Section matchups are set

All three Carlton County soccer teams were seeded No. 1 heading into their respective section tournaments.

As of presstime, Esko had demolished its opponent in the first round of the 7A playoffs, while both the Cloquet-Carlton girls and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys teams got a bye for the first round.

Esko defeated No. 8 seed Two Harbors 14-0 Tuesday at home Monday, and advanced to a semifinal game against No. 5 seed Legacy Christian Academy Wednesday, also at home. Esko won 5-1 and will face No. 2 seed Duluth Marshall for the Section 7A championship at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Esko.

The Cloquet girls were set to play No. 5 Hermantown in a semifinal game Thursday at Hilltop Park in Cloquet, after the Hawks defeated No. 4 seed Grand Rapids 2-1 Tuesday. The other semifinal game Thursday is between No. 3 North Branch and No. 2 Duluth Denfeld.

The CEC boys play a semifinal game against No. 4 seed Denfeld 4 at 6:30 pm Thursday at the Esko stadium. No. 3 seed Hermantown plays at No. 2 seed Grand Rapids in the other semifinal game Thursday.

According to the Minnesota State High School League brackets, both the 7AA girls and 7AA boys championship games are set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17 at the high seed.

There is a possibility Cloquet will host those games at the new Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium. However, Cloquet activities director Paul Riess stressed there are no guarantees.

As of presstime, if both Lumberjacks soccer teams make the championship, games are scheduled for the Duluth Denfeld Hunting Stadium at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. However, if the new stadium in Cloquet is ready, the games will be played here. That decision will likely be made after the weekend, so check the school district or Pine Knot website.