Alle-Kiski Valley WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Nov. 2, 2021

By: Michael Love
Monday, November 1, 2021 | 8:20 PM

Tuesday’s WPIAL soccer playoff games

Boys

Class 4A

Semifinal

5-Fox Chapel (15-3-1) vs. 1-Seneca Valley (16-0-1)

8 p.m. at Newman Stadium, North Allegheny High School, Wexford

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Peters Township (15-1-1)/6-North Allegheny (15-5) 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

Notes: The Foxes played the Raiders to a 2-2 draw on Oct. 5. It was the only time Seneca Valley didn’t win this season. Fox Chapel went 7-0-1 in October. JP Dockey scored in overtime to lift the Foxes to a 1-0 win over Canon-McMillan in the quarterfinals. Sean Ahia had two goals in a 7-0 shutout of Penn-Trafford in the first round. Carson Krusansky and Pablo Linzoain are dynamic freshmen in the Foxes’ starting 11. … Seneca Valley is one game away from defending its WPIAL title after a 1-0 win over Allderdice in the quarterfinals. Nathan Prex scored the winning goal late in the second half. The goal was assisted by Connor Oros, and Ryan Krumenacker had the shutout in net. Prex and Beaux Lizewski were named to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State team. The Raiders, who are also the defending PIAA champs, have not lost since Sept. 24, 2020, when they fell 2-1 to Butler. They have gone 30-0-1 since that loss. They’ve yielded six goals all season and have recorded a dozen shutouts. The 2-2 match with Fox Chapel is the only time they allowed multiple goals.

Girls

Class 3A

Semifinals

6-South Fayette (13-7) vs. 2-Plum (18-1-1)

8 p.m. Tuesday, at West Mifflin High School, West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of 5-Montour (14-6)/1-Mars (14-0-1) in championship game Saturday at 1:15 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

Notes: Both teams have at least two games remaining in the postseason as the loser of Tuesday’s game will play a third-place consolation game for the right to enter the PIAA playoffs. … Plum is one win away from its third consecutive WPIAL championship appearance. The Mustangs, the No. 2 seed for a third straight year, punched their ticket to the semifinals with wins over No. 15 Laurel Highlands, 7-1, and No. 7 Hampton, 3-1. Junior Camryn Rogers tallied a hat trick — she has 13 goals on the season — against Laurel Highlands. Sophomore Ava Weleski contributed two scores in the win over Hampton, giving her 12 overall. Junior Kaitlyn Killinger and senior Marissa Liberto led the way in goals with 28 and 18, respectively. With Thursday’s 3-1 win, Plum now has outscored its opponents 116-10 this season. Five Mustangs players — Killinger, Liberto, junior Annabel Ahrin (11 goals), senior Emma Bennethum and junior Kaley Simqu — earned Section 3 all-star recognition, as announced last week … South Fayette earned a spot in the finals with a 2-1 penalty-kick upset over No. 3 Franklin Regional to avenge a regular-season loss to the Panthers. Lions goalkeeper Kaylee Hendricks made the final save with her team leading 5-4 to preserve the win. Anna Hertzler scored in regulation for South Fayette. The Lions, the third-place team from Section 4 behind Mars and Montour, have won five of their last six games. South Fayette shut out No. 11 Gateway in the first round.

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, Plum, Seneca Valley, South Fayette