MIAA girls soccer power rankings (Oct. 20): bubble watch with two weeks to the cutoff

Greater Lowell Tech (11-1-0) drops out of the Division 3 top 32 while Manchester Essex (2-10-2) climbs into Division 4's, Cohasset takes No. 1 in Division 4, and three divisions have a No. 32 line under 0.025 in the MIAA's Oct. 20 release.

Mass Pitch Staff · 2026-10-20

Greater Lowell Tech (No. 36, Division 3) is 11-1-0 and beat Mystic Valley Reg. Charter (No. 57, Division 4) 5-0 on Monday. It still fell four spots and out of the top 32 in the MIAA's girls soccer power rankings released Tuesday. Manchester Essex (No. 27, Division 4) is 2-10-2, lost 1-0 to Marblehead (No. 13, Division 2) on Friday, and jumped eight spots into the top 32. Both moves come from the same formula. The MIAA rating is a team's average margin of victory plus the average rating of its opponents. Greater Lowell Tech (No. 36, Division 3) has an average margin of 2.3333 goals, but its opponents rate at -1.6637. Manchester Essex (No. 27, Division 4) has an average margin of -0.8571 against opponents rated 0.7948.

That is the bubble with two weeks to go before the Tuesday, Nov. 3 cutoff, and in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 the No. 32 team leads No. 33 by less than 0.025. In Division 2, Marshfield (No. 32, Division 2) holds No. 32 by 0.0124 over North Quincy (No. 33, Division 2).

At the top, Cohasset (No. 1, Division 4) took over No. 1 in Division 4 after a 2-0 win at Hull (No. 3, Division 5) on Monday, moving past Douglas (No. 2, Division 4), which lost 3-2 at home to Minnechaug (No. 5, Division 2) on Saturday. Bishop Feehan (No. 1, Division 1), Duxbury (No. 1, Division 2), Medfield (No. 1, Division 3) and Granby (No. 1, Division 5) held No. 1 in the other four divisions, and Medfield (No. 1, Division 3) (14-0-0) still has the highest rating in the state at 5.2933.

Here is where every division stands, who moved since the MIAA's Oct. 16 release, and which teams sit on each side of the line. All ranks, records and ratings below are the MIAA's, from tables that include scores entered into Arbiter as of Oct. 20 at 4 a.m. Full tables, this week's games and leading scorers are on each division page of the MIAA playoff hub and in The Mass Pitch's statewide rankings. Our previous breakdown is the Oct. 13 power rankings.

How qualifying works (2026)

• The top 32 teams in the MIAA power rankings in each division qualify for the state tournament, regardless of record.
• Teams ranked 33rd or lower qualify for a preliminary-round play-in game if they have a .500 or better record (at least as many wins as losses).
• A team's MIAA rating is its average margin of victory (capped at 3 goals either way in any one game) plus the average rating of its opponents. That is why a strong schedule can lift a team with a losing record, and why a team can move without playing when its opponents' results change.

Source: the MIAA's Oct. 20 girls soccer power-ranking tables and its 2026 soccer tournament format.

Key dates: The rankings cutoff is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Brackets come out Thursday, Nov. 5, and the tournament starts Friday, Nov. 6. The MIAA updates the rankings every Tuesday and Friday until then.

Division 1 Bishop Feehan (No. 1, Division 1) (11-0-2) holds No. 1 at 4.7643 after a 2-1 win at Algonquin (No. 22, Division 1) last Thursday and an 8-0 win over Melrose (No. 28, Division 2) on Saturday. Wellesley (No. 2, Division 1) (9-1-2) moved up two spots to No. 2. It won 2-0 at Newton North (No. 18, Division 1) on Thursday and beat Winchester (No. 7, Division 1) 2-0 on Saturday, and its opponents' rating rose from 2.8400 to 3.0568. Needham (No. 3, Division 1) (10-1-1) also climbed two, to No. 3, after a 3-0 win over Newton South (No. 15, Division 1) on Saturday. Franklin (No. 4, Division 1) (11-2-0) beat Natick (No. 20, Division 1) 4-1 on Saturday and still slipped from No. 2 to No. 4 as its opponents' rating fell from 2.5990 to 2.4316, and Concord-Carlisle (No. 5, Division 1) (10-2-0) went from No. 3 to No. 5 despite a 1-0 win at Lexington (No. 14, Division 1). Central Catholic (No. 6, Division 1) (14-0-0), the only Division 1 team without a loss or a tie, rose from No. 9 to No. 6 after handing Masconomet Regional (No. 4, Division 2) its first loss, 2-0, on Saturday and winning 3-2 at Belmont (No. 10, Division 1) on Monday. 49 teams are ranked.

Biggest movers: Braintree (No. 11, Division 1) made the biggest jump in Division 1, six spots from No. 17 to No. 11, with 3-0 road wins at Weymouth (No. 31, Division 1) on Thursday and at Plymouth North (No. 35, Division 1) on Saturday. Framingham (No. 34, Division 1) rose four, from No. 38 to No. 34, after a 2-0 win over Milford (No. 25, Division 2) on Saturday, and Newton North (No. 18, Division 1) climbed three, from No. 21 to No. 18, after a 1-0 win over Lincoln-Sudbury (No. 21, Division 1) the same day. Going the other way, Newton South (No. 15, Division 1) fell from No. 12 to No. 15 after the loss at Needham (No. 3, Division 1), and Hopkinton (No. 17, Division 1) slid from No. 14 to No. 17 after a 1-1 draw at Medway (No. 17, Division 3) on Friday and a 1-0 loss at Holliston (No. 12, Division 2) on Monday. Belmont (No. 10, Division 1) moved into the top 10 despite a 1-1 draw with Brookline (No. 13, Division 1) and the loss to Central Catholic (No. 6, Division 1), and Beverly (No. 12, Division 1) dropped out from No. 10 to No. 12 even after a 2-1 win at Saugus (No. 54, Division 3) on Monday.

On the bubble: No team crossed the line in Division 1, and the gap between Woburn Memorial (No. 32, Division 1) (3-6-4) and Haverhill (No. 33, Division 1) (4-4-5) is 0.2904, the widest of the five divisions. Woburn Memorial (No. 32, Division 1) drew 2-2 at North Andover (No. 30, Division 1) on Monday. Haverhill (No. 33, Division 1) drew twice, 3-3 at Dracut (No. 43, Division 3) and 1-1 at Wachusett Regional (No. 19, Division 1), and is the only team ranked 33 to 36 at .500, which would put it in a play-in game. Plymouth North (No. 35, Division 1) (4-7-2) fell two spots to No. 35 after the loss to Braintree (No. 11, Division 1). Further down, Brockton (No. 41, Division 1) (6-5-0) and Everett (No. 44, Division 1) (8-3-3) are also at .500 or better. Seven teams inside the Division 1 top 32 have losing records, including Weymouth (No. 31, Division 1) (4-8-0), which beat Medford (No. 43, Division 1) 4-1 on Saturday.

Division 2 Duxbury (No. 1, Division 2) (12-0-3) holds No. 1 at 4.0547 after a 7-0 win over Pembroke (No. 29, Division 3) on Friday, and it is now the only unbeaten team in Division 2. Hingham (No. 2, Division 2) (13-1-1) moved from No. 4 to No. 2 after a scoreless draw with Norwell (No. 6, Division 3) on Saturday. King Philip Regional (No. 3, Division 2) (8-2-3) slipped to No. 3 after a 1-1 draw at Mansfield (No. 31, Division 2) on Sunday, as its opponents' rating dropped from 2.7876 to 2.5552. Masconomet Regional (No. 4, Division 2) (11-1-2) lost 2-0 at Central Catholic (No. 6, Division 1) on Saturday and won 1-0 at Swampscott (No. 20, Division 3) on Monday, slipping one spot. Minnechaug (No. 5, Division 2) (11-1-3) stays fifth after a 3-2 win at Douglas (No. 2, Division 4) on Saturday and a 4-0 win over Agawam (No. 44, Division 2) on Monday. 63 teams are ranked.

Biggest movers: Newburyport (No. 11, Division 2) (11-1-1) made the biggest climb in Division 2, seven spots from No. 18 to No. 11, after a 7-0 win over Pentucket Regional (No. 42, Division 3) on Saturday; its opponents' rating rose from 0.5759 to 0.8403. Ashland (No. 27, Division 2) jumped six, from No. 33 to No. 27 and back inside the top 32, after a 4-1 win at Norton (No. 13, Division 3) on Friday, and lost 6-1 at Medfield (No. 1, Division 3) on Monday; its opponents' rating rose from 2.1823 to 2.4084. Westwood (No. 17, Division 2) rose three to No. 17 after an 8-1 win at Norwood (No. 49, Division 2) on Monday. Going the other way, North Quincy (No. 33, Division 2) fell six, from No. 27 to No. 33 and out of the top 32, with its record unchanged at 6-6-1. Notre Dame (Hingham) (No. 18, Division 2) slipped three to No. 18 after a 1-1 draw with Scituate (No. 30, Division 3) on Friday, and Milford (No. 25, Division 2) fell three to No. 25 after the loss at Framingham (No. 34, Division 1).

On the bubble: Division 2 has the closest line in the state. Marshfield (No. 32, Division 2) (6-6-2) holds No. 32 at 1.6277 after a 2-1 win over Silver Lake Regional (No. 20, Division 2) on Saturday. North Quincy (No. 33, Division 2) (6-6-1) sits at 1.6153. Mansfield (No. 31, Division 2) (1-6-6) stays inside at No. 31 after the draw with King Philip Regional (No. 3, Division 2), and Walpole (No. 30, Division 2) (4-8-1) moved up to No. 30 with a 1-0 win at Canton (No. 40, Division 2) on Saturday. Just below the line, Somerset Berkley Reg. (No. 34, Division 2) is 12-1-1 after a 4-0 win at Seekonk (No. 42, Division 4) on Monday. Its average margin is 1.6429 goals, but its opponents rate at -0.0800, and the rating adds the two. North Quincy (No. 33, Division 2), Somerset Berkley Reg. (No. 34, Division 2) and Shepherd Hill Regional (No. 35, Division 2) (7-3-3) are all at .500 or better, and 11 teams ranked 33rd or lower in Division 2 would make a play-in game today.

Division 3 Medfield (No. 1, Division 3) (14-0-0) holds No. 1 at 5.2933, the highest rating in any division, after a 4-0 win at Millis (No. 17, Division 4) on Friday and a 6-1 win over Ashland (No. 27, Division 2) on Monday. Pope Francis (No. 2, Division 3) (10-4-1) stays No. 2. Dover-Sherborn (No. 3, Division 3) (9-3-2) stays third after a 2-0 win over Holliston (No. 12, Division 2) on Friday and a 1-1 draw at Dedham (No. 10, Division 3) on Monday. Belchertown (No. 4, Division 3) (9-5-0) rose from No. 7 to No. 4 after a 4-0 win over Hampshire Regional (No. 4, Division 4) on Monday, and Foxborough (No. 5, Division 3) (8-3-2) holds fifth after a 4-0 win over East Bridgewater (No. 26, Division 3) on Friday. Norwell (No. 6, Division 3) (8-1-4) dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 without losing, after a scoreless draw at Hingham (No. 2, Division 2) on Saturday and a 9-0 win on Monday, as its opponents' rating fell from 1.7493 to 1.5631. 74 teams are ranked.

Biggest movers: Dedham (No. 10, Division 3) moved into the top 10, from No. 12 to No. 10, after a 1-0 win over Westwood (No. 17, Division 2) on Saturday and the draw with Dover-Sherborn (No. 3, Division 3). Norton (No. 13, Division 3) dropped out, from No. 10 to No. 13, after the 4-1 home loss to Ashland (No. 27, Division 2). North Reading (No. 18, Division 3) rose four to No. 18 with its record unchanged at 9-3-1, as its opponents' rating climbed from 0.3596 to 0.6691. Nipmuc Regional (No. 21, Division 3) fell four to No. 21 after a 4-3 home loss to Auburn (No. 28, Division 3) on Friday and a 2-1 loss at Algonquin (No. 22, Division 1) on Monday.

On the bubble: Oakmont Regional (No. 32, Division 3) (4-6-4) moved into the top 32, from No. 36 to No. 32, after a 4-0 win at Fitchburg (No. 51, Division 3) on Saturday and a 2-2 draw with Leicester (No. 19, Division 4) on Monday. The team it replaced is Greater Lowell Tech (No. 36, Division 3) (11-1-0). St. Mary's (No. 33, Division 3) (7-5-2) is the first team outside, 0.0196 back. Every team ranked 33 through 38 is at .500 or better, a group that also includes Nauset Regional (No. 34, Division 3) (8-2-2), Essex North Shore (No. 35, Division 3) (6-6-2), Falmouth (No. 37, Division 3) (8-3-2) and Old Rochester Regional (No. 38, Division 3) (6-6-1). In all, 14 Division 3 teams below the line would make a play-in game today. Nauset Regional (No. 34, Division 3) slipped one spot after a 3-1 loss at Sandwich (No. 8, Division 4) on Friday. Inside the line sits Scituate (No. 30, Division 3) at 2-10-2, and Pembroke (No. 29, Division 3) (5-8-1) slipped to No. 29 after the 7-0 loss at Duxbury (No. 1, Division 2).

Division 4 Cohasset (No. 1, Division 4) (12-0-1) is the new No. 1 at 3.0893 after the 2-0 win at Hull (No. 3, Division 5) on Monday. Douglas (No. 2, Division 4) (10-2-1) fell to No. 2 after the 3-2 loss to Minnechaug (No. 5, Division 2), then won 4-0 at Tantasqua Regional (No. 44, Division 3) on Monday. Sutton (No. 3, Division 4) (9-2-1) slipped one spot with its record unchanged and a 3.0186 rating, and the top three are separated by 0.0707. Hampshire Regional (No. 4, Division 4) (10-3-1) holds fourth after the 4-0 loss at Belchertown (No. 4, Division 3), and South Hadley (No. 5, Division 4) (8-3-4) stays fifth after a 1-0 home loss to East Longmeadow (No. 29, Division 2) on Monday. 74 teams are ranked.

Biggest movers: Manchester Essex (No. 27, Division 4) (2-10-2) made the biggest jump in the state, eight spots from No. 35 to No. 27, after the 1-0 loss to Marblehead (No. 13, Division 2); its opponents' rating rose from 0.3272 to 0.7948. Sandwich (No. 8, Division 4) (10-2-0) climbed five, from No. 13 to No. 8, after a 3-1 win over Nauset Regional (No. 34, Division 3) on Friday, and Lunenburg (No. 10, Division 4) also moved into the top 10. Georgetown (No. 15, Division 4) rose four to No. 15 after a 5-0 win over Amesbury (No. 43, Division 4) on Friday, Hamilton-Wenham (No. 16, Division 4) rose four to No. 16 with its record unchanged at 8-2-3, and Blue Hills RVT (No. 24, Division 4) (12-1-1) rose four to No. 24 after a 4-0 win over Holbrook (No. 20, Division 5) on Monday. Going the other way, Northbridge (No. 20, Division 4) fell four to No. 20 after a 1-0 home loss to Leicester (No. 19, Division 4) on Saturday. Wahconah Regional (No. 12, Division 4) left the top 10 after a 1-0 home loss to West Springfield (No. 41, Division 2) on Monday, and Southwick Regional (No. 13, Division 4) followed after a 1-0 loss at Granby (No. 1, Division 5) the same day.

On the bubble: Two teams crossed the line in each direction. Manchester Essex (No. 27, Division 4) moved in, and so did O'Bryant (No. 32, Division 4) (9-2-2), up one after a 1-0 win at Boston Latin Academy (No. 52, Division 3) on Friday. Bromfield School (No. 34, Division 4) (3-7-3) and Tahanto Regional (No. 35, Division 4) (0-12-2) fell out. Bromfield School (No. 34, Division 4) beat Ayer Shirley (No. 52, Division 4) 1-0 on Saturday and still dropped three spots as its opponents' rating fell from 0.9400 to 0.6259. Greater Lawrence Tech (No. 33, Division 4) (6-2-2) is the first team outside, 0.0247 back, after a 7-0 win over Lawrence (No. 47, Division 1) on Saturday. It is the only team ranked 33 to 36 at .500. Millbury (No. 37, Division 4) (5-5-3) is next, and 17 Division 4 teams below the line would make a play-in game today, including Keefe Tech (No. 41, Division 4) (12-1-0).

Division 5 Granby (No. 1, Division 5) (11-0-3) holds No. 1 at 2.5645 after a 3-1 win over Monson (No. 5, Division 5) on Saturday and a 1-0 win over Southwick Regional (No. 13, Division 4) on Monday. Hopedale (No. 2, Division 5) (9-2-0) stays second after a 5-0 win over South High Community (No. 48, Division 4) on Friday. Hull (No. 3, Division 5) (5-4-2) holds third after the loss to Cohasset (No. 1, Division 4). Unbeaten Hopkins Academy (No. 4, Division 5) (13-0-1) holds fourth after an 8-1 win at Greenfield (No. 34, Division 5) on Friday and a 3-0 win over Athol (No. 59, Division 4) on Monday, and Monson (No. 5, Division 5) (1-13-0) stays fifth after the loss at Granby (No. 1, Division 5); its opponents' rating of 1.4643 is the highest in Division 5. 59 teams are ranked.

Biggest movers: Whitinsville Christian (No. 7, Division 5) (1-6-4) jumped five, from No. 12 to No. 7, after its first win of the season, 4-2 at Blackstone Valley RVT (No. 57, Division 3) last Thursday, and lost 1-0 to Northbridge (No. 20, Division 4) on Monday. Upper Cape Cod RVT (No. 39, Division 5) rose five to No. 39 after its first win, 1-0 at Wareham (No. 71, Division 4) on Friday. Going the other way, Lee (No. 22, Division 5) (10-2-1) fell four to No. 22 after a 5-2 home loss to Drury (No. 6, Division 5) on Monday; Drury (No. 6, Division 5) moved up one spot.

On the bubble: Hoosac Valley (No. 31, Division 5) (3-11-2) moved into the top 32, from No. 34 to No. 31, after a 2-0 win at Springfield Central (No. 48, Division 1) on Friday; it lost 4-1 to Mount Greylock Reg. (No. 6, Division 4) on Monday. Gateway Regional (No. 32, Division 5) (6-2-3) fell three spots to No. 32 after a 6-5 loss at Lee (No. 22, Division 5) on Friday, and Innovation Acad. Charter (No. 33, Division 5) (6-7-0) slipped one spot to No. 33, the first team outside. The gap at the line is 0.1212. None of the teams ranked 33 to 36 is at .500. The first is Boston International (No. 38, Division 5) (4-1-3) at No. 38, followed by Tech Boston Academy (No. 40, Division 5) (5-3-0) at No. 40.

What's next The MIAA's next update is Friday, Oct. 23. The Mass Pitch will have the new top fives, movers and bubble then, along with a projected bracket built from that release. Every division page on the MIAA playoff hub carries the MIAA's full table plus this week's games and leading scorers, and each school's Mass Pitch team page has its schedule and results.

Source: MIAA 2026 girls soccer power rankings, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 and Division 5, including scores entered into Arbiter as of Oct. 20, 4 a.m. Ratings are the MIAA's, not The Mass Pitch's. Background photo: Sandro Schuh via Unsplash (CC0).

Corrections: editorial@themasspitch.com.