The draw did exactly what everyone wanted it to do. St. Xavier and Trinity ended up on opposite sides of the Seventh Region bracket, which means the two best high school soccer teams in Kentucky — and arguably two of the best in the country — are headed straight for each other in the regional final on Oct. 20.
St. X comes in at 17-0-1, ranked No. 2 in the nation by United Soccer Coaches, and is the defending state champion. Their only imperfection is a 1-1 draw against Cleveland St. Ignatius on Sept. 26. Trinity, sitting at 15-1-2 and ranked No. 22 nationally, has one loss on the books — a 2-1 defeat to St. X on Sept. 23. The Shamrocks have been chasing redemption ever since.
A rematch two months in the making
That September result gives St. X the psychological edge heading into this tournament, but knockout football has a way of reshuffling those dynamics fast. A one-goal margin in a regular-season game doesn't guarantee anything once the bracket takes over. Trinity knows how to beat St. Xavier — they just haven't done it yet.
Both teams face manageable early-round paths. St. X opens against Central before a likely clash with Kentucky Country Day (No. 7 nationally) in the pod final. Trinity draws the Portland Christian-Ballard winner in round one, then faces a clearer road to the semis. If both advance as expected, they meet at Ballard at 8 p.m. on Oct. 20 with a state tournament berth on the line.
The field also includes No. 17 Eastern, No. 19 Christian Academy, and No. 24 Manual — ranked programs that could complicate things, but realistically the bracket is built around that one final matchup.
Full tournament structure at a glance
The super-regional format drops district tournaments entirely, running all 18 Seventh Region teams through a pod-based draw. Key dates:
- Play-in games: Oct. 10 (Seneca vs. Waggener; Portland Christian vs. Ballard)
- Pod rounds: Oct. 12–15
- Semifinals at Ballard: Oct. 17 (St. Xavier pod vs. Manual pod at 5 p.m.; Christian Academy pod vs. Trinity pod at 7 p.m.)
- Seventh Region Final at Ballard: Oct. 20, 8 p.m.
- Sixth Region boys final at Ballard: Oct. 20, 6 p.m.
- Girls regional finals at Ballard: Oct. 22 (Seventh Region at 6 p.m., Sixth Region at 8 p.m.)
On the girls side, Assumption and Sacred Heart are the programs to watch in the Seventh Region, while the Sixth Region bracket opens with pod play starting Oct. 12.
The Sixth Region boys tournament is fully underway after Moore dispatched Western 8-0 in the play-in game. Their bracket runs through pod play before semifinals at Fern Creek on Oct. 17 and the final at Ballard on Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
Everything in the Seventh Region, though, is pointing toward one result: St. X and Trinity, one more time, winner takes all.
