The reality is that EVERY team should get into the playoffs and then this is a moot point. Extend the tournament to 3 weeks with 2 games a week. This would help with weather issues in the spring which seems to happen every year. (And the state would make a bunch of extra money on ticket sales.). Then the top 24 teams (in 40 team 5A) would get a first round bye, while the last 16 would play. I am a fan of seeding meetings. Do upper-state and lower-state. It's ridiculous that a team like Clover, that was #1 in the country for a long part of this season, could have to travel for an away game in the 3rd and 4th round due to a pre-fab schedule. Let everyone it, seed like the NCAA, and the team on the top line is home. Like said above, if you beat a better team, you have earned their spot. Happened in NCAA a few years when Charlotte beat a higher seed and then hosted a nationally ranked Akron team because they were higher on the bracket. This would allow a school like Clover, that has earned their national ranking, to host games all the way up to the state final.
Another argument would be to play at a neutral site for the upper/lower state championships. This is what they already do for basketball to be fair. If it works for basketball why not soccer??
And lastly, let everyone in and get rid of regions. Go to regional conferences with teams from different divisions. The school could then pick their conference and we wouldn't have to re-align every 2 years. Why should Lancaster and Spartanburg be in a region (as they were a few years ago) or Rock Hill be in a region with Blythewood/SV and not Northwestern (which also happened a few years ago)?????
