Every season but one since 2010, either St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) or St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) have finished No. 1 in the boys soccer fall FAB 50.

In 2018, they might settle in the issue on the field.

These long-time national powers will clash for the first time ever, highlighting what figures to be an exciting high school season. 

To kick it off, defending FAB 50 national champion St. Benedict's starts the season at No. 1 with St. Ignatius at No. 3 in the preseason FAB 50 rankings. Naperville North (Naperville, Ill.), with key returners, a talented junior class and players who recently won the US Youth Soccer 17U national title, slides in at No. 2. 

[Germantown Houston tn-w] (Germantown, Tenn.) starts atop the girls FAB 50, followed by Carmel (Ind.) and St. John's (Washington, D.C.).

Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey dominate the preseason girls rankings with a combined 21 schools in the FAB 50. Ohio leads the way with eight. Eighteen of the 27 fall-playing states are represented in the preseason FAB 50. 

On the boys side, Illinois leads the way with seven FAB 50 teams to start the year, followed by New jersey with six and Pennsylvania with five. Of the 32 fall-playing boys states, 18 have at least one team in the FAB 50.

This year's preseason FAB 50 includes a top players for each of the preseason Top 25 teams, along with key matches and a team outlook. 

BOYS FALL PRESEASON FAB 50 | GIRLS FALL PRESEASON FAB 50

Never before have more nationally ranked teams traveled across state lines in search of top competition. More showcase events have sprung up, and even some established tournaments have improved their tournament field.

Here's a sampling of events that will occur this fall that will shape the boys and girls FAB 50:

BOYS

Thoroughbred Cup presented by adidas, Sept. 6-9: The latest and newest of the High School Cup series launches this year with 50 teams. Regionally ranked St. Charles North (St. Charles, Ill.) is the highest ranking team at the event. 

PepsiCo Showdown, Sept. 8-23: The multi-week format of this event lends itself to being a showcase of Illinois' top teams. Since 2003, 16 Illinois state champs and 14 runners-up competed at the PepsiCo Showdown on their way to high state finishes. 

Go 4 The Goal Fall Classic, Sept. 27-29: Formerly the Gateway City Classic, which was played in the St. Louis area, has been rebranded and placed at the Burlington RecPlex in Iowa. Last year's field was strong -- this year's event has serious national title implications. Eleven preseason FAB 50 teams are entered into this 50-team, three-day event. The eight-team adidas Bracket features seven preseason Top 25 teams: No. 2 Naperville North (Naperville, Ill.), No. 4 Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.), No. 6 Blue Valley Southwest (Stillwell, Kan.), No. 9 Morton (Berwyn, Ill.), No. 14 Milwaukee Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.), No. 19 Rockhurst Jesuit (Kansas City, Mo.) and No. 24 Peoria Notre Dame (Peoria, Ill.). The other brackets have the likes of No. 15 New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.), No. 27 St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.), No. 31 Evanston (Ill.) and No. 47 Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.).

GIRLS

Bearden Invitational, Aug. 30-Sept. 2: Usually a showcase of Tennessee teams, that all changed with one phone call. Perennial Ohio power Strongsville (Ohio) needed a last-second replacement event after a trip to the West Coast fell through. Bearden needed one more team and Strongsville was happy to obilge and with it got a showdown with preseason No. 1 Houston. The Strongsville-Houston match is slated for Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. at Bearden. Strongsville also will face Clarksville (Tenn.) at the event while Houston plays Bearden (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Maryville (Tenn.).

Lady Eagle Invitational, Aug. 31-Sept. 1: The Lady Eagle serves as the season kickoff event for national ranked teams. And there's no better way to kick it off as the first match on the ZYSA Championship Field pits last year's FAB 50 national champion Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.) against this year's preseason No. 2 team, Carmel (Ind.). The match is scheduled for Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. This event also features FAB 50-ranked McDonogh School (Owings Mills, Md.), Brebeuf Jesuit (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Noblesville (Ind.), and always strong Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), Simon Kenton (Independence, Ky.), Evansville Memorial (Evansville, Ind.), Toledo Notre Dame (Toledo, Ohio), Avon (Ind.), Sacred Heart Academy (Louisville, Ky.) and Notre Dame Academy (Park Hills, Ky.).

Rivals Tournament, Sept. 7-9: Collierville and Houston get together for this event, which usually features top Tennessee teams and usually the Mississippi fall-season title contenders. This year, however, Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) and Northern Highlands (Allendale, N.J.) are headed to the event, giving it more firepower. Top-ranked Houston, last year's state runner-up Collierville (Tenn.), private school frontrunner Briarcrest Christian (Memphis, Tenn.) and Jackson Academy (Jackson, Miss.) are other teams at this year's tournament.