A-K Valley teams jockey for position as girls soccer playoffs draw near

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 | 5:51 PM

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The section schedules in each of the four WPIAL girls soccer classifications are to conclude Oct. 20.

The WPIAL soccer committee will meet the next day to set the playoff field.

A lot of games will be played over the next couple of weeks in what has become an unprecedented season, and Alle-Kiski Valley teams remain in the hunt.

As of now, unless changes need to be made, the WPIAL again will place the top four teams and unbreakable ties from each section into the playoff brackets.

According to the schedule on the WPIAL website, the playoffs could begin as early as Oct. 22 and are slated to conclude Nov. 5-7 at sites yet to be finalized.

When the PIAA established its playoff brackets for soccer and other fall sports Sept. 23, it designated only district champions would advance to the state tournaments.

The WPIAL champions for girls soccer will begin play in the state quarterfinals Nov. 14. The state title matchups are scheduled for Nov. 20-21 in Hershey.

Despite a loss to Norwin on Monday, its first of the season after eight victories, Fox Chapel maintains the lead in Section 3-4A.

The Foxes are 6-1 in section play, five points clear of the second-place Knights (4-1-1) with three section games to play. Penn-Trafford (3-2-2) is in third. Fox Chapel hosts fourth-place Latrobe (3-3-1) on Wednesday.

In Section 1-3A, Kiski Area (4-3-1) and Knoch (3-5) are battling Franklin Regional (6-0-1), Hampton (6-1) and Gateway (3-2) for playoff positioning.

Indiana (2-7) is three points behind Knoch. Each team in the section plays 12 games.

Kiski Area hosts Armstrong (1-7), and Knoch visits Indiana on Wednesday before the Cavaliers and Knights go head-to-head at Knoch at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Plum, the defending Section 3-3A co-champion and current section leader at 6-0, hopes to remain undefeated Wednesday when it hosts Obama at 7:30 p.m.

The Mustangs are two games clear of Oakland Catholic (5-2) and Thomas Jefferson (4-2) in the loss column. Plum swept Thomas Jefferson and will go for a sweep of Oakland Catholic on Oct. 15.

Shady Side Academy, new to Section 2-2A this fall after winning WPIAL Class A gold a year ago, is 4-0 in the section after Tuesday’s win at Valley. It defeated Burrell (5-1) on Saturday, ending the Bucs’ 20-game unbeaten streak in section matches.

Burrell and Shady Side have a rematch at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Burrell, and Deer Lakes (3-3) hosts Freeport (2-3) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a game crucial to section positioning.

Valley (1-5) and Highlands (0-4) hope to turn things around down the stretch.

Things are far from decided in Section 1-A where Springdale and Apollo-Ridge hope to make waves over the next couple of weeks.

The Vikings, seeking a spot in the WPIAL postseason for the fourth time in six seasons since forming in 2015, are 2-3 in section play with five games left.

Springdale, which routed Ligonier Valley, 8-0, on Monday and topped Jeannette, 7-0, on Tuesday to improve to 4-2-1 in the section, hosts Serra Catholic (3-1-1) on Wednesday.

Each team plays 10 section games, and Greensburg Central Catholic sits at the top of the section at 5-0.

Apollo-Ridge and Springdale clash in a key section contest at 11 a.m. Saturday at Owens Field in Apollo.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Plum, Springdale, Valley