Its seed is not uncommon. Xavier Prep is No. 1 as the 2016 Division I state soccer tournament unfolds Tuesday (Feb. 2). The Gators have been the toughest team to score against in the division, have a lone loss to an Arizona school and a knack of playing deep into state tournaments, if not winning them.

Until a rare blip last year. That's when the third-ever, one-and-done at state took place for Gators. Xavier was the No. 2 seed and upset in the opening round by No. 15 Chandler High, which advanced to the semifinals before bowing out. That's not something Xavier need apologize for, but it's likely to have the Gators highly motivated this year. Xavier's other opening-round exits were in 1998 and 2006. Xavier has been no worse than a top-4 seed each of the last 10 years and No. 1 or 2 seven of those 10. Girls soccer has been sactioned by the AIA since 1990.

Winning this year's tourney won't be easy despite Xavier's performance to date. No. 2 Perry and No. 3 Desert Vista have been pretty darn good, too. Perry reached the D-I final in 2014 losing to Pinnacle so the Pumas would love another crack at a title. Ditto Desert Vista, which has lost in the finals two of the last four years, including last year. A good bet would be a Xavier-Perry or Xavier-Desert Vista matchup in this year's final. However, there's always an unxpected result or two along the way. This year should be no different.

First round matches are Tuesday (Feb. 2) at 7 p.m. They are: #16 Red Mountain at #1 Xavier; #9 Corona del Sol at #8 Campo Verde; #12 Highland at #5 Pinnacle; #13 Gilbert at #4 Hamilton; #14 Chandler at #3 Desert Vista; #11 Basha at #6 Chaparral; #10 Mountain Pointe at #7 Desert Mountain; #15 Millennium at #2 Perry. Quarterfinals are Saturday Feb. 6 at high seed, times TBD. Semifinals are Tuesday Feb. 9 at 5 and 7 p.m. at Campo Verde HS. Championship is Saturday Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. at Campo Verde HS.

Here's a brief look at the top 10 seeds -- highest to lowest:

No. 1 Xavier (14-2-3): The Gators haven't worn out the scoreboard compared to some other qualifiers, but the eight goals allowed in 19 matches is tops. As a team they have 10 shutouts. Defense is anchored by juniors Elena Zurek, Katie Moore and Madie Amavilah and sophomore Madeline Warren. Sophomore keeper Kinsey Ehmann has registered 10 shutouts. Xavier's leading scorer is sophomore Nicole Hook (eight goals) followed by Emily Chiap (6) and Alexis Allard (5). Three of Allard's goals have been game-winners and she leads the team in assists with 10. Xavier routinely plays in the prestigious Excalibur Invitational in California and enjoyed its best finish there (fourth) this season. Xavier posted a 6-1 record vs. top-10 tournament seeds.

No. 2 Perry (17-2-2): The Pumas are young with six sophomores starting and have scored a bunch (73 goals). Hard to concentrate on one or two players as six have scored between five and 13 goals for the year. Many of those goals were tallied in invitationals in December. Leading the way are senior Kambree Meskill (13 goals), sophomore Amanda Dahl (11) and junior Kelly Cannistra (10). Meskill has 12 assists and Dahl has 11. Perry boasts a 5-2-1 record against the top-10 tournament seeds. All eight schools in its section qualified for state and four of its seven section matches were decided by one goal.

No. 3 Desert Vista (17-3-1): The Thunder didn't win their section, but  managed to hand section-champ Perry its only section loss, 2-1. Defense has always been the keystone of coach Marvin Hypolite's teams at DV. This year is no exception as the Thunder have given up only 11 goals. Keeper Kamrie Gunderson has turned in nine shutouts and is helped in the back by Jessica Hale and Lauren Schooler. Desert Vista will need others to pick up the defense with the loss of two senior captains to suspension last week. Three players have scored in double digits for the season -- Paige Maling (14), Tatum Heering (12) and Olive Jones (10). In matches against teams seeded in the top 10 this season Desert Vista is a lofty 9-2-1.

No. 4 Hamilton (15-3-2): The Huskies offensive leader is sophomore Brianna (Sammi) Atterbury, who has 20 goals and eight assists. But it's defense that has paved the way to another solid season. Senior keeper Luz Galindo has 12 shutouts. Hamilton was 4-3-1 against top-10 tournament seeds. Hamilton has faced six of the seven teams in its half of the state bracket this season with a 5-0-1 mark. None of those teams (Gilbert, Pinnacle, Highland, Campo Verde, Corona del Sol and Red Mountain) scored against them. Hamilton played top-seed Xavier and lost in early December.

No. 5 Pinnacle (11-6-1): The Pioneers season was boosted with transfer of two-time Gatorade Player of the Year Kelsey Turnbow from Washington. Turnbow has scored 23 goals and is the focal point of the offense. Defensively Pinnacle is led by Sarah Loy, Carly Goehring and Adrianna Rodriguez. Pinnacle didn't fare well against top-10 tournament teams this season with a 2-4-1 record. Three of those matches were against No. 6 Chaparral (1-1-1). Pinnacle lost to Xavier, Hamilton and Corona del Sil -- teams in its half of the bracket.

No. 6 Chaparral (14-3-2): The Firebirds are another squad that wins with defense. They've allowed only 11 goals this season with six coming in losses to Xavier (3-0) and Pinnacle (3-2). Senior Allison Jorden leads in scoring with eight goals followed by seniors Sophia Struckman and Aliciai Jamison with seven goals apiece. Freshman Emma Carlson has a team-high eight assists. Defense is led by juniors Chloe Christakos and Rachel Brown. Chaparral posted a 3-2-1 record against top-10 tournament teams. The wins were against Desert Mountain, Pinnacle and Corona del Sol.

No. 7 Desert Mountain (12-5-3): The Wolves were the No. 1 seed last year and have bounced back with a solid season with new coach Mark Eggleston taking over for Brad Keller. A pair of sophomores fuel the attack. Delaney Rohde and Ashley Valdivieso have scored nine goals each. Valdivieso is the top returning scorer after a 10-goal, freshman campaign. Goalkeeper Sophia Lettieri has logged seven shutouts this season. All five of Desert Mountain's losses have come vs. the top six seeds in the tournament -- Xavier, Desert Vista (2), Pinnacle and Chaparral. The Wolves played Perry to a tie. 

No. 8 Campo Verde (10-7-3): An impressive resume for the Coyotes in a short time. They won the D-III title in 2013. Qualified for postseason each of the two years in D-II (finishing runner-up to Notre Dame last season). Earning a top-8 seed in a D-I debut is impressive. Campo Verde has not defeated a top-10 tournament team (0-6-2), but the second half of the season it has played much tougher against that brand of opponent. Proof  of that are ties against Desert Vista and Hamilton. Whitley Jones' 14 goals leads the team followed by Kyla Galdos with nine. Defense is led by captains Janelle Halter, Sebrina Rodriguez and Maia Gajate. Keepers Amanda Canzona and Shelby Nelson have shared time. Canzona has registered a team-high 84 saves.

No. 9 Corona del Sol (9-8-1): The Aztecs have hovered around their final mark of .500 all season. A three-game losing streak in late December was followed by a three-game winning streak to open the new year. The Aztecs have won three of their last four matches. Corona defeated its first-round opponent Campo Verde as part of its season-best three-game win streak. Corona is 3-4-1 vs. top-10 tournament seeds. The losses are to Perry, Desert Vista, Hamilton and Chaparral. Offense for the Aztecs has been dominated by sophomores Olivia Nguyen (11 goals) and Skylar Byrnes (7).

No. 10 Mountain Pointe (7-8-3): The Pride are under .500 for the year, but competing in Section 2 of the division is as tough as it gets. Mountain Pointe has played nine matches against top-10 tournament seeds and gone 1-7-1 in those encounters. Its win was over No. 8 Campo Verde and tie with No. 9 Corona del Sol. Mountain Pointe is led by captains Grace Blair, Emily Lynch and Erin Lynch. Defense is anchored by Blair and Erin Lynch. Top offensive players are Ali Turk (6 goals, 3 assists) and Emily Lynch ( 4 goals, 6 assists).