A-K Valley high school sports look-ahead: Week of Oct. 30. 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 30, 2017 | 12:06 AM

Monday

• It's the moment of truth for playoff-bound football teams, as the WPIAL releases its postseason brackets at its annual pairings meeting in Green Tree. Locally, Fox Chapel (6-4), Freeport (7-2) and Springdale (5-5) will learn their first-round fates.

• During its run to the WPIAL Class AA championship game last season, Freeport girls soccer beat Waynesburg in the semifinals. The Yellowjackets and Raiders will meet again in the semifinals at 6 p.m. at Moon, with a trip to Highmark Stadium for the title game on the line.

• It's a hockey night across the Alle-Kiski Valley, with five local teams in action. The slate includes a game between Deer Lakes (3-1) and Freeport (1-3) at 9:10 p.m. at Ice Connection. The host Lancers and visiting Yellowjackets each are looking to bounce back from defeats.

Tuesday

• Section 5-AA girls volleyball rivals Deer Lakes and Freeport square off for a third time, this time in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals. Top-seeded Freeport is aiming for its third consecutive championship; Deer Lakes can spoil the party. Both regular-season meetings ended in sweeps for Freeport.

Thursday

• The WPIAL soccer championships begin at Highmark Stadium in Station Square. Eight games will be played between Thursday and Saturday. Springdale will play in the Class A boys championship game, the Dynamos' first title appearance since 2009.

• The WPIAL volleyball semifinals will take place, with the winner of Tuesday's match between Deer Lakes and Freeport seeking to advance to the championship match.

Friday

• The WPIAL football playoffs open, with Fox Chapel, Freeport and Springdale all looking to become the Alle-Kiski Valley's first champion since 2003.

• Fox Chapel's Amanda Nord and Charlotte James begin the defense of their state doubles championship when the PIAA Class AAA individual doubles tournament begins in Hershey. The Foxes' duo will play Dina Nouaime and Tina Prince of District 1's Methacton in the first round.

Saturday

• The PIAA cross country championships will get underway in Hershey. The Riverview boys qualified as a team for the Class A race, as did the Fox Chapel girls for the Class AAA race. Individual qualifiers include Fox Chapel's Christian Fitch and Ian Brown in Class AAA boys; Freeport's Johnathan Asay, Highlands' C.J. Thimons and Deer Lakes' Josh Klemmensen in Class AA boys; Kiski Area's Kierra Shreffler in Class AAA girls; and Riverview's Izzy Komaniak and Marina Pietz in Class A girls.

• Baldwin will host the WPIAL volleyball championships.

Week in review

• Taliani's tally: Springdale sophomore Matt Taliani scored the biggest goal in recent Dynamos soccer history Saturday, with his shootout winner sending the team to the WPIAL Class A championship game against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. He went with his tried-and-true shot to beat Seton LaSalle goalie Sam Reinhart: “I usually go left every time, and that's what I did today.”

• Hungry like the Wolfe: Freeport girls soccer coach Brittni Grenninger and teammates Piper Claypool and Hannah Stokes all spotlighted the work of defender Emily Wolfe in the Yellowjackets' 3-1 victory over Quaker Valley in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals last week.

• Bucs wild: Burrell's 3-2 victory over Southmoreland in the WPIAL Class AA girls volleyball preliminary round marked the first postseason victory in school history.