A-K Valley high school lookahead: Week of Sept. 4, 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 3, 2017 | 5:06 PM

Monday

• It might be Labor Day, but Kiski Area girls soccer isn't taking a holiday. The Cavaliers will play Clear Fork (Ohio) in the River View Labor Day Showcase at 1 p.m. at River View Soccer Complex in Ohio. The Cavaliers are looking to build off a 2016 season that saw them suffer a narrow loss in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Clear Fork began the season 3-2, outscoring its opponents 21-8.

Tuesday

• Springdale boys soccer (1-0) returns nine starters from last season, when the Dynamos lost in double overtime in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. They begin Section 3-A play with a 5 p.m. game at No. 3 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, the defending section champion and WPIAL runner-up.

• New Burrell boys soccer coach Andrew Kariotis, a Bucs graduate, makes his home debut at 7 p.m. with a Section 2-AA game. It won't be an easy one, as Burrell hosts No. 4 Freeport, coming off its first section championship since 1999.

• Two of the top girls soccer programs in WPIAL Class 4A meet for a nonsection game as Fox Chapel hosts No. 2 Upper St. Clair. USC won the PIAA championship in 2015. Fox Chapel is coming off back-to-back WPIAL semifinal appearances but must replace three Division I recruits lost to graduation.

• Burrell and Derry tied for second place in Section 5-AA girls volleyball last season, and the Bucs will host the Trojans in their section opener.

Wednesday

• Two playoff teams from 2016 meet in their Section 2-AA girls soccer opener. No. 3 Freeport, coming off the best season in program history, begins its section title defense with a match at rival Burrell. The Bucs, under new coach Shelby Noll, return several key contributors after placing third in the section and making the playoffs.

• Two teams looking for better seasons after missing the girls soccer playoffs meet in their Section 2-AA opener. Springdale, which had a rare losing season after choosing to play up in Class AA, travels to face Deer Lakes, which has its own playoff hopes with a young roster.

Thursday

• Freeport boys soccer won its first section title since 1999 last season by going 1-0-1 against second-place Shady Side Academy. The Yellowjackets will host No. 3 SSA in an important early match.

• Kiski Area boys soccer lost several of its important pieces from 2015's WPIAL semifinal run after last season, and the Cavaliers will see how their replacements stack up against top competition by hosting No. 4 Seneca Valley, last season's WPIAL Class 4A runner-up, in a nonsection contest.

• Plum girls soccer faces a major test of its own in nonsection play: a home date with Class 4A No. 1 Norwin, the two-time defending WPIAL champion, which boasts a No. 2 national ranking from Top Drawer soccer and numerous Division I commits.

Friday

• Springdale and Leechburg hit the road to play perhaps the top two teams in the Class A Eastern Conference. The Dynamos, coming off a nonconference victory over Jefferson-Morgan, play at No. 1 Clairton, the three-time defending WPIAL champion. The Blue Devils will face No. 2 Jeannette, last season's WPIAL runner-up.

• New Highlands football coach Dom Girardi makes his home debut as the Golden Rams host New Castle in a Class 4A Northwest Nine game. Highlands (1-0, 1-0) got the Girardi era off to a good start with a 28-14 win at Ambridge. New Castle (0-2, 0-1) features Ohio State recruit Marcus Hooker.

• Valley seeks a bounce-back performance in Allegheny Conference play. The Vikings (0-1, 0-1) who lost 16-6 to defending conference champion Keystone Oaks, host preseason conference favorite Seton-La Salle (1-0, 1-0) at Memorial Stadium.

• Coming off a Week One bye, Freeport football (1-0) returns to action with its Allegheny Conference opener against Deer Lakes (0-1, 0-1), which is looking for improvement after a Week One loss to Apollo-Ridge.

Saturday

• Coming off a strong defensive performance in Week One, Riverview football hosts Imani Christian in its home opener at Riverside Park. Both teams posted shutouts in their Eastern Conference openers: The Raiders blanked Leechburg, 16-0, and Imani pounded Greensburg Central Catholic, 64-0.

• The annual Red, White and Blue Invitational will bring dozens of cross country teams to Schenley Park. The annual race starts at 9 a.m.

• Highlands and Valley boys soccer, both seeking the postseason as part of their rebuilding process, meet for a nonsection match at Valley's Memorial Stadium.

• Apollo-Ridge and Riverview qualified for the postseason in 2016 after tying for third place in Section 1-A. The Vikings and Raiders will meet for an early-season section contest.

A look back

• Runner's high: It was a good day for local runners at the annual Gateway Invitational on Saturday. Fox Chapel swept the team titles, with four Fox Chapel girls — Caelen Miller, Annika Urban, Sarena Seeger and Grace Sisson — taking the top places. Fox Chapel's Brooke Krally finished sixth, and Plum's Angela Valotta eighth. Riverview's Ben Barnes won the boys race, with Fox Chapel's Christian Fitch, Plum's Robert Hankinson and Fox Chapel's Jon Folkerts taking the next three places. Fox Chapel's Ian Brown finished ninth, and Kiski Area's Nick Gabrielli took 10th.

• Dynamo dozen: Springdale boys soccer made an early statement, scoring 12 goals in Saturday's season-opening shutout of Jeannette. Four players — Justin McCalfferty, Jared DeMore, Nick Taliani and Michael Mitchell — tallied two goals apiece for the Dynamos (1-0).