Time for a new crystal ball...

After a thrilling weekend of boys' sectional soccer, I've ditched my wonky old crystal ball and replaced it with a state-of-the-art, shiny new one complete with high definition and the ability to reveal the scores of penalty shootouts before they take place.

Congratulations to Floyd Central and Jeffersonville, winners over New Albany and Christian Academy respectively. Both move on to the regionals tomorrow evening, with the Highlanders hosting Columbus North and the Red Devils taking on Madison.
Saturday was the day goalkeeping heroics came to the fore, with Daniel Neeld and Seth Quinn proving themselves masters of negotiating the 12 yard spot kick against New Albany and Providence. In Quinn's case, he also had to do it in overtime when saving from Ben Hughes.

This week, the girls take center stage with the sectionals kicking off at Jeffersonville tonight, culminating in the championship decider on Saturday.

Girls' Jeffersonville Sectional
Match 1 – Jeffersonville vs. New Albany (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
It's not been easy for Jeffersonville and coach Michael Dennis this fall, with the loss of 10 seniors and a lot of new players being introduced to the fold. The regular season meeting between the teams saw the Bulldogs come out 5-0 winners and while I believe this will be a closer game, it's hard to see Jeffersonville closing the gap enough to come out on top in this one. Verdict: New Albany.

Match 2 – Floyd Central vs. North Harrison (Tuesday, 8 p.m.)
Floyd Central boss Lewie Stevens doesn't believe the possibility of having to play three games in sectional over the space of five days will be asking too much of his girls, so they're not all that upset with the draw. "We feel we are up to the task and at this time of the year it is not so bad getting tested every other day or so in order to stay sharp," he said. Recently, the Highlanders tied with Jennings County, whose only two losses this year have been to top 20 teams, so Stephens feels it can play quality soccer and are "putting it together at the right time." Verdict: Floyd Central.

Match 3 – New Albany vs. Floyd Central (Thursday, 6 p.m.)
Should New Albany prevail, it could see the very interesting prospect of Jessica Moore facing off against sister Sara (Providence) in the championship decider. However, a repeat of the 3-0 win for the Highlanders in regular season against the Bulldogs would spoil that particular scenario. New Albany do have potential game winners though, in the shape of Kaitlin Robinett and Kayton Cole, so the Floyd Central rearguard will have to be at the top of its game. At the other end, forwards Kelsey Traughber, April Vanderplow and Becky Kennedy have keeper Madie Bruker - who pulled off one of the saves of the season against Providence - to beat. Verdict: Floyd Central.

Match 4 – Corydon Central vs. Providence (Thursday, 8 p.m.)
Providence has received what some might describe as the 'easier' side of the draw. A victory against Corydon will see them into Saturday's final but it should not be forgotten that the Pioneers just edged out the same opposition in sectionals last year by 1-0. "We greatly respect Corydon's program and remember what a battle it was against them last year," said Providence coach Dave Smith. "The overall level of play in our area has been elevated so much in the past five to seven years that every team has skilled players and athleticism. Verdict: Providence.

Championship – Floyd Central vs. Providence (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
This, a repeat of last year's final which Floyd Central won on penalties, would be one matchup worth catching. The Pioneers and the Higlanders are ranked 8th and 9th respectively in the district, both tied 0-0 in regular season, and both are looking strong coming into sectionals. It could be another tight affair, as a strength of both sides is defense. Floyd possess one of the more talented players around in sophomore Brigid Morrissey, while Jackie Cusick, Maggie Taylor, Laura Heverly, Nikki Roberts and keeper Kayla Prusinski have been mean to opposition forwards this season. Equally keeping a tight ship has been the Providence rearguard, which includes the likes of Jill Grable, Megan Eve, Shaina Luther, Jaclyn Mann and keeper Alyssa Hendershot. Nikki Korte and Sara Moore will battle in the middle, while game winners Laura Jenkins and Cristian May-Boquiren (Providence), and the aforementioned Traughber, Vanderplow and Kennedy (Floyd Central) will be hoping to hit the net. Verdict: Providence.

Boys' regional semi-finals (at Floyd Central)
Floyd Central v Columbus North (Wednesday, 6 p.m.)
Floyd Central (4-9-4) has done remarkably well to get this far, when you consider they won just one regular season game with a squad comprising three seniors. Having beaten one Bulldog, it now comes up against another in the shape of Columbus North (13-4-2), a side ranked No. 13 in the State. North made it here by comprehensively beating sectional hosts Seymour - a regional finalist last year - by a 5-0 scoreline before edging out rival Columbus East 1-0 in the championship game with two minutes remaining. However, coach Scott Hollis said that although they know it will be a very tough game, they have a “huge momentum” going into it. “ If you look at our record, you wouldn't have thought we would win sectional but we felt over and over that this team, when it strings it together, is a pretty solid team.”

Jeffersonville v Madison (Wednesday, 8 p.m.)
Having seen Jeffersonville (8-9-1) play Madison (13-1-3) already this season - when it dominated much of the first half but lost the initiative in the second - I believe Ryan Bixler’s charges are capable of winning this. New Albany also showed last week that the Cubs' defense is suspect, having put four past them in a regular season game. Three of those goals were the result of Madison's defense not closing down attackers quick enough to stop the strike, and if it gives the likes of Scott Meneou, Brian Quinn and Nick Neely that sort of space, they could pay the price. Having said that, Madison has only lost once this season (1-0 to Jennings County) and the winning habit is one it has gotten used to, and it is possible Saturday's war of attrition against Providence and the later final may be felt in Jeff's legs.

Regional Championship (at Floyd Central): Floyd Central/Columbus North v Jeffersonville v Madison (Saturday, 12 noon)