Saint Mark’s is the second seed in the DIAA Division II girls soccer state tournament, the highest of the three Catholic high schools competing for a championship in that sport. The Spartans are the defending Division II champs.
Saint Mark’s finished with a record of 13-2, winning their first 11 games before injuries affected the roster. The Spartans fell to Appoquinimink, the second seed in Division I, and Wilmington Friends, who nabbed the third seed in Division II, before winning their final two games. They have wins over Padua and Archmere.
They will host the winner of No. 10 Brandywine-No. 7 Odessa, who meet on Saturday at noon at Odessa. Saint Mark’s did not play either the Bulldogs or Ducks this season. The Spartans’ quarterfinal game will be either May 24 or 25 at Saint Mark’s.
Archmere is the fourth seed. The Auks went 12-3 during the regular season, losing to Saint Mark’s and Caravel, the top-seeded team in Division II, along with Appquinimink. They do have a win over Middletown, the No. 1 team in Division I, along with one over Friends.
The Auks will host the winner of No. 12 Conrad-No. 5 Sussex Academy on either May 24 or 25 at 4 p.m. Conrad and the Seahawks play Saturday at 6 p.m. in Georgetown. Archmere defeated Conrad earlier this season and did not play Sussex Academy.
In Division I, defending state champion Padua — the only Catholic school in Division I girls competition — earned the fifth seed. The Pandas went 9-4 against their normal challenging schedule, falling in-state to Saint Mark’s, Caravel and Middletown, who is the top seed in the eight-team bracket. They defeated Appoquinimink and Smyrna, the third seed in Division I. Padua has 12 freshmen on its 21-player roster.
The Pandas will travel to No. 4 Polytech on May 25 for a 4 p.m. start. They defeated the Panthers, 3-1, on May 1.
The semifinals for both divisions are scheduled for May 31 at the home of the higher seed, with the finals two days later at Delaware State University. Dates, times and locations could change because of weather, field conditions or other factors. Tickets to all DIAA postseason competition are available only at gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
