The Watertown High School field hockey team enters the 2024 Div. 3 MIAA State Tournament in the unusual position of being second seeded, despite finishing the regular season undefeated.
Watertown will host a Round of 32 game at Victory Field on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 11:30 a.m against. Falmouth, which defeated Tewksbury 4-0 on Friday.
The Raiders are the three-time defending champs, completed their schedule with 17 wins and no losses or ties, extended the program’s unbeaten streak to 92 games, and is ranked No. 1 in the Boston Globe‘s final regular season poll. Watertown will be the second seed in the State bracket, behind fellow undefeated squad, Sandwich, which finished 20-0 and is ranked 3rd by the Globe.
The MIAA seeding is based on the Power Rankings, which uses the average margin of victory and the opponent rating to decide the tournament ranking. Sandwich had a slightly better winning margin (2.8500 to Watertown’s 2.8235) and a better opponent ranking (0.3706 compared to -0.0536).
Watertown and Sandwich have clashed in recent tournaments, with the Raiders emerging victorious three straight years: in the semifinal in 2023, and in the final in 2022 and 2021.
The third seed in the 2024 tournament is Watertown’s opponent from last year’s State Final: Newburyport. The teams would meet in the semifinal this year if both teams advance that far.
The winner of Watertown’s Round of 32 game faces the winner of Blackstone Valley and St. Mary’s, who play on Saturday, Nov. 2. If they advance, the Raiders will host every game through the Round of 8 — the quarterfinals. The state semifinal and final will be played at a neutral site at a location chosen by the MIAA. The anticipated date of the State Final is Friday, Nov. 15 or Saturday, Nov. 16.