South Dakota Class AA and A Soccer Playoffs Open Tuesday, Oct. 6

Opening-round pairings are set for the South Dakota Class AA and A soccer playoffs, with four state championship games scheduled Oct. 17 in Watertown.

The bracket is set for the South Dakota state high school soccer playoffs. Class AA and Class A teams begin postseason play Tuesday, Oct. 6, with opening-round pairings locked in and game times still to be announced.

The schedule ramps up quickly after the first round. Class AA quarterfinals and Class A semifinals are set for Saturday, Oct. 10, and the Class AA semifinals follow on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Championship Saturday arrives Oct. 17 at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex in Watertown, where all four state titles will be decided. The Class AA boys final is first at 11 a.m., followed by the Class AA girls at 1 p.m., the Class A boys at 5 p.m. and the Class A girls at 7 p.m.

History is on the line for several programs. Harrisburg's girls have claimed four straight Class AA championships and Sioux Falls Lincoln's boys three in a row, while Sioux Falls Christian chases a third consecutive Class A girls title and James Valley Christian defends its Class A boys crown. Those four schools swept the 2025 state championships.

In Class AA boys, top-seeded Sioux Falls Lincoln (9-1-2) hosts No. 16 Yankton (3-9-2) and undefeated No. 2 Watertown (13-0-1) welcomes No. 15 Pierre (3-6-4). No. 3 Sioux Falls Washington (7-1-4) draws No. 14 Brookings (6-6-2) and No. 4 Aberdeen Central (9-3-2) meets No. 13 Tea Area (5-6-3). The remaining openers pit No. 5 Rapid City Stevens (9-3-1) against No. 12 Harrisburg (6-5-3), No. 6 Sioux Falls Jefferson (7-4-1) against No. 11 O'Gorman (6-6-1), No. 7 Spearfish (9-2-3) against No. 10 Sioux Falls Roosevelt and No. 8 Sioux Falls Christian (4-2-3) against No. 9 Brandon Valley (6-4-4).

The Class AA girls field is led by No. 1 Pierre (11-1-1), which hosts No. 16 Rapid City Central (3-8-2). Defending champion and No. 2 seed Harrisburg (12-0-2) faces No. 15 Spearfish (5-9-0), No. 3 Rapid City Stevens (12-1-0) takes on No. 14 Mitchell (4-8-1) and No. 4 Aberdeen Central (11-3-0) plays No. 13 Tea Area (6-8-0). Elsewhere, No. 5 O'Gorman (8-3-2) meets No. 12 Sturgis (6-7-1), No. 6 Yankton (8-3-3) meets No. 11 Sioux Falls Lincoln (5-6-2), No. 7 Watertown (8-5-1) meets No. 10 Sioux Falls Jefferson (4-5-3) and No. 8 Brookings (7-6-1) meets No. 9 Brandon Valley (7-5-2).

Class A boys open with defending champion and unbeaten James Valley Christian (13-0-0) at home against Dakota Valley (2-9-0). St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian (7-5-1) visits Vermillion (5-3-2), West Central (4-9-1) goes to Freeman-Marion-Parker/Viborg-Hurley (7-3-3) and Groton Area (4-6-3) travels to Hot Springs (7-1-4).

In Class A girls, two-time defending champion Sioux Falls Christian (9-2-1) holds the No. 1 seed and hosts No. 8 Belle Fourche (3-9-0). No. 2 Dakota Valley (11-1-1) draws No. 7 Garretson (4-10-0), No. 3 West Central (10-4-0) faces No. 6 Lennox (4-5-0) and No. 4 St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian (7-6-1) meets No. 5 Groton Area (6-6-0).

Next up on the Global Sportscast schedule, Tate High School visits Jay High School on Monday, October 5, at 7:30 PM EDT.