The New Trier girls soccer team learned Friday that the pressure will be on from the start after being awarded the top seed in next month’s Pepsi Showdown.
Metea Valley earned the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Loyola, No. 4 Huntley and No. 5 Plainfield North. Wheaton Warrenville South, Lyons, Mundelein, Oak Park and Lake Forest round out the top 10 seeds of the 40-team showcase.
“We will surprise people this year,” said New Trier coach Jim Burnside, whose team graduated five players now playing in college. “We return a solid base that has quality varsity experience, and we’ll be strong across the field. I’m excited about this team.”
In its fourth year, the girls tournament is the largest high school girls soccer showcase in the country. It kicks off April 5 and will feature more than 100 games and 1,000 players over a two-week span. All 40 teams will play at Olympic Park in Schaumburg on April 9 and 16. The title game will be played as part of a doubleheader with the Chicago Fire on April 17 at Toyota Park.
The following are the overall team seeds for the 2011 Pepsi Showdown:
1. New Trier
2. Metea Valley
3. Loyola
4. Huntley
5. Plainfield North
6. Wheaton Warrenville South
7. Lyons
8. Mundelein
9. Oak Park
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10. Lake Forest
11. Lincoln-Way North
12. Wheaton North
13. York
14. St. Viator
15. Glenbrook South
16. Libertyville
17. Hersey
18. Stevenson
19. Wheaton Academy
20. Maine South
21. Deerfield
22. Fenwick
23. Elk Grove
24. Lake Zurich
25. Sycamore
26. Joliet
27. St. Ignatius
28. Warren
29. Oswego
30. Niles North
31. Lane
32. Plainfield Central
33. Jacobs
34. Hinsdale South
35. Nazareth
36. Providence
37. Lakes
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38. U-High
39. Payton
40. Young