First-round farce

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the pairings for the IHSA Class AA Crystal Lake South girls soccer regional for the first time. And there’s no excuse for two of the top teams in the area having to play in the first round Wednesday night.

I’m sorry, there’s none. At the very least, this was a regional final. FVC Valley co-champs Cary-Grove (15-3, 9-1) and Crystal Lake South (14-6, 9-1) tied for the division crown and played for the third time in as many weeks in the regional semis. The host Gators won for the second straight meeting, 1-0, but these two clubs had no business playing this early.

I know that the seeding meeting is held too early. Everyone knows that. But if everyone knows that, why doesn’t anything change? Is it too much for someone to alter the seeds if a team that is 6-7 early on ends up 14-7?

Apparently, it is. It’s a shame because one of these teams went home way too soon.