Breaking down the 2024 WPIAL girls soccer playoffs

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 | 3:15 PM

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Here’s a look at the 2024 WPIAL girls soccer playoffs:

Class 4A

Favorite: Peters Township (16-0-1) was stingy defensively with just eight goals allowed in 16 games while scoring 63. An overtime tie with Upper St. Clair was the only thing keeping the Indians from a perfect Section 2 slate. Peters Township shut out last year’s WPIAL 4A champion and current Class 3A power Fox Chapel, 3-0, on Monday in a clash of unbeaten section leaders. Paige Malley scored twice to lead the Indians.

Contenders: Seneca Valley (12-2-2) went undefeated in 14 games after a 2-2 start. The Raiders’ lone loss to a WPIAL team was a 2-1 setback to Peters Township on Aug. 28. The Section 3 champion Raiders hope to make a title run after falling in last year’s quarterfinal round. … North Allegheny (10-5-1) finished runner-up in WPIAL 4A and reached the PIAA semifinals last year, falling to Fox Chapel, 1-0, in overtime at Highmark Stadium. The Tigers went 4-0-1 in five games down the stretch in the regular season, and the scoreless tie came against Seneca Valley on Oct. 7. … Upper St Clair (9-5-2) beat Connellsville and Mt. Lebanon last week to right itself after a three-game losing skid. The Panthers made the WPIAL semifinals last year before falling to Fox Chapel. … Canon-McMillan (11-3-1), a WPIAL semifinalist last year, finished one point behind Upper St. Clair for second place in Section 2. The Big Macs went 1-0-1 against the Panthers in the season series.

Don’t overlook: Penn-Trafford (12-4) hopes to make an impact in the 4A playoffs after moving up from Class 3A. The Warriors edged rival Norwin by three points for the Section 1 title.

Top players: Anna Amato, Pine-Richland; Annalyse Bauer, Latrobe; Shea Best, Pine-Richland; Nicole Bown, Norwin; Sierra Dupree, Upper St. Clair; Camryn Klein, Peters Township; Molly Kubistek, Peters Township; Ashlee Libby, Seneca Valley; Karly Majeski, Seneca Valley; Madison Miller, North Allegheny; Kieran Shannon, North Allegheny; Emma Schupansky, North Allegheny; Emilee Tonkovich, Canon-McMillan

Prediction: Peters Township over Seneca Valley

Class 3A

Favorite: Fox Chapel saw its undefeated regular season spoiled Monday with a loss to Class 4A No. 2 Peters Township, but the Foxes (15-1-1), who captured a WPIAL Class 4A title last year as the No. 6 seed, are poised to make a run in this year’s Class 3A tournament. Senior Alyssa Quakenbush and sophomore Emily McKee are goal-scoring leaders. Fox Chapel won Section 1 with a 12-0 record, scored a pair of one-goal victories against rival Mars (14-2), and outscored opponents 77-8 through 17 games.

Contenders: Mars’ only losses in the regular season came to Fox Chapel. The Fightin’ Planets, WPIAL and PIAA semifinalists last year, scored 75 goals in 16 games through Monday’s win over Obama and posted 12 shutouts. … Moon (12-3), last year’s WPIAL runner-up and a three-time defending state champion, is paced by the play of junior forward/midfielder Kendall Dydek. The Tigers scored 48 goals through 15 games and shared the Section 2 title with West Allegheny. … Plum (15-1) rolled to a sixth consecutive section title and gave up just five goals in the regular season. The only loss came at Montour, 1-0, on Sept. 19. … South Fayette (13-3), the defending WPIAL champion, allowed just three goals in 10 section victories (10-0) and also defeated West Allegheny and Class 4A No. 5 Upper St. Clair in nonsection play. … West Allegheny (13-3-1) won 10 of 11 through 4-0 victory at Blackhawk on Monday. The Indians beat Moon, 1-0, in the second meeting between the teams Oct. 2.

Don’t overlook: Montour (11-4-2), in addition to handing Plum its only loss of the regular season, beat Moon, 3-2, on Monday to close out the regular season and scored a 1-0 win over West Allegheny as part of a 5-0-1 streak down the stretch.

Top players: Serena Carnahan, Plum; Callee Dalbon, Bethel Park; Kendall Dydek, Moon; Chloe Hart, West Allegheny; Sara Kenst, Hampton; Julia Lishia, Mars; Sami Maglicco, Thomas Jefferson; Grace Bannon, Montour; Emily McKee, Fox Chapel; Alyssa Quackenbush, Fox Chapel; Abby Paterline Fraklin Regional; Abby Spalla, South Fayette.

Prediction: Fox Chapel over Mars

Class 2A

Favorite: Mt. Pleasant (14-1) lost once over its first 15 games, a 2-1 overtime setback to Section 1-4A champion Penn-Trafford, 2-1 in overtime Sept. 21. The Vikings, with experienced players all over the field, hope for a deeper run after a 2-1 overtime loss to Burrell in last year’s quarterfinals. Mt. Pleasant reached the WPIAL finals two years ago. The Vikings allowed just three goals in their 10 section games (10-0) and outscored opponents 92-6 through 15 games.

Contenders: Freeport (11-1-1), led by the scoring of sophomore forward Cam Woods and the defense of junior goalkeeper Alyssa Alcorn, won its second straight Section 2 title. The Yellowjackets beat Burrell twice in overtime and topped North Catholic, 4-2, on Oct. 5 to avenge their only section loss. … Miley Kariotis and Maggie Nesko have experience and talent to help lead Burrell in the postseason. The Bucs (11-5-1), who made a run to the WPIAL semifinals last year, are in the WPIAL playoffs for the ninth year in a row. … Senior midfielder Lilia Battalini helps front Beaver (13-1), which split a pair of one-goal games with Quaker Valley and shared the Section 3 title with the Quakers. … Quaker Valley (13-2-2) tallied 12 shutouts over its first 16 games. Senior Mia Modrovich paces the Quakers defense. QV rattled off eight wins in a row after its 3-2 loss to Beaver on Sept. 16. … South Park (12-4-1) went undefeated to win the Section 1 title. The Eagles lost competitive nonsection games to Burrell, Mt. Pleasant and Beaver. The Eagles scored 95 goals through 17 games.

Don’t overlook: North Catholic defeated Freeport and Burrell in consecutive games last month and finished runner-up (8-2) to the Yellowjackets in Section 2. Junior midfielder Simone Sharpless is an experienced leader for the Trojanettes, who hope for a deeper run after falling, as the No. 2 seed, to Shady Side Academy in last year’s quarterfinal round.

Top players: Lilia Battalini, Beaver; Claire Cacurak, Deer Lakes; Morgan Gesinski, Mt. Pleasant; Miley Kariotis, Burrell; Emily Mihelcic, South Park; Annabel Miko, Quaker Valley; Mia Modrovich, Quaker Valley; Brooke Paylo, South Park; Laurel Rummel, Mt. Pleasant; Simone Sharpless, North Catholic; Camryn Woods, Freeport.

Prediction: Mt. Pleasant over Quaker Valley

Class A

Favorite: Springdale (13-1) rolled to the Section 4 title, outscoring opponents 82-6. The Dynamos’ only loss was to Class 2A contender Burrell, 3-0, on Sept. 28. Springdale, which made it to the WPIAL semifinals last year, features a deep attack that includes seniors Briana Ross and Molly Hurley. Ross owns more than 100 career goals. The Dynamos outscored rivals Riverview and Greensburg Central Catholic by a combined 20-3 over four section matchups.

Contenders: Bentworth (15-1) captured the Section 2 championship and lost just once in the regular season, a 1-0 setback to section rival Chartiers-Houston on Sept. 18. The Bearcats outscored opponents 76-9 through their 16 games. … Seton LaSalle seeks a first WPIAL championship. The Rebels (12-2-2) shared the Section 3 title with Sewickley Academy and won nine of 10 games in a stretch late in the regular season. … Waynesburg (13-2) lost just twice during the regular season, falling in a pair of one-goal results against section champion Bentworth. The Raiders hope to make a run to their second WPIAL title (2017). … Sewickley Academy (11-3-1) tied Seton LaSalle for the Section 3 title at 10-1-1. The Panthers tallied 55 goals through 15 games and ended the regular season with five straight wins. … Winchester Thurston (11-5) fashioned eight shutouts in the regular season and also took Sewickley Academy to overtime in a nonsection game Sept. 25. … Eden Christian (8-7-1) won Section 1 by edging Freedom but lost to the Bulldogs, 5-4, last week.

Don’t overlook: Riverview (10-3), despite losing record-setting goal-scorer Lola Abraham to graduation from last year’s WPIAL and PIAA runner-up, still has a lot of players who can put the ball in the back of the net, including Hannah Hudack, Alix Delsault, Katerina Tsambis, Mary Quinlan and Cailey Trosch.

Top players: Amelia Brose, Chartiers-Houston; Maeve Dever, Winchester Thurston; Hannah Hudack, Riverview; Molly Hurley, Springdale; Riley Kerr, Greensburg Central Catholic; Megan Keturakis, Bentworth; Ella Miller, Waynesburg; Sydney Morgan, Seton LaSalle; Kolbi Rastoka, Waynesburg; Briana Ross, Springdale; Katherine Varghese, Sewickley Academy.

Prediction: Springdale over Bentworth

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Bentworth, Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Mars, Montour, Moon, Mt. Pleasant, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Plum, Quaker Valley, Riverview, Seneca Valley, Seton La Salle, Sewickley Academy, South Fayette, South Park, Springdale, Upper St. Clair, Waynesburg, West Allegheny