The Delaware Christian School boys soccer team could face a familiar opponent in its Division III district tournament opener this week.

The Eagles are seeded fifth and have a first-round bye. They will play host to sixth-seeded Tree of Life or Harvest Prep in the second round on Saturday, Oct. 20.

Delaware Christian lost to Tree of Life 2-1 in a MOCAL contest Sept. 18 but has not played Harvest Prep this season.

"We feel like we controlled most of the game and possession against them when we played them in our league," coach Levi Witt said, referring to the loss to Tree of Life. "We just didn't get the result. Our seniors have never beaten them, although I think they tied as freshmen. So they want one more shot at redemption."

Harvest Prep was 0-13 at the time of the tournament draw Oct. 7. The Warriors allowed eight or more goals in each of those 13 games and were outscored 156-3.

"Tree of Life has two great players, big-time scorers in David Burton in the midfield and striker Aaron Russell," Witt said. "We'll have to be aware of where they are at all times. We can't let them sneak behind us because playing chase-from-behind-them won't work."

The second-round winner will play at fourth-seeded Bloom-Carroll or at home against 11th-seeded Granville Christian, Johnstown or Northside Christian in a district semifinal against on Oct. 24.

The semifinal winner advances to a district final Oct. 27 at Westerville Central, where it likely would meet defending state champion Worthington Christian.

Delaware Christian beat Granville Christian 3-0 on Sept. 25 and played Northside Christian in its regular-season finale Oct. 13. The Eagles has not played Bloom-Carroll or Johnstown this season.

Last season as the seventh seed, Delaware Christian beat fifth-seeded Bloom-Carroll 2-1 in a second-round game and fourth-seeded Fairbanks 2-1 in double overtime in a district semifinal before losing to top-seeded Worthington Christian 5-1 in a district final.

"Delaware Christian and Bloom-Carroll is a common occurrence in the district tournament, but it was lopsided until last year," Witt said. "Hopefully, that helped us turn the page. It would still take a great effort and smart play to beat them, and I hope we get the chance.

"The kids are really pumped up and would love to meet up with (top-seeded) Worthington Christian in the district final again, but that's a long way down the road. First things first, we have to get (past) Tree of Life before looking at other goals or other teams. We can't look past a team that already beat us once this season."

Delaware Christian concluded MOCAL play Oct. 9 with a 2-1 win over Grove City Christian. The Eagles finished 4-1 in the league to place second behind Tree of Life (4-0-1) and ahead of Granville Christian (2-2-1), Gahanna Christian (2-2-1), Madison Christian (1-3-1) and Grove City Christian (0-5).

Volleyball team set for postseason play

The girls volleyball team hopes to exact some revenge when it begins play in the Division IV district tournament this week.

Seeded fifth, the Eagles have a first-round bye and play host to 13th-seeded Fisher Catholic in the second round at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18. Last season as the second seed, Delaware Christian and lost to the sixth-seeded Irish 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 15-10 in a district semifinal.

Fisher Catholic is a member of the Mid-State League.

"We're happy to play our first match at home," coach Jackie Boggs said. "The girls were a bit concerned by the draw since Fisher beat us last year in the regular season and in the tournament.

"Although they play in a tough league, they are a different team this year, like we are. Last year shouldn't mean anything. With that being said, I'm sure the girls would be happy to beat the team that ended our best season ever."

If Delaware Christian advances, it will play sixth-seeded Gahanna Christian, seventh-seeded Madison Christian or eighth-seeded Danville in a district semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Hilliard Darby.

In MOCAL play this season, the Eagles beat Madison Christian 25-18, 23-25, 25-13, 25-16 on Sept. 22 but lost 25-22, 13-25, 24-26, 25-10, 16-14 on Oct. 2. They beat Gahanna Christian 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 on Aug. 28 and 25-27, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 15-13 on Sept. 20.

Delaware Christian defeated Tree of Life 25-9, 25-6, 25-23 on Oct. 11 to earn a share of the MOCAL championship with Madison Christian. The Eagles and Madison Christian both finished 11-1 in league play.

"It's been a great season because nobody expected us to play this well after losing seven players last year and having only Brenna McCullough and Lenora Boyer back," Boggs said. "This team stuck together, played and practiced hard and became what others might say (are) overachievers. They're a special group."