2024 WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer championship breakdown: Moon vs. Franklin Regional

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, November 1, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer championship

Franklin Regional (14-3-2) vs. 1-Moon (21-0)

5:45 p.m. Saturday, Highmark Stadium, Station Square, Pittsburgh

Tickets: $10 general admission

WPIAL titles: Franklin Regional 2 (2018, ‘19); Moon 6 (2022, ‘03, 1990, ‘86, ‘85, ‘83)

Coaches: Nick White, Franklin Regional; Tyler Blake, Moon

Players to watch: Danny Christafano, Franklin Regional; Evan Thomas, Moon

Playoff path: Franklin Regional defeated No. 10 Trinity, 3-0, in the first round; No. 2 Thomas Jefferson, 2-1, in the quarterfinals; and No. 6 Mars, 2-1, in the semifinals. Moon defeated No. 16 Belle Vernon, 6-0, in the first round; No. 9 Hampton, 3-0, in the quarterfinals; and No. Bethel Park, 3-2 in overtime, in the semifinals.

Corner kicks: Franklin Regional upset another team to reach the finals for the fourth time in seven years, edging No. 6 Mars, 2-1, in the semifinals. Cruise Lamanna and Christafano scored, and Joey Bayne assisted both goals. The Panthers knocked off No. 2 Thomas Jefferson, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. Noah Walker is an underrated keeper who has played in big games. Franklin Regional won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 2018-19. … Moon won its last title in 2022, so it has recent title-game experience. The unbeaten Tigers have outscored teams 112-10 and have 15 shutouts. They held off Bethel Park in overtime, 3-2, as Zech Balbach delivered the game-winner Monday night. Thomas added two goals for Moon in the victory. The Tigers have shut out six of their last seven opponents. Jon Mark Balbach, Aedan Costa, Fin Dengel,Marc Haupt and Thomas are all-WPIAL players. Costa leads the team with 21 goals and 17 assists. Thomas has 18 goals, and Zech Balbach has 15 goals and 14 assists.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Moon