DISTRICT TIME ARRIVES FOR GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS

The season for area high school girls soccer teams will take on added significance today when district tournaments begin in Cape Girardeau.

Even though all local teams finished the regular season on the plus side in the win-loss column, it was a season-long dogfight. There were an unusual number of ties and no team showed an ability to dominate.

Class 4A

The Class 4A, District 1 Tournament features top-seeded and host Cape Girardeau Central, No. 2 Jackson, No. 3 Poplar Bluff and No. 4 Farmington.

It could very well come down to a showdown between old rivals Cape Central (13-5-6) and Jackson (12-7-4), with Poplar Bluff having an outside shot.

"There's been enough parity this year in our area that on any given day, anybody can beat anybody," said Cape Central coach Tom Doyle.

In first-round action, Cape Central should have no trouble getting by Farmington, but Jackson and Poplar Bluff shapes up as a fairly even matchup. The Lady Indians own two 1-0 victories over the Lady Mules.

Should Cape Central and Jackson meet for the championship, it would be a repeat of last year's district final when the Lady Tigers defeated Jackson 3-2 in three overtimes.

Class 1A-3A

Perryville, St. Vincent and Notre Dame will begin their run in the Class 1A-3A, District 1 Tournament, with Notre Dame hosting.

Perryville has been impressive with an 18-3-3 record and comes in as the No. 2 seed behind Notre Dame of St. Louis, 1A-3A state runner-up to Incarnate Word Academy last season.

Regarding a possible matchup in the final with Notre Dame, Perryville coach Brean LeMaster can only compare scores against common opponents.

"We've defeated Jackson twice and they beat Notre Dame of St. Louis 1-0, so I think we can play with them," said LeMaster.

Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau dropped a 2-0 decision to its St. Louis namesake in the season opener.

St. Vincent (14-8-1), the fourth seed, will meet fifth-seed Notre Dame (12-10-3) of Cape Girardeau at 7 tonight, following a 5 p.m. game between Perryville and No. 7 Lutheran South. Notre Dame and St. Vincent split two regular season contests.

Others in the 10-team district and their seedings are: No. 3 Cor Jesu, No. 6 St. Pius, No. 8 De Soto and No. 9 Windsor. The seventh through 10th seeds played first-round games Friday and Saturday, both contests in the St. Louis area.

CLASS 4A

District 1

Seedings: 1. Cape Central, 2. Jackson, 3. Poplar Bluff, 4. Farmington

Semifinals today: Poplar Bluff vs. Jackson, 5:30 p.m.; Cape Central vs. Farmington, 7:30 p.m. (SEMO Soccer Field)

Championship: Wednesday, 6 p.m. (Houck Stadium)

CLASS 1A-3A

District 1

Seedings: 1. Notre Dame - St. Louis, 2. Perryville, 3. Cor Jesu, 4. St. Vincent, 5. Notre Dame - Cape Girardeau, 6. St. Pius, 7. Lutheran South, 8. DeSoto, 9. Windsor, 10. Valley Park

Play-in games: Lutheran South 8, Valley Park 1; DeSoto vs. Windsor

Quarterfinals today: Notre Dame-STL vs. DeSoto-Windsor winner, 2 p.m. (at Notre Dame-STL); Cor Jesu vs. St. Pius, 4 p.m. (at Notre Dame-STL); Perryville vs. Lutheran South, 5 p.m. (at Notre Dame-Cape); St. Vincent vs. Notre Dame-Cape, 7 p.m. (at Notre Dame-Cape)

Semifinals: Wednesday, 5 p.m., 7 p.m. (at Notre Dame-Cape)

Championship: Friday, 7 p.m. (at Notre Dame-Cape)