A-K Valley high school soccer playoff capsule for Oct. 31, 2024

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 4:55 PM

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WPIAL soccer playoffs

Girls

Class 3A

Third-place consolation

4-Plum (17-2) vs. 6-Mars (17-3)

8 p.m. Thursday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, McCandless

Winner plays: District 10 champion Tuesday in PIAA first round

Corner kicks: Plum lost 3-0 to Fox Chapel in the semifinals Tuesday. The Mustangs reached the WPIAL finals three straight years from 2019-21 and each time lost to Mars. The Mustangs have allowed just nine goals this season and have posted 13 shutouts. They started the season 7-0 with seven shutouts. Emily Grubich led the Mustangs in scoring in the regular season with 18 goals. Gianna Revetta had 10. The Mustangs missed out on the PIAA playoffs last year after falling in the WPIAL quarterfinals. They last qualified in 2022 with a 2-1 win over Latrobe in the third-place consolation game. … Mars fell to No. 2 South Fayette in the semifinals. After playing to a scoreless tie in regulation and two overtime periods, the Lions held a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks to advance. The Fightin’ Planets are eight-time WPIAL champs. The semifinal loss snapped a six-game winning streak that included five shutouts. Mars has outscored opponents 90-8. Julia Lishia and Morgan Duker had more than 10 goals each during the regular season. The Fightin’ Planets’ only losses this season came against WPIAL finalist Fox Chapel twice and South Fayette in the semis.

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: Mars, Plum