Holland Patent, Clinton and Little Falls received No. 1 seeds for classes B, C and D Sunday for Section III's 2023 field hockey playoffs.
Holland Patent and Cicero-North Cicero, the top seed in Class A, are defending champions, as are Canastota and Port Byron/Union Springs in classes C and D.
The sectional tournament will again be contested as four classes with the C and D winners playing off for a spot the state's Class C tournament. Play begins Tuesday with all four finals at Vernon Verona Sherrill on Oct. 29. The Class C/D playoff will take place at a neutral site Nov. 1.
More:Holland Patent, Canastota win 2022 field hockey titles
Twenty-two teams are entered in this year's playoffs, six each in classes A, C and D, and four in Class B, where each team has a bye into the Oct. 23 semifinals
Final Four play for the state tournament is set for Nov. 11 and 12 at Centereach High School on Long Island.
Section III will host three regional playoff games against Section IV at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Nov. 5.
Class A
Cicero-North Syracuse (13-3-0) and Rome Free Academy (15-1-0) have byes to the semifinals as the top two seeds. Cicero-North Syracuse's North Stars defeated Rome Free Academy's Black Knights 3-2 in last year's final on the way to a runner-up finish at the state tournament.
The North Stars also beat the Black Knights 2-0 Sept. 22 prior to Rome Free Academy's current eight-game winning streak. Cicero-North Syracuse lost three of four games – two against teams from outside the section – at the end of September and start of October, and the North Stars prepared for the playoffs with back-to-back wins last week.
In the quarterfinals, No. 6 Auburn (4-7-2) plays at No. 3 Liverpool (12-3-1) for the semfinal spot opposite Rome Free Academy, the largest Tri-Valley League field hockey school and its Colonial Division champion, and No. 5 Baldwinsville (6-10-0) visits No. 4 Fayetteville-Manlius (7-8-0) for the chance to play Cicero-North Syracuse.
Liverpool was the one Section III team to defeat Cicero-North Syracuse during the regular season.
Class B
Holland Patent (11-5-0) owns five consecutive sectional titles and a No. 1 seed in the quest for No. 6. The Golden Knights shared the Tri-Valley League's Pioneer Division title with Camden (13-3-0), the No. 2 seed.
In league play, Holland Patent won 1-0 at Camden on Sept. 22, and Camden won 4-3 at Holland Patent on Oct. 6. Both teams swept through the rest of the the division schedule.
Whitesboro (7-9-0) and New Hartford (7-8-0) are seeded third and fourth, respectively, in an all-Tri-Valley League four-team field that sends the participants to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill for an Oct. 23 semifinal doubleheader.
Camden beat Whitesboro 4-1 on the road in a Tri-Valley League crossover and also beat the Warriors 4-2 at home in a non-league game, while Holland Patent was a 7-1 winner in its game against New Hartford.
Class C
Top seed Clinton (14-1-1) beat two-time defending champion Canastota (6-10-0), the No. 4 seed this year and a possible semifinal opponent, twice on the way to winning Division I of the Center State Conference with an umblemished record in league play; the Comets' only loss was against Cicero-North Syracuse, the top seed in Class A.
Cazenovia (11-2-2) also gets a bye as the No. 2 seed. The quarterfinals send No. 5 Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (5-10-0) on the road to Canastota, and No. 6 Homer (6-10-0) to No. 3 Mt. Markham (11-5-0).
Class D
Little Falls (12-4-0) returns to Class D where it won the sectional title in 2021. The Mounties were Class C finalists last fall and were beaten by Canastota, the team that had beaten them in the previous year's Class C/D playoff.
The Mounties shared the Center State Conference's Division II title with No. 2 seed Morrisville-Eaton (14-2-0), having split decisions head-to-head. A 2-0 loss on the road Oct. 2 was Little Falls' only loss within Class D; the Mounties' other losses were against Cicero-North Syracuse, Liverpool and Section II Johnstown.
Competing to join the league co-champions in the sectional semifinals are No. 3 Port Byron/Union Springs (12-2-1), the defending champion, No. 4 Weedsport (9-5-2), No. 5 New York Mills (6-7-0) and No. 6 Sauquoit Valley (4-12-0).
SECTION III FIELD HOCKEY PLAYOFF SEEDS AND SCHEDULE
Class A
OCT. 17 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 3 Liverpool 3, No. 6 Auburn 0
OCT. 18 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 5 Baldwinsville 3, No. 4 Fayetteville-Manlius 0
OCT. 24 SEMIFINALS
- No. 1 Cicero-North Syracuse 3, No. 5 Baldwinsville 0
- No. 2 Rome Free Academy 5, No. 3 Liverpool 4
OCT. 29 FINAL
- No. 2 Rome Free Academy 1, No. 1 Cicero-North Syracuse 0, overtime
Class B
OCT. 23 SEMIFINALS
- No. 1 Holland Patent 4, No. 4 New Hartford 0
- No. 2 Camden 1, No. 3 Whitesboro 0
OCT. 29 FINAL
- No. 2 Camden 2, No. 1 Holland Patent 1
Class C
OCT. 17 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 4 Canastota 1, No. 5 Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 0
OCT. 18 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 3 Mt. Markham 4, No. 6 Homer 0
OCT. 22 SEMIFINALS
- No. 1 Clinton 3, No. 4 Canastota 2
- No. 3 Mt. Markham 1, No. 2 Cazenovia 0, overtime
OCT. 29 FINAL
- No. 1 Clinton 1, No. 3 Mt. Markham 0, overtime
Class D
OCT. 17 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 4 Weedsport 2, No. 5 New York Mills 0
OCT. 18 QUARTERFINAL
- No. 3 Port Byron/Union Springs 9, No. 6 Sauquoit Valley 0
OCT. 22 SEMIFINALS
- No. 1 Little Falls 3, No. 4 Weedsport 0
- No. 2 Morrisville-Eaton 4, No. 3 Port Byron/Union Springs 1
OCT. 29 FINAL
- No. 1 Little Falls 5, No. 2 Morrisville-Eaton 2
Class C/D
NOV. 1 FINAL
- Class D champion Little Falls 1, Class C champion Clinton 0, overtime
