[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It will be a tough test for the Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer team as they face an old adversary in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament, which begins Thursday.
The Blue Dragons, the third seed from the Jayhawk West, will travel to Overland Park to meet the East No. 2 seed Johnson County Cavaliers at 1 p.m. The game will be played at the Scheels Overland Park Soccer Complex and not the Johnson County Soccer Complex. The Scheels Complex is located at 12700 Switzer Rd. in Overland Park.
Thursday’s meeting between Hutchinson and Johnson County will be the ninth postseason meeting and 20th overall matchup, the first since 2016.
With a new postseason format, the four Thursday winners will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at the sites of the highest remaining seeds. From there, the two semifinal winners automatically advance to the Plains District Tournament where the two Kansas teams will play the winners of the Region II (Oklahoma) and Region V (Texas) tournaments next week. That winner advances to the NJCAA National Tournament.
The winner of the Hutchinson-Johnson County game will meet the Barton/Neosho County winner. On the other half of the bracket, Jayhawk East champion Butler plays host to Dodge City and Cloud County will play host to Coffeyville.
Hutchinson (13-2-1) hits the postseason riding a five-game winning streak. The Blue Dragons defeated Cloud County in a wild rally with three goals in the final 15 minutes for a 4-3 win, denying the Thunderbirds the 2018 Jayhawk West title.
That streak and that victory over Cloud County put the Blue Dragons in the national rankings talk for the first time this season. The Blue Dragons are receiving votes in this week’s rankings.
Johnson County is 5-0-1 over its last six games, including a 4-1 victory over Butler on Oct. 15. The Cavaliers are 10-6-2 overall.
The Blue Dragons are 7-11-1 all-time against Johnson County, including 2-6 in Region VI Tournament play. The Cavaliers have won the last three matchups against Hutchinson.
2018 REGION VI WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Opening Round – Thursday, October 25, 2018
Dodge City (9-8-1) at Butler (14-4), 7 p.m. in El Dorado
Coffeyville (10-6) at Cloud County (14-2), 1 p.m. in Concordia
Hutchinson (13-2-1) at Johnson County (10-6-2), 1 p.m. in Overland Park
Neosho County (10-9) at Barton (13-3-1), 2 p.m. in Great Bend
Semifinals – Saturday, October 27, 2018
Butler/Dodge City winner vs. Coffeyville/Cloud winner at highest seed
Hutch/Johnson winner vs. Neosho/Barton winner at highest seed
Two semi-finals winners advance to the Plains District Tournament on Nov. 2-3
Region VI highest seed vs. Region II Champion
Region VI lower seed vs. Region V Champion