Boys soccer postseason play starts May 19 & 20

There are four classifications in Iowa high school boys’ soccer, with a total of 32 state tournament qualifiers.

The first round of postseason play is scheduled for Monday (Class 4A and 3A) and Tuesday (2A and 1A). Second round substate games will be held May 27 with substate finals set for May 29.

New in 2025, winners of substate finals will advance to the state quarterfinals, which will be played at host sites across the state on June 2.

The 2025 state tournament continues at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines with semifinals and finals set for June 4-6.

Class 4A

Substate 2: Linn-Mar (6-8-1) is the No. 2 seed and will square off against Des Moines North in the opener. No. 2 Des Moines Roosevelt is the 1.

Substate 5: Second-seeded Iowa City West (8-5-1) will open against Waterloo West. No. 3 Dowling Catholic likely awaits in the final. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Jefferson are seeded fourth and fifth, respectively.

Substate 6: Iowa City High’s (12-1-3) strong regular season earned it a 1-seed here. The fifth-ranked Little Hawks will open against the winner of Davenport Central and Dubuque Hempstead. Second-seeded Bettendorf likely is City’s biggest challenge in returning to state.

Substate 7: Eighth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie (10-3-1) is the top seed. The Hawks open against the winner of Muscatine and Davenport West, with Pleasant Valley or Davenport North potentially waiting in the final.

Class 3A

Substate 3: The final could create a compelling matchup between two of the stronger area teams — top-seeded No. 8 Cedar Rapids Washington (5-4-3) and second-seeded No. 9 Marion (9-2-4). These teams didn’t meet in the regular season but scrimmaged on March 31.

Substate 4: No. 2 Iowa City Liberty (9-4-2) is the 1. On the other side of the bracket is a tough and battle-tested 2-seed in Clear Creek Amana (7-3-3).

Substate 6: Mount Vernon (6-4-5) earned a 2-seed after taking on the gauntlet that is the Wamac conference this season. No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes, last year’s state champion, is the top seed.

Class 2A

Substate 4: No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier (8-2-1) is the ace here. Center Point-Urbana, Independence, New Hampton and West Delaware are the other area teams in this bracket. The Saints’ biggest obstacle to returning to state may be second-seeded Dubuque Wahlert.

Substate 6: The 1-seed in this bracket belongs to fifth-ranked Williamsburg (10-1-3). Second-seeded Mount Pleasant may be the Raiders’ toughest test in this bracket.

Class 1A

Substate 2: Postville (10-3-1) is the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of Denver and Cascade. The top seed is third-ranked Hudson (12-0-2).

Substate 4: Fourth-ranked Iowa City Regina (11-2-3) is the No. 1 seed, with No. 10 Beckman (8-3-2) the 2. The Regals and Trailblazers played to a 1-1 draw on April 16 in Dyersville. Cedar Valley Christian is seeded fifth.

Substate 5: No. 2 West Liberty (13-1-0) holds the top spot. The Comets’ toughest test may come from Mediapolis or Central Lee in the final.

Other Gazette-area teams: Hillcrest Academy — 1A, Substate 6 (3-seed); West Branch —1A, Substate 7 (6-seed); Decorah — 2A, Substate 2 (5-seed); Benton Community — 2A, Substate 3 (4-seed); Solon — 2A, Substate 5 (5-seed).