Alle-Kiski Valley high school lookahead: Week of Sept. 11, 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 10, 2017 | 6:42 PM

MONDAY

• Like all WPIAL soccer teams, Deer Lakes girls hopes to end the season at Highmark Stadium in the WPIAL title game. The Lancers (2-1-1) will get at least one contest there, however, as they'll play Beaver at the Station Square venue at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

• Burrell (3-3, 3-3) hosts first-place St. Joseph (6-0, 5-0) in a Section 1-AA boys golf match at Hill Crest Country Club. The Spartans won the first meeting, 212-225, with a strong performance led by Derek Petrishen's 3-under-par round.

• Highlands (0-3-1, 0-0-1) heads to Burrell (0-2-1, 0-2) for a Section 2-AA girls soccer game between 2016 playoff teams now with new coaches. The host Bucs were young last season, while the Golden Rams lost several big contributors to graduation.

• St. Joseph girls soccer had an enormously difficult first game in Section 1-A, taking on No. 1 Shady Side Academy. Now the Spartans (0-1, 0-1) head to Apollo-Ridge (1-0, 1-0), which is fielding the most experienced team in its four-year history as a program.

TUESDAY

• Plum boys soccer finished in second place in Section 3-4A last season, one spot ahead of rival Fox Chapel. The Mustangs and Foxes will meet for the first time this season with eyes on a section title.

• Deer Lakes girls volleyball, eyeing a better finish in Section 5-AA this season, heads to Burrell for a match against the Bucs, who tied for second place in the section last season.

WEDNESDAY

• Springdale girls soccer, coming off a disappointing 2016, got its section season started with victories over Deer Lakes and Burrell. The Dynamos (2-0, 2-0) will try to keep the success going in a game against Valley (0-2, 0-1), which is hoping its playoff campaign a year ago means bigger things for the program.

• Kiski Area girls soccer opened its season with a shutout loss and a shutout win. The Cavaliers (1-1, 0-0) are aiming more for the latter as they host Latrobe (0-1, 0-0) in their first home Section 4-4A game.

THURSDAY

• Burrell, Valley and Kiski Area boys golf will compete in the Westmoreland County Coaches Association championships at Latrobe Elks. Last season Kiski Area finished eighth among Division I teams, and Burrell fourth among Division II teams.

• Highlands boys soccer team hopes to continue its strong start with a nonsection home game against Southmoreland. The Golden Rams (3-2) already have matched their victory total from last season.

• Burrell boys soccer had a difficult start to the season, dropping its first two Section 2-2A games. The Bucs (0-2, 0-2) hope to turn that around with a game at section rival Deer Lakes (1-1, 1-1).

FRIDAY

• Highlands and New Castle put on some offensive fireworks in their Northwest Nine game in Week 2. Expect much less scoring in this week's game at Golden Rams Stadium, where Highlands (1-1, 1-1) hosts rival Knoch (1-1, 1-0). These games are typically more low-scoring and physical. Another subplot: Highlands coach Dom Girardi is a former Knoch assistant.

• One week after toppling the defending PIAA Class 3A champion, Apollo-Ridge (3-0, 1-0) travels to face Shady Side Academy (1-1, 1-1) for an Allegheny Conference game. The young Vikings hope to keep their unbeaten run going.

• Freeport gets a measuring stick game, heading to “The Pit” to take on Class 3A No. 1 Aliquippa. Defense could rule the day: Freeport has allowed six points in two games, and Aliquippa has allowed 10 points in three contests.

SATURDAY

• Riverview (1-1, 1-1) had trouble slowing Class A No. 3 Imani Christian in its Week 2 Eastern Conference game. Now No. 2 Jeannette (3-0, 1-0), averaging 45 points per game, visits Riverside Park.

• In boys soccer, Riverview hopes to topple Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic as Section 3-A champion. The Raiders (2-1, 2-0) travel to face the Trojans (4-0, 2-0) for the first time this season.

• Other top boys soccer games on a busy Saturday include Freeport hosting Mt. Pleasant, Deer Lakes traveling to Shady Side Academy, Kiski Area hosting Norwin and St. Joseph hosting Greensburg Central Catholic.

WEEK IN REVIEW

• Lightning crashes: Who says lightning can't strike twice in the same place? It at least can cause havoc twice in the same week, as thunderstorms caused postponements and suspensions of games on both Wednesday and Thursday last week.

• Four score: Freeport's Kaylee Comperatore missed a significant portion of last season because of injury, but she's making up for lost time. She scored four goals in the Yellowjackets' 4-0 victory over East Allegheny on Saturday.

• Taking the field: Picking up right where it left off, two-time defending WPIAL field hockey champion Fox Chapel outscored Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon by a combined 10-1 score in its first two games of the season.

— Doug Gulasy