Girls Sectional 3 – South Bend Riley
Mishawaka Marian Knights
Record: 8-2
Recent form: Four straight wins entering Thursday
Notable sectional wins: South Bend Riley 9-0; South Bend Adams 2-0
Other notable wins: Lake Central 3-0; Northridge 2-0; South Bend Saint Joseph 2-1; Penn 1-0
Marian has put together the strongest collection of results in this sectional. The Knights started with a 10-1 victory over Elkhart, beat Lake Central 3-0, Northridge 2-0 and Riley 9-0. They also own a particularly important 2-0 victory at South Bend Adams.
There have been two significant setbacks: Hamilton Southeastern beat Marian 8-1, and Carmel won 6-0. Those results came against high-level competition, however, and Marian has responded well.
The result that has changed the picture even more is Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Penn. Penn entered this week among the better-regarded teams in Class 3A.
South Bend Adams Eagles
Record: 5-3-1 entering Thursday’s result
Goals entering Thursday: 38
Goals allowed: 9
Key scorer: Arianna Jones — 14 goals
Key creator: Navy Smith — 8 assists
Adams might have one of the more dangerous attacks in this sectional.
The Eagles entered Thursday having scored 38 goals while conceding nine. Junior midfielder/forward Arianna Jones had 14 goals, while Navy Smith had eight assists. Adams has shown the ability to overwhelm opponents. The Eagles beat Mishawaka 11-2 and New Prairie 9-0.
The important sectional measuring stick is Mishawaka Marian. Marian defeated Adams 2-0 on September 1. That makes a potential rematch interesting because Adams clearly has scoring ability, but Marian has already demonstrated it can keep that attack off the scoreboard.
LaPorte Slicers
Record: 4-4-1 entering Thursday
Thursday opponent: DeMotte Christian
LaPorte is sitting much closer to the middle of the pack. The Slicers enter Thursday at 4-4-1.
One of their more convincing recent performances was a 4-0 victory over New Prairie on September 12.
LaPorte has also already encountered strong Duneland Conference competition, giving the Slicers experience against the kind of physical, athletic teams they could encounter in October.
Michigan City Wolves
Record: 0-8 entering Thursday
This has been a difficult season for Michigan City.
The Wolves entered Thursday 0-8, with their latest listed game coming against sectional host South Bend Riley.
South Bend Riley Wildcats
Record: 0-6-1 entering Thursday
Host school
Riley is also looking for its first victory of 2026.
The Wildcats enter Thursday 0-6-1 and host Michigan City in what becomes a particularly interesting game because both teams are looking for a breakthrough.
Riley has already faced Marian, and that matchup showed the gap it needs to close before October: Marian won 9-0 on August 27.
Adams has also beaten Riley this season.