2024 PIAA Class 3A boys soccer championship preview: Moon vs. Radnor

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, November 14, 2024 | 12:51 PM

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Radnor (20-3) vs. Moon (25-0)

10 a.m. Friday at Eagle View MS, Mechanicsburg

On the air: PCN-TV

Seeds: Radnor 1-1; Moon 7-1

How they got here: Radnor defeated Kennard Dale, 3-0, in the first round; Archbishop Ryan, 4-1, in the quarterfinals; and Dallas, 3-0, in the semifinals. Moon beat Lampeter Strasburg, 2-1, in the first round; Allderdice, 2-1 in overtime, in the quarterfinals; and Conrad Weiser, 1-0, in the semifinals.

Coaches: Joe Caruolo, Radnor; Tyler Blake, Moon

Players to watch: Andrew Marino, Radnor; Aedan Costa, Moon

PIAA titles: Radnor 1 (2004); Moon 0

Corner kicks: District 1 champion Radnor is making its fourth trip to the PIAA championship. Its lone victory came in 2004, beating South Park, 1-0, in the Class 2A final. Radnor also lost to Fleetwood in 1980 and Wilson in 2018. The Raptors’ only losses have come against Shipley, Penncrest and Conestoga. Behind keeper JD Ball, they have posted 16 shutouts this season and allowed just 10 goals. Senior forward Andrew Marino, who has been hobbled by an ankle injury during the postseason, found the back of the net in the semifinals. … Moon last played in the PIAA final in 1985 when it lost to Council Rock. The undefeated Tigers won their seventh WPIAL championship earlier this month with a 3-1 win over Franklin Regional. Luiz Silva scored 13 minutes into the second half for the winning tally against Conrad Weiser in the semifinals. Silva also scored the winning goal in overtime against Allderdice in the quarterfinals. Aedan Costa, an all-state midfielder, leads the Tigers in scoring with 23 goals and 18 assists. Jon Mark Balbach, Costa, Fin Dengel, Marc Haupt and Evan Thomas were selected to the all-WPIAL team. Thomas has 18 goals and nine assists. Haupt has added 16 goals and 10 assists.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Moon