A-K Valley WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Games for Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | 3:27 PM

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WPIAL girls soccer playoffs

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

6-Fox Chapel (10-4-2) at 3-Peters Township (14-1-2)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: Winner of 7-Butler (10-6-1)/2-Upper St. Clair (15-1) Monday in semifinals

Players to watch: Emily McKee, Fox Chapel; Camryn Klein, Peters Township

Throw-ins: The Foxes missed the WPIAL playoffs last season, but the returning team members and some new blood hoped to rekindle the postseason magic. Fox Chapel (8-4-2) edged Butler by one point for third place in Section 1 behind champion and No. 1 seed North Allegheny and No. 4 Seneca Valley. McKee, a freshman, finished the regular season with a team-best 16 goals, and several other freshmen have helped make a difference in the starting lineup. Five wins, two ties and a close loss to North Allegheny in section play propelled them into the postseason after a 3-3 start. … Peters Township won Class 3A titles in 2010 and 2012 but has not raised a championship trophy since. But the Indians have put themselves in striking distance this season after finishing runner-up to No. 2 Upper St. Clair in Section 2. Peters Township split with USC — the Panthers handing the Indians their only loss — and tied Mt. Lebanon and Canon-McMillan. Klein, a junior, and sophomore Julia Spergel lead the team with 16 and 12 goals, respectively.

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

7-Montour (13-2-3) at 2-Plum (16-0-1)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: Winner of 6-Latrobe (13-2)/3-Moon (13-1-2) Tuesday in semifinals

Players to watch: Marin Torrens, Montour; Gianna Revetta, Plum

Throw-ins: Plum will play in the WPIAL quarterfinals for the fifth year in a row after Monday’s 6-1 victory over Kiski Area at Plum High School. The Mustangs got four goals from senior Ava Weleski and two more from Revetta, a sophomore. Senior Rayla Smith added a pair of assists as Plum remained unbeaten. Plum now has outscored its last four first-round opponents, 28-1. … Thursday’s quarterfinal contest is a rematch of a 3-3 tie Sept. 9 at Plum. Smith scored twice in that game for the Mustangs, and Weleski added a goal and two assists. Junior Grace Bannon and seniors Riley Hall and Caitlyn Sill had goals for the Spartans. It also is a return match from last year’s quarterfinals, a game won by Plum, 2-1. … Montour remained alive in this year’s WPIAL playoffs with a dramatic 1-0, double-overtime victory over No. 10 Franklin Regional. Torrens scored on a header with 13 seconds left in the second extra session. The win was Montour’s fifth in a row since a 1-0, two-OT loss to section rival Moon on Oct. 4. Hall leads the Spartans with 10 goals.

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: Fox Chapel, Peters Township