A-K Valley high school soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 28, 2025

By: Triblive And Michael Love And Bill Hartlep
Monday, October 27, 2025 | 4:56 PM

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WPIAL soccer playoffs

Boys

Class 4A

Semifinals

2-Fox Chapel (14-2) vs. 3-Plum (15-2-2)

8 p.m. Tuesday, Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium, Monroeville

Coaches: Erik Ingram, Fox Chapel; Raf Kolankowski, Plum

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Peters Township (14-0-1)/4-Seneca Valley (16-2) in championship match at Highmark Stadium (time/date TBD)

Players to watch: Rocco DiDomenico, Fox Chapel; Christian Alter, Plum

Throw-ins: These teams met in the WPIAL championship game last season, with Fox Chapel winning 1-0. … Fox Chapel is searching for its seventh WPIAL title. After a first-round bye, Fox Chapel defeated No. 10 Pine-Richland, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. Noah Fincher scored from 30 yards out for the winning tally. The Foxes were well-represented on the All-WPIAL team that was released Monday: Rocco DiDomenico, Sean Regan, Rocco Poli and Sharif Zureikat. The Foxes have won 15 straight games. … Plum had a bye in the first round and edged No. 6 Norwin, 3-2, in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks (4-1). Christian Alter and Joaquin Santiago scored in regulation, and Austin Kolankowski — who scored the winning touchdown off a blocked field goal attempt in Friday’s football victory over Penn Hills — assisted on both goals. Chase Eber made two saves in the shootout. The Mustangs won their lone WPIAL title in 2005. Plum’s Austin Kolankowski, Marco Tommasino and Luke Hoburg were named to the All-WPIAL team.

Girls

Class 2A

Semifinals

8-Burrell (11-6-2) vs. 4-Mt. Pleasant (14-4-1)

6 p.m. Tuesday, Gateway Antimarino Stadium, Monroeville

Coaches: Frank Nesko, Burrell; Rich Garland, Mt. Pleasant

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Freeport (17-1)/3-Quaker Valley (14-2-1) in championship game at Highmark Stadium (date and time TBD)

Players to watch: Leah Waldsmith, Burrell; Morgan Gesinski, Mt. Pleasant

Throw-ins: The Bucs and Vikings meet in the playoffs for the third time in as many years. Burrell, as the No. 6 seed, upset No. 3 Mt. Pleasant in the 2023 quarterfinals, 2-1 in overtime. Makiah Buchak had the highlight goal of her freshman year with the OT tally to send the Bucs to the semifinals for the first time. Last year, as the No. 8 seed, Burrell rolled past No. 1 Mt. Pleasant en route to the title game at Highmark. … The Bucs again took down No. 1 with a quarterfinal victory Saturday over previously undefeated South Park. Junior McKenna Miller scored the game’s lone goal with two minutes left off an assist from Buchak, and junior Leah Waldsmith picked up her second playoff shutout. Buchak scored for Burrell in a 1-0 first-round win over Belle Vernon. The two playoff shutouts were the ninth and 10th such victories this season. … Mt. Pleasant is in the WPIAL semifinals for the first time since 2022 when, as the No. 2 seed, it advanced all the way to Highmark Stadium before falling to Avonworth, 2-1. The Vikings are seeking their first WPIAL title. Mt. Pleasant kicked off its WPIAL run with a 2-0 victory over No. 13 Avonworth. The Vikings then edged upset-minded Shady Side Academy, the No. 12 seed, by a 2-1 score Saturday in the quarterfinals. Leading scorer Morgan Gesinski, a senior, scored a goal in both halves for Mt. Pleasant. … Tuesday’s winner heads to Highmark to play for the gold while the loser is not done and will play for a trip to states Thursday in the third-place consolation.

2-Freeport (17-1) vs. 3-Quaker Valley (14-2-1)

8 p.m. Tuesday, Hampton’s Fridley Field, Allison Park

Coaches: Steve Kukic, Freeport; Maggie Behun and Rachel Loudermilk, Quaker Valley

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Burrell (11-6-2)/4-Mt. Pleasant (14-4-1) in championship game at Highmark Stadium (date and time TBD)

Players to watch: Elena Jenkins, Freeport; Maddie Gatehouse, Quaker Valley

Throw-ins: Freeport is in the WPIAL semifinals for the first time since 2019 when, as the No. 8 seed, it upset No. 1 Hopewell, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. The Yellowjackets are hoping for a different semifinal fate this time around as the 2019 Freeport team fell to Yough, 3-0, in the semifinals. Freeport needed overtime Saturday at home to dispatch Section 2 rival North Catholic in their quarterfinal matchup. Cam Woods netted the game-winner in the first overtime. It was her team-leading 21st of the season. She, along with Jenkins and Peyton Los, tallied the Freeport goals in regulation. The three goals by North Catholic were the most given up by the Yellowjackets this season. … The Quakers defeated Burrell, 2-1, to capture WPIAL gold last year before advancing to the PIAA semifinals. QV, like Freeport, dispatched a section rival in the quarterfinals. The Quakers defeated No. 6 Central Valley, 1-0, as Gatehouse scored in the first half and the defense held strong the rest of the way. QV dominated Southmoreland, 11-0, in the first round. The playoff shutouts were the Quakers’ 12th and 13th of the season. QV is averaging four goals a game through 17 contests.

Class A

Semifinals

4-Springdale (12-1-1) vs. 1-Sewickley Academy (17-1)

6 p.m. Tuesday, Hampton’s Fridley Field, Allison Park

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Bentworth (17-1-1)/11-Waynesburg Central (10-4-2) in championship game at Highmark Stadium (date and time TBD)

Players to watch: Emelia Carrabba, Sewickley Academy; Adele Walters-Vrable, Springdale

Throw-ins: Sewickley Academy and defending WPIAL Class A champion Springdale meet in the semifinals for the second year in a row. This time, the Panthers are the top seed. Last year, the Dynamos roared into Highmark Stadium off their 5-1 win over Sewickley Academy fueled by a hat trick from graduate Briana Ross. Senior Hailey Marchlewski scored a goal in that game. The Panthers then fell to Seton LaSalle in the third-place consolation. The teams also met in the 2022 and 2023 Class A first round with Springdale winning both, 3-2 and 11-0, respectively. … Springdale advanced to the semifinals with Saturday’s 3-0 win over No. 5 Riverside and hopes to reach Highmark Stadium for the third year in a row. Sophomore Tessa Derringer, freshman Adele Walters-Vrabel and senior Ariana Caltagarone scored a goal each in the victory. Marchlewski, Walters-Vrabel and Derringer are tied for the team-lead in goals with 11 apiece. Senior Lacey Shondeck is right there with nine. The Dynamos have won seven straight since a loss to Class 2A semifinalist Burrell on Sept. 20. … Sewickley Academy’s journey to the semifinals saw the Panthers blank the Ellis School, 7-0, in the first round before Saturday’s 2-0 quarterfinal triumph over No. 9 Carlynton. Carrabba, a junior, and senior Makenzie Dice scored late in the second half to help the Panthers avoid overtime. It was their ninth shutout of the season. Sewickley Academy owns four WPIAL titles, all in a six-year span from from 1999 to 2004.

Tags: Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Plum, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy, Springdale