Today in sports: SWR hosts soccer, field hockey playoff games

Shoreham-Wading River will be the site for two playoff games this afternoon, both of which begin at 2:30 p.m.

The field hockey team, looking to defend its four straight Class B county championships, begins its playoff journey against a familiar rival in Miller Place. The No. 4 Wildcats went 13-3 in the regular season and one of those losses came against No. 5 Miller Place (10-6).

The Wildcats finished in second place in the standings behind Rocky Point despite having a better record. The Eagles finished 11-3, having lost twice to Shoreham. But, the power points worked out in their favor anyway.

It’s a situation the Wildcats have been in before. In 2008 they finished one game ahead of Miller Place, which included two victories against the Panthers. But Miller Place still had more power points and earned the higher seed. Shoreham didn’t flinch and beat Miller Place in the playoffs en route to a county championship.

If the Wildcats win today, they’ll travel to top-seeded Sayville, which earned a bye. The Golden Flashes went undefeated in Division II with a 16-0 overall record.

The girls soccer team will be hosting a playoff game as well today.

The No. 3 Wildcats had a superb regular season run under first-year coach Adrian Gilmore, finishing with a 9-3-1 record for third place in League VII. Shoreham lost its regular season finale 2-1 at Bayport-Blue Point, which ultimately gave the Phantoms a higher seed. The Phantoms were the No. 2 seed after finishing 12-2 in League VII. The Wildcats won the first matchup against Bayport earlier in the season.

Harborfields is a League V team and does not boast a record expected of a playoff team. The Tornadoes finished in last place in League V with a 2-9-1 record. Harborfields and Islip were the only Class A teams in the league that featured all Class AA teams. Islip also finished with a losing record and made the playoffs as the No. 5 seed.