determine seeds produced familiar results, with one surprise. Westwood, Winchester, Framingham and Norwell earned the No. 1 seeds, but in Division 1 South, Franklin (17-1) was a surprising No. 2 seed, ahead of Wellesley (16-1-2). The Panthers have only played four teams with a winning record this month, while Wellesley lost to unbeaten defending state champion Westwood, 16-15, on Tuesday. Franklin's lone loss was to Division 2 Hopkinton, a school that had four losses this spring. In Laxpower.com's power ratings, Wellesley is ranked 5th, Franklin 9th. But that aside, teams will decide on the field just who deserves the seeds. Franklin and Wellesley could meet in the South semifinals. Preliminary round play begins Saturday.

For the girls lacrosse seedings, click here.

By Charlie Peters, Globe Correspondent

Following a week full of upsets and Top 20 matchups, this week’s Globe Top 20 is very different from last week’s list. After the top three teams (No. 1 Westwood, No. 2 Wellesley and No. 3 Framingham), only one squad (No. 6 Triton) stayed put and the Top 20 plays host to five new teams.

Lincoln-Sudbury is one of those new teams as the Warriors jump from unranked to No. 11. After handing Acton-Boxboro its only loss of the season April 29, the 9-2 Warriors made the leap by blowing out Arlington at home and Wayland on the road this week. Lincoln-Sudbury can prove they belong with a strong performance against Westwood Monday afternoon.

Needham also found itself in the Top 20 for the first time this season following a 3-0 week that included a victory over a tough Braintree team. The Rockets four losses this season were to the top three teams and No. 9 Acton-Boxboro, giving them big-game experience that will serve them well come playoff time.

Scituate, Danvers and Notre Dame of Hingham are the final three teams that entered into this week’s Top 20 rankings. No. 15 Scituate downed three teams with winning records this week, No. 16 Danvers snuck in based on their season-long body of work and Notre Dame of Hingham earned a No. 19 ranking after going 1-1-1 against teams with a combined 27-7 record.