HS: State region rankings, Jan. 9

by Sheldon Shealer

January 9, 2017

A cold snap in South proved to be a minor annoyance as the high school season heated up in Texas. While some matches were canceled, others were rescheduled and even played indoors in order to get the season started.

Here's a glance at the events that most significantly influenced this week's state and region rankings:

BOYS

Coppell Invitational: Host Coppell (Texas), hoping to bring in out-of-state teams next season, cruised to a 4-1 victory over El Paso Socorro to win the Coppell Invitational. Nick Taylor led the way with two goals and one assist. Grand Prairie (Texas) earned a spot in the week's Texas-North regional rankings with a championship victory over Naaman Forest (Texas) in the other eight-team bracket at the event. The semifinals and finals were moved indoors to Coppell's indoor facility, which features a full-length football field on which the soccer matches were played.

Kilt Cup: The Woodlands (Texas) swept through its Kilt Cup event, putting the team at 3-0 on the season -- a record it will carry into this week's Montverde Academy Soccer Tournament in Florida.

GIRLS

National Elite Prep Showcase: SIMA FAB 50 No. 1 Marcus (Texas), No. 2 Southlake Carroll Texas) and No. 3 Carondelet (Calif.) entered and exited the National Elite Prep Showcase with perfect records. Although weather knocked out a number of scheduled matches, Marcus was able to reinforce its top ranking with a 4-3 victory over SIMA FAB 50 No. 4 [Liberty ca-w] (Calif.).

The current state No. 1s for boys are Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), Godinez (Anaheim, Calif.), Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), Mililani (Hawaii), St. Paul's (Covington, La.), Northwest Rankin (Flowood, Miss.) and Coppell (Texas). On the girls side, the state No. 1s are Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.), Carondelet (Concord, Calif.), St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park, Fla.), Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii), St. Scholastica (Covington, La.), Brandon (Miss.) and Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas).