This fall the Rockport boys' soccer team and Gloucester girls' soccer team exceeded expectations going into the season as both qualified for their respective MIAA state tournaments.

For the Vikings (11-4-3) it wasn't a shock at all that they made the tournament, but the fact that they earned the No. 4 seed (out of 15 teams) in Division 3 North has to make head coach Dave Curley and his team quite happy. In a first-round game, they'll host No. 13 seed Matignon (6-10-1) on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) in Rockport.

"We're very proud of being the four seed," said Curley. "This ensures two home games if we win, which is the most home games you can get before it becomes neutral sites in the semifinals."

If they can get by Matignon, they'll likely host Cape Ann Small rival Lynnfield on Tuesday in Rockport. The Pioneers are seeded No. 5 and they host No. 12 Whittier on Sunday afternoon as well.

Matignon competes in the Catholic Central Small so even though they're overall record is under .500, they qualified for the postseason under the Sullivan Rule, meaning they had a winning record against other Division 3 teams.

Since the MIAA builds the brackets based solely by record, just because a team has a high seed doesn't mean they're necessarily the best. At the Division 3 level, you're not going to find a better league than the Cape Ann League. Therefore, Curley was pleased to see Hamilton-Wenham seeded 10th and on the other side of the bracket. Other local teams to watch for are No. 6 Bishop Fenwick, No. 9 North Shore Tech and No. 14 Winthrop.

The top three teams are Lowell Catholic, Weston and Maimonides. Lowell Catholic (14-2-2) is the only team to get a bye.

After scrimmaging with Triton yesterday, Curley felt like his team is ready to go. "It's good for the kids, they worked really hard this year to be the No. 4 seed. It's quite an accomplishment, hopefully it will pay off."

Without question, the Gloucester girls' soccer team was one of the best stories in Eastern Mass. sports this fall. A team that hadn't won a game in the last three seasons somehow turned it all around in coach Alex White's first season and qualified for the Division 2 North tournament.

The reward, if you can call it that, is a third meeting this season with the high-flying No. 1 Danvers Falcons (15-0-3). The Fishermen (8-8-1) are the No. 16 seed and they'll travel to Danvers tomorrow night (6 p.m.) to try and pull off the monumental upset in a first-round game.

"We've been the underdog all season so that's nothing really new to us," noted Gloucester head coach Alex White.

Danvers is the top seed and they've already beaten Gloucester twice — 3-0 on Sept. 25 at Newell Stadium and 7-0 this past Monday in Danvers.

"It's hard to beat a team three times in a season," said White, looking for more positive signs.

The Fishermen beat Swampscott and tied Salem, which both tied Danvers.

The winner of Gloucester/Danvers will play No. 8 Swampscott or No. 9 Bedford in the quarterfinals.

Other than the Falcons, the next highest seeds are Arlington Catholic, Wayland and North Reading. Fellow NEC team Saugus is on the bottom of its bracket along with Bishop Fenwick, while Marblehead and Salem are NEC teams on the other side of the draw.