By Craig Forde, Globe Correspondent

There was no doubt that Needham would finish atop the Globe's final Top 20 of the season after capturing the Division 1 state title. They hovered in the Top 5 all season long, but never made it to the top spot until now ... when it matters the most.

The rest of the top five are the same teams as the last two polls leading up to the tourney, with a few minor adjustments. Somerville proved its worth and finished No. 2 overall, having suffered its only defeat of the season to the top-ranked Rockets in the Division 1 EMass final.

Ranked in the top spot for much of the season, Masconomet slips to the fifth spot after catching its only loss of the season in the Div. 1 North semifinals against No. 3 St. John’s Prep, who quite possibly boasted the best defense in the state.

The final Top 20 also includes five teams that were not on the poll heading into the postseason. Of course No. 6 Medway headlines the big movers after the team's spectacular run to a Division 2 EMass title.

No. 13 Dartmouth returned to the Top 20 after slipping off for one week and No. 15 Watertown, No. 16 Holliston and No. 18 Madison Park all debut at the right time.

See the final Boston Globe boys' soccer Top 20.

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 Gabe Souza, Globe Correspondent

WORCESTER – Whitinsville Christian coach Jeffrey Bajema normally has his team run a man-to-man defense.

But Bajema knew his large lineup, led by 6-foot-9 center Hans Miersma, would have trouble containing Watertown’s smaller, quicker guards unless he switched to a zone scheme.
 
The gamble was large, Bajema said. His team rarely plays zone, and Watertown found the holes quickly, jumping out to a seven-point lead. But the coach stuck with his decision and rode it all the way to a title.
 
The Crusaders’ crushing zone forced Watertown into numerous contested shots, while Miersma scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Whitinsville Christian (23-2) captured the Division 3 state championship at the DCU Center with a 42-36 win over Watertown (19-6).
 

It is Whitinsville Christian’s first state championship since 2005.
 
"The last two days, that’s all we’ve been doing in practice,” Bajema said. “Running the zone. Then they come out and go up 9-2 and it’s like, ‘well that’s not working.’”
 
But Bajema stuck with it and watched his zone suffocate a high-powered Watertown attack. Eastern Mass. leading scorer Marco Coppola finished with 15 points, well below his 26.4 average. Coppola had 11 in the second half, and Watertown coach Steve Harrington said his senior was forced to do too much.
 
“We put a lot of pressure on Marco,” Harrington said. “See, Marco not only has to do some scoring for us, but he’s the one creating other shots for the other guys. I don’t know how many turnovers he had, but the ball was in his hand a lot.”
 
After more than two minutes of scoreless play to start the game, Watertown’s Cory Donahue went on a shooting streak, draining three consecutive three-pointers to give the Red Raiders a 9-2 lead.
 
But that was the biggest lead Watertown would have. They watched as Miersma quickly developed his post game and led the Whitinsville comeback.

Video by Zuri Berry, Boston.com staff

A breakdown of the highlights from Tuesday's boys basketball state semifinals and the Division 4 state championship at the TD Garden.

By Anthony Gulizia, Globe correspondent

Throughout the state tournament, Watertown hadn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 40 points.

Tuesday was no different as the Raider’s defense clamped down to lift Watertown (19-5) over Cardinal Spellman (20-5) 56-36 in the Division 3 Eastern Massachusetts final at the TD Garden last night.

“They're relentless, they’ve taken it to another level,” Watertown coach Stephen Harrington said. “On the defensive end, they rotate well and they’re just ball hawks. We made some shots as well, making it difficult for Cardinal Spellman to get back into it.”

By the fourth quarter, the game was well out of reach as Watertown abused Spellman and exploded for a 20-point third quarter, leading 47-22 going into the last eight minutes.

The Raiders’ defense was in prime form during the third as it smothered Spellman, surrendering just six points.

Watertown senior Marco Coppola scored nine of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter.

With 3:30 left, Coppola scored back-to-back buckets to give Watertown a 42-19 lead. Then, with two seconds left, Coppola nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 25-point lead.

FULL ENTRY

By Zuri Berry, Boston.com staff

LOWELL – You could tell things were going poorly for Newburyport when the Clippers’ Eric Meyer bounced a ball off his foot in the first period.

Watertown's Tyler Romanelli had just hit a three to put his team up 9-6 and teammate Marco Coppola had followed that up by grabbing a steal and driving for a basket and foul. He converted the 3-point play to put Watertown up 12-6. Then, Meyer bounced the ball off his foot and Watertown’s Danny Kelly drilled another three. It was one thing after another.

Watertown finished off Newburyport easily 55-31 for the Division 3 North section title at Tsongas Center in Lowell.

The first quarter run was enough to give the Red Raiders a solid lead to maintain for the rest of the game. But that wasn’t enough. The Red Raiders put on a suffocating full court press in the second half, holding Newburyport to only eight points in the third quarter while extending their lead to 22 points at one point. They finished the third quarter up 40-20 and by that time they’d forced 11 turnovers by their opponents.

“We were up 14 at half,” Coppola said. “Coach just told us to put it in on them. Just put the game away in the third quarter. I just tried to step up my defensive intensity. I knew defense — turnovers — would lead to baskets. So that’s what I tried to do.”

Coppola, the state’s leading scorer, scored 21 points, grabbed five boards and recorded seven steals. Danny Kelly chipped in 14 points and six steals while Patrick McHugh added another six – all in the fourth quarter – for the Red Raiders.

Newburyport was led by Chris Jayne, who tallied 11 points in the game and five rebounds. Brett Fontaine chipped in with eight points and eight boards.

Watertown will play in the Division 3 state semifinal Tuesday at the TD Garden.