Chatham County boys soccer playoff preview

With the high school boys soccer regular season coming to an end this week, it’s time to look ahead to the postseason.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association will seed the playoff round on Thursday as the first round will be played on Saturday.

This season, Jordan-Matthews will be Chatham County’s only automatic playoff berth, while the rest of the county’s potential qualifying teams will be seeded based on their RPI ranking.

The RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) takes into account the win percentage of a team, its opponents and their opponents’ opponents when determining how a team is seeded. Only 32 teams from each regional classification make the playoffs.

Based on Sunday’s conference and RPI rankings, here’s a preview of where the county’s teams could land in their respective brackets and what to look for as teams try their luck at a state title.

Jordan-Matthews (2A East, automatic bid)

Conference record/place (as of Sunday): 10-2, second place

RPI: .57257 (13th)

Expected seed: 14

Jordan-Matthews will likely be no higher than a 10 seed in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Jets, who are going through what they are calling a “rebuilding year,” will not have the same home-field advantage they did last year in the postseason and will likely have to travel past the first round. That’s not the most ideal situation for Jordan-Matthews, however, as they are 6-4 in away games this season and five of their seven total losses have come in away and neutral games. It also doesn’t help that the team lost a significant amount of playoff experience from last year’s squad. To get out of the middle in the playoffs, the Jets will need to play their best all year long and bring in younger players to help their more experienced veterans.

Seaforth (2A East)

Conference record/place (as of Sunday): 5-5-2, fourth place

RPI: .48793 (27th)

Predicted seed: 27

Seaforth is in position to make the playoffs for the third straight year and has a good chance of finishing in the 20s for the third time as well. The Hawks had to fight to get into this position and they showed flashes of sneaky danger, including great performances against Graham and the narrow loss at Jordan-Matthews. However, Seaforth has struggled with consistency this season, which is a key factor in playoff success. The Hawks have won two games in a row just twice this year, while twice they lost three in a row. Aiming to win its first playoff game in program history, Seaforth will likely face a tough opponent in the first round. The Hawks need to find the best version of themselves if they want to pull off an upset.

Woods Charter (1A East)

Conference record/place (as of Sunday): 5-6-1, fourth place

RPI: .41908 (26th)

Expected seed: 26

Woods Charter is on track to reach the 1A playoffs for the 12th straight year. The Wolves will want to build on last year’s first-round exit, but that won’t be an easy task given where they’re likely to be seeded. Woods Charter faces one of the top teams in the 1A East classification and went 3-5 in road games during the regular season. The Wolves also have a very young team that doesn’t have much playoff experience yet.

On the bubble: Northwood (2A East, RPI: .44878 (34th))