By Ray Hamill — Nine H-DNL teams remain in the chase for a North Coast Section championship in soccer as we head towards the final week of the 2026 season.
The boys quarterfinals and girls semifinals will take place over the next two days and several of the league teams remain well positioned to compete for a section title, most notably some of the girls teams.
A busy two days of playoff action features two all-local matchups between teams that know each other well.
In the boys Division-1 bracket, H-DNL champs Arcata will host league rival Fortuna on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Cal Poly Humboldt’s College Creek Field.
This will be the third meeting between the two schools this fall, with the Tigers having won both previous matchups in league play, each by the narrowest of margins.
In the girls Division-1 bracket, Fortuna and Eureka will renew their rivalry when they meet in the semifinals at Albee Stadium on Friday night at 7.
The Loggers are the No. 2 seeds in the bracket and had an opening-round bye, while the Huskies are seeded No. 3 and are coming off a comprehensive 6-1 win over Clear Lake in their playoff opener on Wednesday night.
The Loggers, who are this year’s Pacific League champs, won both league matchups between the two schools this year by scores of 2-1 and 4-2, which are Fortuna’s only losses in the team’s last 18 games.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to next week’s championship game, which might also be an all-local affair.
The other bracket semifinal sees No. 5 St. Bernard’s travel to play No. 1 Kelseyville, also on Friday night at 7.
The Crusaders won their opening playoff game 3-0 at Technology on Wednesday and are playing some of their best soccer of the year at the moment.
They are 4-0-1 in their last five games and have not given up a goal in that run.
However, Kelseyville is 20-1-1 this year and is on a 21-game unbeaten streak, having not lost since the season opener against Clear Lake.
A win for SB would guarantee an all-local final here in Humboldt County.
We could also see an all-local final in this year’s girls Division-2 bracket.
The Del Norte girls are seeded No. 1 and will open their playoffs against No. 4 Lower Lake in Crescent City on Saturday afternoon at 2.
The Warriors had an opening-round bye, while the Trojans are coming off a 2-0 win over Cloverdale in their playoff opener.
The Del Norte girls have been the hottest local team down the stretch of the season and are unbeaten in 12 straight games, including six wins.
And they have succeeded with the stingiest defense in the H-DNL, allowing just six goal is that 12-game run and never more than one a game.
The other Division-2 semifinal sees No. 2 Ferndale take on No. 3 Credo on Friday afternoon at 2:30.
The Cats are looking to become the first-ever Division-1, Division-2 and Division-3 champion, having won titles in D-3 in 2023 and in D-1 last year.
They had an opening-round bye this week, while Credo got the better of Tomales 3-2.
If Del Norte wins on Saturday, the championship game will take place in Crescent City next Wednesday, whereas if the Warriors lose and the Wildcats win, then the championship game will take place in Ferndale.
Rounding out the weekend action, two H-DNL boys teams remain alive in Division 2.
Fresh off an impressive 3-0 win over Trinity Prep on Wednesday night, the No. 6 Eureka Loggers will play at No. 3 Credo on Saturday night at 7, while the No. 7 Del Norte Warriors will try to keep their playoff run going when they travel to play No. 2 Cristo Rey De La Salle in Oakland on Saturday night at 7.
Credo and Cristo Rey De La Salle both had opening-round byes, while the Del Norte boys comfortably defeated Kelseyville 4-0 in their playoff opener.
