DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac soccer team is off to a good start and people around the state are taking notice.

The Chieftains are ranked No. 13 in Division three by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association in its first poll of the season.

Veteran Dowagiac coach Mike Williams likes that his team is getting some statewide recognition, but he also knows that it puts a target on the Chieftains’ back moving forward.

“It is nice to be recognized as a top team in the state, but that also requires you to continue to grind and prepare hard for each game because people want to beat you,” Williams said. “The first rankings are also tough because it is so early in the season and we have a lot of tough teams to come in our conference.”

The Chieftains got their first chance to put their ranking on the line when they hosted Brandywine in a non-conference match on Tuesday. Dowagiac then set its sights on winning its own Chieftain Invitational on Saturday.

Dowagiac will face a pair of Southwest 10 Conference schools in the round-robin tournament in Bangor at 9 a.m. and Cassopolis at noon.

The Chieftains will face Lawton out of the Southwest Athletic Conference at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Dowagiac will play those games on its game field. On the auxiliary field across the street, Lawton will take on Cassopolis at 9 a.m. before the Rangers face Southwest 10 foe Bangor at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Bangor and Lawton will wrap up play on Field 2 at noon.

“As always, we look forward to hosting our invitational,” Williams said. “We enjoy playing teams that we do not play in the regular season and are not in our district. It is hard to see where every team is in regards to talent from year to year. I expect all the teams to be competitive, and provide our community with a quality tournament.”

Admission is $5 per person.