Wildcats Hope Semis Are Sweet on Saturday

The North Division 2 boys and girls soccer brackets are down to just eight. And out of those eight teams, two of them will hit the turf on Saturday representing Wilmington High School.

A pair of Wildcat teams hit the pitch seeking berths in the tournament final, which is set for Monday.

Steve Scanlon’s boys soccer team had a first round bye before it cruised past Marblehead in the first round, winning by a 4-0 margin. Then on Tuesday, the Wildcats faced a much steeper task against Bedford.

After a scoreless first half and two sudden death overtime periods before goalie Luke Foley stuffed Bedford’s tying attempt in penalty kicks, sealing the victory.

On the girls side, Sue Hendee’s charges also earned a first round bye before taking on Marblehead as well. The Lady Wildcats snuck into the quarterfinal round with a 1-0 victory, and they also needed penalty kicks in the next round.

Visiting Wayland tied the game at 1-1 on an own goal and went ahead 2-1in penalty kicks, but Wilmington responded and won in dramatic fashion.

First up on Saturday is the boys team, which will take on North Andover at 3 p.m. at Woburn High School. Third-seeded Wilmington is 14-1-5 entering the game while North Andover is the No. 2 seed with a mark of 16-2-2 after a 3-1 win over Burke and a 3-2 penalty kick decision over Winchester.

Then at 5:30 p.m. on the same field, the sixth-seeded girls team hopes to pull an upset over the tournament’s No. 2 seed. Hamilton-Wenham is 15-1-2 after a penalty kick win over Gloucester and an overtime victory against Stoneham.

Be sure to check back with Wilmington Patch for complete coverage of both games. We will provide live updates on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to become a follower of both pages.