2026 CIAC boys soccer tournament: What you need to know from the quarterfinals

Haddam-Killingworth's #11 Aidan Lena advances the ball during the CIAC Class S Boys Soccer Championship against Somers at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Conn., Sunday, November 16, 2025. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) The quarterfinal round of the CIAC boys soccer tournaments were played Thursday, leaving us with 16 teams remaining in the state across the four classes. Here is the full schedule and scoreboard for the tournaments.And here is what you need to know from the quarterfinal games. UpsetsClass LLNo. 15 Brien McMahon over No. 7 Fairfield Prep: McMahon continues to take down higher seeds with a 4-2 win over Fairfield Prep. McMahon has reached the CIAC semifinals for the first time since the 1989 Class L tournament. McMahon previously knocked off No. 2 Xavier, and now has taken down Fairfield Prep behind a hat-trick by Matthew Chen. Class SNo. 9 Valley Regional over No. 1 Northwestern: Valley Regional defeated Northwestern 1-0, becoming the only team to take down a No. 1 seed across all four tournaments. Valley Regional continues to play its best soccer in the postseason, having reached the Shoreline championship game (which it lost to Morgan), and is now one win away from reaching a CIAC final for the first time since 2010. The Warriors have not allowed a goal in the tournament. No. 7 Haddam-Killingworth over No. 2 Cromwell: The Cougars are one game away from returning to the CIAC Class S tournament for a second straight year after defeating Cromwell 3-1 in the quarterfinal. Haddam-Killingworth had lost to Cromwell 4-0 in the regular season, but got the upper hand when it counted most. Top PerformersJonny Adadjo, Tolland:Scored a pair of goals and added an assist in No. 3 Tolland's 4-1 Class M win over No. 6 Suffield.Matthew Chen, McMahon: Scored a hat-trick in No. 15 McMahon's 4-2 Class LL victory over No. 7 Fairfield Prep. Andrew Edward, Middletown: Scored two goals as No. 7 Middletown defeated No. 15 E.O. Smith 3-2 in Class L. Tristen Edwards, Haddam-Killingworth:Scored a goal and had an assist as No. 7 Haddam-Killingworth took down No. 2 Cromwell 3-1 in Class S. Tommy Francalangia, Berlin: Scored a goal and assisted another in No. 4 Berlin's 5-0 win over No. 12 Newtown in Class L. Jason Hamley, E.O. Smith: Scored a pair of goals in No. 15 E.O. Smith's 3-2 loss to No. 7 Middletown in Class L. Timmy McSweeney, Hand:Scored two goals in No. 5 Hand's 3-2 overtime win over No. 4 Nonnewaug in Class M. Running It BackOf the eight teams that reached the CIAC finals last year, five are heading to semifinals this year. That group includes two defending champions in Staples (LL) and Tolland (M). No. 6 Greenwich is still alive in Class LL after finishing as the runner-up last year, and last year's Class M runner-up Stonington is still alive in Class S. Also still playing in Class S is last year's runner-up Haddam-Killingworth. It is also worth noting that No. 2 Weston is playing two-time defending champion No. 3 Tolland in Class M, a rematch of the 2024 Class M championship game. Conference BreakdownsOnly six conferences are left standing across the four tournaments, making up the 16 remaining teams.The CCC has the most teams left with four. The FCIAC, Shoreline, and SWC all have three teams while the ECC has two and the SCC has one.Class LLFCIAC (3): Staples, Greenwich, McMahonCCC (1): GlastonburyClass LSWC (2): New Milford, BethelCCC (2): Berlin, MiddletownClass MECC (1): WaterfordSWC (1): WestonCCC (1): TollandSCC (1): HandClass SShoreline (3): East Hampton, Haddam-Killingworth, Valley RegionalECC (1): StoningtonSign up for the Connecticut Briefing from CT Insider. Get the biggest headlines of the day from our network of journalists around the state.This article originally published at 2026 CIAC boys soccer tournament: What you need to know from the quarterfinals.