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CONCORD, Mass. – Seven years ago, the Concord-Carlisle soccer team staged a single game to help raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in honor of assistant coach Steve Wells’ mother Lois. The annual Kicks for Cancer was so well received that in 2011 it had grown to six games and twelve teams. In the past seven years, the event has raised more than $100,000 for cancer research.

On Saturday afternoon, the event reached another milestone, as the Lady Patriots donned blue t-shirts for the first time and took the field against league rival Lincoln-Sudbury. It was the first time that the girls’ programs had taken part in the event and it was announced that all the proceeds for this year would support women’s cancer research.

“It’s nice to get them involved, particularly since all the money being raised is earmarked for women’s cancers,” said Concord-Carlisle boys’ head coach Ray Pavlik after his team’s game in the nightcap. “It was something that they’ve wanted to do and we just finally said it’s time to go.”

According to Lincoln-Sudbury head coach Kate Berry, the process started before last year’s event when former Patriots coach Nancy Slocum started lobbying Pavlik to have the girls join in the event. Although there was no room in 2012, and Slocum stepped down as coach following the season, she continued to push for the girls to be included.

“[Nancy Slocum] and I talked about doing it last year and Ray just didn’t have a spot for us…kudos to her for getting us the opportunity,” said Berry. “I’m so thankful that we got the chance to do that. It’s so great for the girls and I think it’s a really wonderful opportunity.”

When asked if L-S would like to be part of next year’s event, she responded, “I guess it’s up to C-C, but we’d love to take part if we can.”

First-year head coach Peter Fischelis was thrilled for his team to be able to experience Kicks for Cancer. He remarked, “It’s great for the kids, it’s great for the families, it’s great for the crowds and it’s just great to have such a nice day. They loved it; they really had a ball. It’s just a superb event all-around.”

Senior captain and goalkeeper Angela DeBruzzi admitted that the girls had heard the boys talking about the event for years and had always wanted to be part of the day. She said, “It was our first time getting to play in this, which is awesome and to come out here and to support breast cancer awareness.”

She added, “It’s really nice to finally be part of it.”

During Kicks for Cancer, teams do not wear their traditional school colors and uniforms. The players don t-shirts that are adorned with the name of someone that they know (i.e., family member, friend, or coach) that has battled cancer. Lincoln-Sudbury boys’ coach David Hosford talked about how the experience teaches the players to understand the importance of things beyond the field of play.

He also added, “One of the things that is really cool is that we had 15 or 20 of our former players back. They all want to come back and see the moment. It’s not a home game, but in a lot of ways it’s their homecoming.”

DeBruzzi was playing for her grandmother and it was her name that was on the back of her black goalie shirt. She may have been the star of the game and earned her a team a draw (more below), but it was the mention of her grandmother that finally brought a smile to her face.

She said, “I took a picture of the shirt and sent it to her just to make sure that she knew I was thinking of her.”

29th minute honored in boys’ game: As the clock ticked past 29:00 in the first half of the game between the Concord-Carlisle and Lincoln-Sudbury boys, the officials blew their whistle to stop play. Both teams went to the sideline and joined the large crowd lining Doug White Memorial Field for a minute of applause.

The planned stoppage paid tribute to Bridget Spence, the wife of Concord-Carlisle High English teacher Alex Spence, who passed away this year at the age of 29. The 2013 event was dedicated to her memory. Spence was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 22, according to Pavlik, and she battled cancer for seven years, while also working diligently to raise money for Dana Farber.

Pavlik, wearing a t-shirt that said Spence on the back with the number 29, explained, “If there is anyone that is a testament to what Dana-Farber can do…she worked up to the last few weeks of her life raising money for Dana-Farber. She was a pretty special woman.”

The idea for the minute of applause came from one of the players and both coaches agreed to the plan.

Pavlik reflected, “That was cool. It was a nice moment to stop…it was a nice touch to do a moment applause.”

No. 4 Lincoln-Sudbury girls 0, No. 16 Concord-Carlisle 0

Maybe it was wearing her grandmother’s name on the back of her jersey, but Angela DeBruzzi was in inspired form for Concord-Carlisle (5-0-2) when they took on Lincoln-Sudbury (4-0-2) in the 3:30 kickoff. Thanks to DeBruzzi’s heroics, which included five incredible saves in the second half alone, the No. 16 Patriots held the No. 4 Warriors to a 0-0 draw.

“Their goalie was lights out; I think that’s the whole story,” raved Berry. “She played a phenomenal game. I don’t even think we were kicking it right at her; I think she played a really good game in goal. She was awesome.”

Three times in the second half DeBruzzi made a spectacular stop to rob junior forward Hannah Rosenblatt of a goal. She also made a diving save on freshman Jenna Barnes and another on a cross by Caroline Kessler. It was a great performance and helped C-C keep its sixth clean sheet in seven games.

“Having a goalie like that gives you a lot of confidence in the back. She was incredible,” said Fischelis. He added, “She’s an incredible athlete. She has an unbelievable sense about where to be and when to go out and when not to. Some of those things you just can’t teach someone; it’s instinct.”

DeBruzzi deflected the praise on her teammates. She said, “I think we’ve exceeded everybody’s expectations and that comes from playing as a team and everybody working their hardest every game. It’s not me that’s having the shutouts; it’s the whole team.”

Lincoln-Sudbury dominated possession and created the lion’s share of the chances, although the best scoring opportunity of the first half fell to the Patriots. Senior captain Allie Barrett had a low shot just tipped wide of the post.

No. 8 Concord-Carlisle boys 1, Lincoln-Sudbury 1

Sophomore goalie Bobby Hurstak saved the game for the Warriors after the teams traded first half goals. Lincoln-Sudbury (3-0-3) held on to salvage a 1-1 draw with No. 8 Concord-Carlisle, who rued missed opportunities throughout the game.

“We had plenty of chances in the first half, plenty of chances in the second half, but their goalie was awesome. He was a huge equalizer tonight,” said Pavlik.

The visitors took the lead in the 25th minute on a short free kick on the edge of the box. Nathan Cohen caught the Patriots unaware by playing a pass on the ground to captain William Hutchinson, who coolly slotted it home.

The hosts kept up high tempo and pressure throughout the first half and hit the crossbar with a header before junior Mitchell Palmer rose highest to nod home a cross by Leo Fondreist with just more than a minute left in the first half.

Concord-Carlisle (6-1-1) would dominate the opening stages of the second half and Hurstak was forced into a brilliant diving save to rob Fondresit from inside the 6-yard box. The home fans were on their feet cheering again with 13 minutes left, but Garrett Leahy’s shot was inches over the bar.

“It was really won or lost in the midfield and I think we dodged some bullets with some of the chances they had,” said Hosford. “They’re a very good team.”

In other action:

Reading 1, Woburn 0 – Dave Sullivan scored the lone goal for the Rockets. Woburn also had a late penalty saved.

Lexington 3, Wakefield 1 – Lewis Mustoe, the son of NBC soccer broadcaster Robbie Mustoe, scored a brace and Caleb Stipple added the third for Lexington. Antonio Parrinello had the Wakefield goal.

Brookline 2, Newton North 0 – Ari Karchmer and Toma Beit-Arie scored the goals for Brookline in a battle of Bay State Conference teams.

Acton-Boxborough 1, Wayland 0 – The Colonials earned their first win at Kicks for Cancer on a goal from Julian Stewart.

The seventh annual Kick for Cancer event will be held next weekend at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.

Here's a look at the event, per today's press release from Patriots athletic director Barry Haley:

Some of greater Boston’s best high school soccer talent will gather to compete against each other and fight cancer at the 7th Annual Kicks for Cancer, to be held on Saturday, September 28th and hosted by Concord Carlisle High School.

In addition to boasting high school soccer action at its finest, the event includes food, raffles, souvenirs, and more, all to benefit cancer research. In what’s become a tradition, teams participating at Kicks for Cancer will wear special pink or blue jerseys with the names of loved ones that have suffered from the disease emblazoned on the back.

This year’s event has been expanded to include some of the area’s top girls’ teams. In one of the games, Lincoln-Sudbury’s boys varsity will face-off against Concord-Carlisle, with the two teams leading the Dual County League’s Large and Small groupings, respectively.

Games start at the adjacent turf fields at CCHS at 1 p.m., and will finish under the lights at roughly 8 p.m. Tickets to see all games are $5 for children and $10 for adults.

Kicks for Cancer has raised close to $100,000 since its inception – including over $25,000 last year despite poor weather conditions – with all proceeds going to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The event began in 2007, after Lois Wells, mother Concord Carlisle assistant coach Steve Wells, succumbed to cancer.

“Kicks for Cancer is a true grass roots event that began when the kids just wanted to do something for Coach Wells – but its grown into an important benefit. The soccer is always great, but obviously, it’s about so much more than that,” says Ray Pavlik, head coach of the CCHS boys team and the founder of the event.

Below is the schedule of Kicks for Cancer games on Saturday, September 28:

1:00 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 1, Reading vs. Woburn
1:00 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 2, Lexington vs. Wakefield

3:30 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 1, Lincoln Sudbury Girls (#3) vs. Concord Carlisle Girls (#12)
3:30 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 2, Brookline vs. Newton North

6:00 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 1, Lincoln-Sudbury Boys (#10) vs. Concord-Carlisle Boys (#12)
6:00 p.m., CCHS Turf Field 2, Acton-Boxborough (#13) vs. Wayland

Concod Carlisle High School is located at 500 Walden Street in Concord, MA.

For those who are unable to attend the event, but still wish to make a donation to Kicks for Cancer, may do one of the following:

Concord-Carlisle Kicks for Cancer web site, including directions to the fields: http://cchsmenssoccer.com/kfc.html
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kicks-for-Cancer-Concord-Carlisle/146077038820061?sk=info

Dana Farber donation page: www.dana-farber.kintera.org/kicksforcancer .

LYNN, Mass. -- The Concord-Carlisle Patriots have a chance to three-peat as Division 2 state champions, after defeating the Sandwich Blue Knights 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Sandwich (21-2-0) took the first lead of the game in the in the 23rd minute when senior forward Dallas Donovan finished off a counter-attacking move for the Blue Knights, sticking his shot into the top right corner.

Concord-Carlisle (16-4-2) equalized on the final kick of the first half when senior captain Ethan Atwood smashed the ball off the top left joint of crossbar and had the ball fly across the goal into the right side netting.

“I wasn’t even looking,” Atwood honestly admitted after the match. “I looked down and kicked the ball as hard as I could, and I was just praying.”

The momentum from the late first half goal carried over into the second half, and the Patriots took their first lead of the match in the 48th minute thanks to Scott Brazina’s close range effort. The sophomore was able to take his chance after his teammate Zach Bloom launched a deep throw into the Sandwich penalty area.

“He had a monster throw,” said Brazina about his teammates toss. “It bounced and I just wiggled my way in there, and just headed it in.”

In the 66th minute, Sandwich came close to snatching an equalizer. Senior Dino Heras played in an inviting cross for Donovan, who struck the ball well, only to be denied by C-C keeper Cray Novick.

Playing in net is something Novick hadn’t done in quite some time prior to this season.

“He hasn’t played goalie in four years,” Patriots head coach Ray Pavlik said of his junior keeper. “We’ve had some terrible goalie injuries through the year. Cray actually made the team as a midfielder, and we just needed him. He’s come in and he’s just so steady. He’s a great athlete and he remains calm and he just provide for us a leader back there.”

Concord-Carlisle had three good scoring chances in the final 21 minutes. The best of those came in the 73rd minute when senior captain Mikey O’Brien made a dazzling run into the Sandwich box, dropping his right shoulder, losing his defender only to have his shot saved by the Blue Knight goalie Kyle Van Cleef.

Sandwich had one final chance to tie the game just inside the 76th minute mark. Senior midfielder Peter Alvarenga played a perfect through ball that would have sent Donovan though on a one-on-one with Novick. But Patriots captain Christopher Walker-Jacks, with a top class slide challenge, cut out the pass.

“I looked up and knew he was going to play it there,” Walker-Jacks explained afterwards. “I was a little bit behind my man, so I knew I had to hit the floor and luckily I got there in time.”

Concord-Carlisle will take on Groton-Dunstable (19-1-1) on Saturday in Worcester for the division two state championship.

Offense scores, defense wins: Concord-Carlisle was able to limit the amount of chances that Donovan and Alevarenga were able to create. If you give Donovan a chance he’ll convert it nine times out of ten. The praise has to go to coach the Concord-Carlisle defense for staying focused for 80 minutes. Walker-Jacks was extremely impressive in the CC backline and head coach Ray Pavlik had high praise for his senior.

“Chris is one of, if not the best defensive players in Massachusetts period," Pavlik said. "He is absolutely fantastic. He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s technical he fantastic, especially in this tournament run. He’s taken his game to another level.”

Three-Peat? Winning three championships in a row in any sport is impressive. But if Concord-Carlisle was able to win their third in a row on Saturday, it would be extremely impressive considering the 2010 championship team had 15 seniors, and the 2011 team returned just two starters. There aren’t too may, if any, better than Ray Palvik.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- All season, Stowe Simonton has heard it from his Concord-Carlisle teammates. When was he going to score? When was he even going to get an assist?

“How can you be the only one on the team without a point all year?” coach Ray Pavlik recounted of the friendly ribbing.

Apparently, the sophomore was just waiting for the biggest one.

Filtering into the box on a short corner kick, Simonton finished an Alex Puchrik pass for the game-winning goal in Saturday’s MIAA Division 2 boys soccer championship, lifting the Patriots to a 2-1 victory over Nipmuc Memorial at Foley Stadium. It gave Concord-Carlisle (21-1-1) its second straight title and third in five years, while denying Nipmuc (15-5-4) in its first title game appearance in 16 years.

“Luckily,” Simonton said of the goal, “it came at the right time.”

But the fact that it was Simonton -- a goal-less, first-year varsity player -- to provide the deciding score illustrated how special this season has been for the Patriots.

Besieged by injuries, Concord-Carlisle played with the same starting lineup Saturday for the fifth straight game — the longest such stretch this season. Seventeen different players started multiple games, Pavlik said, a result of losing two key players just prior to the state tournament, including Will Toczylowski, a senior who scored the game-winner in last year’s D-2 final.

This time, it was Simonton, who following his score flew down the center of the field in celebration, his teammates gathering in his wake before catching him at midfield.

It was the Patriots’ 71st goal this fall, Pavlik said, “and he (Simonton) couldn’t have had a better time to step up and get himself on the board.”

“That’s incredible,” junior Mikey O’Brien said. “It always ends like that. In the playoffs, you have to rely on people who don’t usually get a lot of those goals. But Stowe’s been great all season. For him to be able to finish, it was really nice.”

Simonton wasn’t the only hero. Concord-Carlisle’s aggressive defense kept Nipmuc out of the offensive half throughout the game and held Nipmuc junior Tim Peterman scoreless for the first time this postseason.

O’Brien, too, rose to the occasion, scoring his sixth goal in the tournament on a beautiful ball in the 14th minute.

After the Patriots flooded the box, the ball eventually found Puchrik, who wound up and fired only to be blocked by a set of Nipmuc defenders. But after glancing off both backs, the ball fell to the left side of the box to O’Brien, who spun and blasted a shot past goalie Andrew Morin (nine saves) for a 1-0 lead.

“I kind of shielded my guy and it was a little in front of me, so I was able to slide right into it,” O’Brien said.

The lead didn’t last. Roughly three minutes later, a Concord-Carlisle penalty gave the Warriors a direct kick 23 yards from the goal, where Kelly Rooney tapped the ball to Tanor Jobe. With a whipping wind at his back — it’d come back to hurt Nipmuc, too — the Dual Valley Conference’s regular-season points leader sent a left-footed rocket through the box and into the upper left-hand corner of the goal.

“He’s a go-to guy,” Nipmuc coach Bill Leaver said of Jobe. “He’s a guy, both he and Tim, who we count on to make things happen, and they do.”

Concord-Carlisle controlled the majority of the play until halftime, even nearly scoring again with 11 minutes until the intermission. O’Brien carried the ball in the right side of the box and found a wide-open Seth Bird, whose shot sailed hard and high, perhaps a result of the wind in his face.

The Patriots made sure they didn’t miss again. Eight minutes into the second half, following a hail of chances and corner kicks, Puchrik took a short corner, sprinted past a defender along the left baseline and centered it. Alone in the box was Simonton, whose one-touch blast sped through a crowd and ricocheted off a Nipmuc defender before finding the the back of the net.

“You gotta make sure you get it nice and get it on goal,” Simonton said. “It is mental focus, I guess.”

But Nipmuc again responded, getting its best chance at tying it in the 54th minute. Rooney lofted a free kick that bounced into the box and onto the foot off Jobe.

The junior forward fought off a draped defender to sneak a shot past goalie Cam McGrory, but put it directly into the right post. McGrory (three saves) quickly gathered the rebound.

“You always say if you win a championship, you’re going to look back and you’re going to find one chance where you got a little luck,” Pavlik said.

Concord-Carlisle didn’t leave much to chance either. With the stiff wind now their friend, the Patriots continually pressed Nipmuc’s midfielders and backs, never really allowing the Warriors a legitimate scoring opportunity in the final 20 minutes. It was a product of the conditions and the Patriots’ experience; they improved to 22-2 in the last five state tournaments, the only two losses coming in overtime.

“All year long, we always talked about how the defense is the core of this team,” Puchrik said. “… But the wind definitely played a factor in helping us not let them lob balls over the top as easy.”

And delivered the Patriots another title.

“So many people worked hard to make this happen,” O’Brien said. “You didn’t just have a starting lineup out there with a few subs who came in. Every single player on this team played a big role throughout the season, whether it was taking over when somebody got injured or stepping in when somebody was out for the season. It was great.”

QUINCY, Mass. – Championships are typically won by teams that are coming together at the right time.

Although defending state Division II boys’ soccer title-holder Concord-Carlisle is no stranger to the postseason stage, the Patriots only have begun to put together a consistent lineup in their last five matches. C-C has suffered through injuries to core players at times, particularly in the midfield, so the Patriots endured most of the season mixing and matching lineups while relying on their depth.

Lucky for C-C, things have really come together at the right time and the Patriots earned a chance to play for yet another state title by winning the Eastern Mass championship with a 2-0 win over South sectional champion Canton at Veterans Stadium on Wednesday.

“I think it all goes back to practicing,” Patriots forward Mikey O’Brien said. “Every day in practice, we come out really hard. I think at one point during our season, I think of the 23 players on our team 10 or so were injured.

“But we kept working and our roster in that situation because we had a lot of good players who can step in in those situations.”

The teams played to a scoreless first half, but the Patriots (20-1-1) were quick to start in the second stanza. In the 43rd minute, Seth Bird clanged a header off the post on a corner kick directed by Alex Puchrik. However, O’Brien was on the spot to collect the ricochet in the box and put C-C up, 1-0.

“Sometimes it comes down to a loose ball in the box, a scramble and can you get to it first?” Patriots head coach Ray Pavlik said. “Mike’s work ethic is tremendous and he’s scored a couple of huge goals for us in the tournament run here.”

C-C added an insurance marker in the 66th minute with Puchnik getting credit for the goal that was last touched by a Bulldog defender.

The Patriots backline kept the clamps on Canton’s forwards throughout.

“They were very difficult to break down,” Bulldogs head coach Danny Erickson said. “I thought we played as well as we were going to play in that first half. I thought that we did a lot of very nice stuff, but we just had difficulty breaking them down and getting behind them.”

C-C’s defenders led by junior Chris Walker-Jacks helped to keep Canton’s shifty forwards, like Igor Perun and Ramon Ambrosio, off the score sheet and limited Canton’s chances in front of keeper Cam McGrory.

“The back line played fantastic,” Pavlik said. “They have a couple of really good forwards. They play with three frontrunners up top and we were under a lot of pressure all night, but the kids really just marked individually, one [versus] one.”

The Patriots will face Nipmuc on Saturday at Worcester State College in search of their third state title in the last five years. First kick is at 5:30 p.m.

The seedings for the Boys and Girls 2010 MIAA Soccer Tournament were announced on Thursday afternoon, and with teams getting seeded base solely on their winning percentage, this tournament set up to be one of the most exciting in high school sports.

BOYS' BRACKETS:
D-I North
In 2009, Lexington came in as a No. 2 seed and Lincoln-Sudbury as a No. 5 seed, when they met in the North Sectional finals with Lexington winning 2-1 on penalty kicks.

In 2010, the Minutemen and the Warriors find themselves again ranked second and fifth, and both teams have the ability to win this section. Lexington finished No.1 on ESPNBoston’s final boys' poll and they score as a team with six players having scored four or more goals this season. Jordan Vanderhooft leads that group with eight markers.

Lincoln-Sudbury finished the season 13-2-1(No. 10 on ESPNBoston) and they have Cole DeNormandie up top who can change a game on his own.

Boston City League Champs Madison Park (No. 15 on ESPNBoston) grabbed the top seed in this section with a 14-0-1 regular season record and could pay ninth-seeded Greater Boston League Champs Medford (No. 20 on ESPNBoston) in one of this section’s quarterfinals.

D-I South
New Bedford (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) and Greater New Bedford are the top two seeds in this section, and for the record the New Bedford won the regular season local derby 3-0. The Big Three Conference flexes it’s muscles with Brockton (No. 4 on ESPNBoston) getting the third seed. But the Bay State Conference put three teams in the top 10 seeding in this section with Walpole at No. 5 (No. 13 on ESPNBoston), Weymouth at No. 6 (No. 11 on ESPNBoston) and Wellesley at No. 10.

The most interesting, potential quarterfinal would be if Brockton met Weymouth. The Boxers have scored three or more goals in nine of their 18 games, while the Wildcats have kept 12 clean sheets though 20 matches. Their first choice keeper Scott Greenwood is just a sophomore. Two other sophomores’ in this section to keep an eye on are Needham’s Mac Steeves, who scored 15 goals to improve on the eight he scored as a freshman, and Attleboro’s Dominik Machado, who is a member of the Revolution U-16 Academy.

D-I Central
The Algonquin Tomahawks (No. 7 on ESPNBoston) have been the class of Central Mass all season long and got the No. 1 seed. But No. 2 seed Leominster handed Algonquin one of their two losses on October 26, in a 1-0 game. The only way they could meet in the post season would be in the Central Final.

D-I West
Ludlow (No. 8 on ESPNBoston) has won three Western Sectional Finals in a row and come in as the top seed, but Amherst, the No. 2 seed, may have a say in who represents the West this year. Amherst finished above the Lions in the Smith Division this year even though Ludlow defeated and drew with the Hurricanes in their two regular season meetings. Chris Pereira has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists.) through 18 games for Ludlow and is the marquee man in this section.

D-II North
The defending champs, Concord-Carlisle (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) come in as a No. 2 seed this year and appear in the tournament for the 26th season in a row. Senior tri-captain Cam McGrory is perhaps the most complete goalkeeper in the state and Ray Pavlik’s team will be well-tested having dropped only three points all season in the Dual County League, which is arguably the toughest in Massachusetts.

But the No. 1 seed in the section goes to the undefeated Winchester Sachems (No.6 on ESPNBoston), who won the Middlesex and have only two draws all season, both to Lexington. Their defense is full of confidence having allowed just one goal in their last six matches. And up top Ryan Connolly and Ben Davis have 27 goals between them.

D-II South
This section features two undefeated teams, No. 1 seed Sandwich (No. 5 on ESPNBoston) and No. 2 seed Canton (No. 9 on ESPNBoston) and they both seem to have an easy road to the finals, but looks can be deceiving.

Sandwich had only two draws all year, and learned an important lesson after squandering a four-goal lead to Marshfield in mid October. The Blue Knights didn’t allow a goal in five of their next seven matches. The Canton Bulldogs finished the season undefeated for the only time in the programs 28 years.

No. 4 seed Bishop Feehan has won nine of it’s last 10 and could potentially play Tri-Valley Champions Medfield (No. 19 on ESPNBoston) in the quarterfinals. The Warriors have a goal difference of plus-30 entering the tournament.

D-III Overview
There could very well be a re-match of the 2009 State Semi-Finals.

In D-III North, keep an eye on Weston, who is just the 11th seed at 7-6-3, but they will be ready for to make another run to the state finals after a tough regular season in the Dual County League, where they registered a 1-0 over Lincoln-Sudbury.

In D-III South, Cardinal Spellman finished the season 18-2 and it will take a major upset to stop them from getting to the state level.

GIRLS' BRACKETS:
D-I North
This bracket is unpredictable to say the least, which make the most exciting.

Top-seeded Peabody (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) handed fifth seeded Acton-Boxborough (No. 5 on ESPNBoston) their first regular season loss since 2006 on opening day. A-B ended up losing two games in 2010 -- their only other loss coming to No. 22 seed Lincoln-Sudbury. The two teams could have a rematch if they each reach the semifinals. Colonials goaltender Jessie Wiggins only allowed four goals in 17 games, but the Tanners strike force of Hayley Dowd and Victoria Digiacomo is a tough one-two punch.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 seed Masconomet (No. 13 on ESPNBoston) lost just once all year -- to No. 21 seed Andover. They have a scoring trio of Gabby Russo, Hannah Nekoroski, and Amy Griffiths making it tough to focus on just one player. No. 3 seed Central Catholic hasn’t been scored upon in their last seven matches, a nice run to be on heading into the tournament.

D-I South
Whitman-Hanson (No. 1 on ESPNBoston) finished the season undefeated and UCLA-bound Samantha Mewis is the most talented player in the state and also member of the USA Women’s U-20 team. It will be tough for any team in D-1 South to stop the Panthers.

Bishop Feehan lost only one game all season, and it was to an out-of-state opponent. The Shamrocks will most likely play the winner of No. 7 seed Needham (No. 16 on ESPNBoston) versus No. 10 seed Brockton (No. 10 on ESPNBoston), which will be the most interesting matchup of the first round. The Rockets have the second lowest goals against average in Division I at 0.5 and only Whitman-Hanson And Acton-Boxborough are better. Goalkeeper Victoria Tarabelli and senior defender Courtney Steeves will have their work cut out for them against the Boxers forward Morgan Branco.

D-I Central & West
These regions are also wide open. Nashoba and Wachusett look destined to meet each other in one semifinal, while Algonquin and Shrewsbury look ready for the other semi. It will be interesting to see if the Tomahawks can get out of the Central and defend their state title.

In the West, it’s Minnechaug’s title to lose. Lauren MacLellan is a tough forward to contain.

D-II North
Look for Belmont’s playermaker Katie O’Brien to set up Lauren Thurber as the top-seeded Marauders look ready to make a deep tournament run. Danvers is the No. 2 seed and had impressive regular season wins over Peabody and Central Catholic. But they also lost to No. 4 seed Bishop Fenwick, so the D-II North title is there for the taking.

D-II South
East Bridgewater is the top seed with a 16-2-0 regular season record. But don’t overlook No. 5 seed Cardinal Spellman, the defending D-II champions will no doubt be out to defend their title.

D-III Overview
Shawsheen (No. 20 on ESPNBoston) earned the top seed in D-III North and Nantucket earning the top seed in the South with a perfect 18-0-0 record. Bromfield earned the top seed in the Central and Gateway earned the top seed out West. And with defending D-3 Champion Millis not qualifying for the tournament this year, there will be a new D-III state champion crowned.

CONCORD, Mass. -- The fourth annual "Kicks For Cancer" took place Saturday with the promise of two great matches, but raising money for Dana Farber was the main goal. The two games are played in memory of Lois Wells, mother of Concord-Carlisle assistant coach Steve Wells, who lost her battle with cancer in the spring of 2007.

The following soccer season, members of the C-C's boys soccer team wanted to show their support for Coach Wells and played a game in honor of Lois. "Everybody wanted to do something to reach out and do something to help him," Patriots head coach Ray Pavlik said. "After talking about we came up with this idea to say thank you to him and to help him and his family remember his mom, and to give back."

Four seasons later, the event has raised around $28,000, with all proceeds going to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute to support woman’s cancer research.

"It really is a great night," senior captain Aaron Nickelsberg said. "Just to share with Coach Wells and his Family and everyone who suffered from cancers is fun."

The night featured two Dual County league matchups, with C-C opposing Lincoln-Sudbury and Acton-Boxborough facing Wayland. All teams wore either a pink or light blue jersey to honor the event. Each player and coach also wore the name of a loved one on their jersey who has suffered from cancer, which Senior midfielder Seth Bird thought was the most significant part of the night.

"Having that name on the back of your jersey and that new factor it adds to the game," Bird said. "And to see the event grow has been unbelievable."

"It’s truly amazing," said Steve Wells, a 1999 graduate of C-C. "It means so much to me, my family, my friends and all my mom’s friends who knew her. It keeps her memory alive."

And his players couldn't be happier to give back to Wells.

"He's been absolutely amazing," said senior goalkeeper Cam McGory. "He would do anything to be out there with us, he even runs every fitness with us."

With all the night's happenings, it was almost an oversight that four of the top five teams in the Dual County League were playing important matches.

A-B moved to 3-0-2 on the year with its draw against Wayland (4-0-1), which dropped points for the first time this season. The Colonials got the scoring started with 20:53 remaining in the first half, when senior midfielder Max Kashin knocked in the opener off of a long throw in. But Wayland equalized a little over three minutes later, when Dan Lesser headed one past Alex Green.

Less than eight minutes after the re-start, Wayland went in front thanks to an Ian Satck strike, after a nice feed from Griffan McGrain, the senior forward feeding the senior defender for a change. With 24:26 remaining in regulation, Alex Goldman tied things for the second time, but it was short-lived as Nico Pascual-Leone banged one in after another long throw in.

Then it was time for some controversy, as the referee awarded A-B a penalty with just 2:52 remaining, and sophomore Ryan Rose coolly placed the penalty in the top right corner.

"I'm pretty confident when I take PK's", Rose said after the match. "I knew where I wanted to put it the whole time, and I got it in. Wayland’s a Good team, it was a scrappy game, a tie is a good result."

The other game also had a dramatic finish. L-S (2-2-0) scored the first goal in the 14th minute, when Malcolm Joseph banged home the goal after a Eric Gandrup shot deflected out. It was the first goal scored against the Patriots all season. In the 68th minute, Will Toczylowski scored to get the Patriots (4-0-1) on level terms, but L-S almost went in front 2-1 three minutes later when Connor Jacobson beat Cam McGory. However, the goal was called back on offsides.

So instead, it was Mikey O’Brien who scored the winner in stoppage time to give the home side the 2-1 victory in dramatic fashion.

"It was pretty amazing," O’Brien explained after the match, "I thought we played well all game, even though we started off a little slow. But then, even when you’re tired the adrenaline kicks in and you just go for every ball that kicked, you just go right at it. It came to my feet, and I got a little lucky."

Lucky or not, the win puts Concord-Carlisle in a tie for first place with Wayland in the Dual County Small.