A-K Valley WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Games for Oct. 22, 2024

By: Michael Love
Monday, October 21, 2024 | 3:27 PM

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WPIAL soccer playoffs

Girls

Class 2A

First round

10-Avonworth (7-10-1) at 7-Deer Lakes (13-3-2)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Lancers Stadium, West Deer Township

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Quaker Valley (13-2-2)/15-Southmoreland (10-7) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Corner kicks: Deer Lakes returns to the playoffs for the second year in a row after a one-year hiatus. The Lancers were in the same quadrant of the Class 2A bracket last year as the 10th seed and suffered a 3-0 first-round loss to Shady Side Academy. Deer Lakes seeks to end a three-game playoff losing streak. The Lancers finished runner-up in Section 4 with their only losses coming to undefeated section champ Mt. Pleasant. Junior Claire Cacurak leads the team in scoring with 22 goals, and sophomore Tessa Hollibaugh also is a major goal-scoring threat for the Lancers. Deer Lakes closed the regular season with six straight wins. …. Tuesday’s game is a rematch of a 2020 first-round contest won by Avonworth, 3-1, as the No. 5 seed en route to a spot in the WPIAL title contest. …. The Antelopes are the three-time defending WPIAL Class 2A champions. They topped Shady Side Academy for the title at Highmark Stadium last year before falling to District 4’s Central Columbia in the state final in Mechanicsburg. Senior midfielder Fiona Mahan is an Alabama commit but is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Antelopes finished third in Section 3 behind co-champions Beaver and Quaker Valley.

12-Belle Vernon (9-9) at 5-Freeport (11-1-1)

8 p.m. Tuesday, Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Winner plays: Winner of 13-Central Valley (7-7-2)/4-South Park (13-4-1) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Corner kicks: Belle Vernon, which dropped from 3A, tied Keystone Oaks for second place in Section 1. The Leopards have several talented players in Grace West, Ava Scalise and others. Of their nine wins, seven are via shutout. … Freeport starts the playoffs on an eight-game unbeaten streak. The Yellowjackets have allowed just 12 goals and have a record of 5-1 at home. They lost to South Park in the quarterfinals last season, 5-1. Sophomore Camryn Woods leads the Freeport offense for the second consecutive season. Freshman Elena Jenkins, senior Sam Liput and junior Peyton Los also are key players in the Yellowjackets’ attack.

9-Burrell (11-5-1) at 8-Keystone Oaks (10-8)

6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dormont Stadium

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Mt. Pleasant (14-1)/16-McGuffey (8-6-1) on Saturday in quarterfinals (site/time TBD)

Corner kicks: Burrell reached the WPIAL semifinals last year and finished fourth in Class 2A. The Bucs are in the playoffs for the ninth year in a row. Burrell finished third in Section 2 with a 7-3 record, three points behind North Catholic and four points behind champion Freeport. Miley Kariotis and Maggie Nesko are among those for the Bucs with experience and talent to help lead the way in playoff matches. … Tuesday’s game is a rematch of a Class 2A first-round contest from last year won by Burrell, 6-0. … Keystone Oaks tied Belle Vernon for second in Section 1 at 8-4 behind undefeated champion South Park. The teams split their regular-season series. The Eagles are in the playoffs for the fifth year in a row. Junior forward Aly Simon is a key cog in the Keystone Oaks offensive attack. The Eagles posted a trio of shutouts in the regular season.

Class A

First round

16-Greensburg Central Catholic (6-7) at 1-Springdale (13-1)

6 p.m. Tuesday, Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Winner plays: Winner of 9-Carlynton (14-4)/8-Freedom (8-6) on Saturday in quarterfinals

Corner kicks: Greensburg Central Catholic, with just 12 players, qualified for the postseason and won its opener 10-0 over California in the preliminary round. Riley Kerr scored five goals, and Addison Vacanti and Sophia Fisher had two apiece for the Centurions. … Springdale will try to make it a season sweep of GCC after defeating it twice in section play by scores of 9-2 and 7-1. The Dynamos, who made the semifinals last year, have outscored opponents 86-9 and have nine clean sheets. Springdale’s leading scorer, senior Briana Ross, surpassed 100 goals this season for her varsity career. Fellow senior Molly Hurley and junior Hailey Marchlewski also are top scoring threats for the Dynamos.

10-Riverview (11-3) at 7-Waynesburg Central (14-2)

6 p.m. Tuesday, Raider Field, Waynesburg Central High School

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Seton La Salle (12-2-2)/15-The Ellis School (7-9) on Saturday in quarterfinals (site/time TBD)

Corner kicks: Riverview finished tied for second in Section 4 with Winchester Thurston at 9-3. The teams split their season series. The Raiders are in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row since not fielding a team in 2020. Last year’s Riverview squad, led by the scoring prowess of Lola Abraham, finished as both the WPIAL and PIAA Class A runner-up. The Raiders have several players who can put the ball in the back of the net including Hannah Hudack, Alix Delsault, Katerina Tsambis, Mary Quinlan, and Cailey Trosch. Riverview scored 52 goals in 14 regular-season games. … Waynesburg (14-2) lost just twice during the regular season, falling in a pair of one-goal results against section champion Bentworth. The Raiders hope to make a run to their second WPIAL title (2017). Waynesburg enters the playoffs on a six-game winning streak. Freshman forward Kolbi Rastoka and junior forward Ella Miller help lead the way for the Raiders.

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: Avonworth, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Keystone Oaks, Riverview, Springdale, Waynesburg