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The post season is in its third day of action and there has been no shortage of excitement and intriguing storylines. We will chronicle some of some of the noteworthy news that has taken place thus far for the entire soccer field.

Random Note:

The regional finals have not been kind to 4 seeds In Division 1.  Only four of the eight have advanced to the sectionals (Sun Prairie, Wausau West, Milton, and Oshkosh West).

One theme thus far has been the top seeds performing to expectation.  With the exception of Eau Claire Memorial and Pewaukee, the number one seed in each sectional have cruised through their competition. In the 39 games played thus far they have compiled a 37-2 record and racked up 212 goals and while only conceding 21. That is an average of 5.4 goals scored per game and 0.72 goals allowed.

Impressive Perfomances:

Despite the nature of mismatched pairings early in the playoff brackets, a few teams have managed to demonstrate dominant performances.
Marquette – Even though the Hilltoppers had a first round bye they still managed to put on a show in the regional championship. Against Franklin they tallied a 10 to 0 score line. That game proved to be the largest margin of victory and most points scored in all of the division 1 playoff second round match ups.
Kenosh Tremper – The Trojans have put on an offensive clinic during the playoffs. Tremper buried Union Grove 10 to 0 and followed up that performances with an 8 goal outburst in game two against Fort Atkinson. No team has combined for more goals than Kenosha Tremper through the first 2 games.
Mount Horeb – The Vikings have yet to be tested. In their 3 games during the playoffs, Mount Horeb easily defeated the opposition, outscoring them 19 goals to meager 2 goals conceded.
Sturgeon Bay – The Clippers have breezed through their competition, demonstrating dominance on both sides of the ball. They scored 20 goals and allowed only one goal in the first round match against Ripon when the game was well in hand.
Neenah – The Rockets have played nearly perfect through regional play.  Neenah Compiled 17 goals while blanking the opposition.
Winnebago Lutheran – The Vikings were an unstoppable force during the regular season and that trend has continued into the postseason.  The last three games have shown WLA to be an offensive juggernaut. The Vikings scored an amazing 23 goals during their run in playoffs. That’s an average of 7.6 goals per game.
Central Wisconsin Christian – If the Vikings of Winnebago Lutheran were the offensive stars of the division 3 tournament than the Crusaders are the stars of defense. Up until this date, Central WI Christian had yet to allow goal. They are the only remaining team to be unscored upon.

Cinderella Teams:
The 2011 playoffs pretty much have played out the way most would have expected, as the higher seeds have, for the most part, been able to advance. However there have been a few exceptions to this.  Here are some teams in particular have played the role of spoiler:
Hudson - The Raiders came out on top in a close 2 to 0 contest over 9 seed Marshfield before pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.  In the third meeting of the season between the two squads, Eau Claire Memorial winning both previous contests, the Raiders pulled off the upset by the narrowest of margins, prevailing 1 to 0 in a hard fought battle.
Madison Edgewood – Madison Edgewood has had no easy games during the tournament. In each of their contests the Crusaders won by a single goal. However more impressively, Edgewood defeated a higher seeded team in all three bouts.
Sauk Prairie – The term “Cinderella” has become a bit cliché but the Eagles definitely fit in that category. Sauk Prairie entered the playoffs as an 11 seed and was given very little consideration of making it out of the first round.  That all changed after their amazing run through the regional. The Eagles first upset 6^th seeded Baraboo 4 to 0 and later pulled off monumental upset by outlasting 3^rd seed Madison Memorial in an emotional 5-4 shootout victory. Sauk Prairie is now the highest seeded team left in not only Division 1 but in the entire playoff field.

These notes and observations do not reflect any game played beyond the Sectional semi-finals.