Girls soccer quarterfinal playoff preview capsules for the Alle-Kiski Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 | 7:51 PM

Class AAAA

WPIAL quarterfinals

No. 12 Kiski Area (11-6) vs. No. 4 Norwin (15-1-1)

8 p.m. Thursday, Gateway

Winner plays: No. 1 Pine-Richland or No. 9 Mars

Free kicks: Section 4-AAAA rivals meet for the third time, with a WPIAL semifinal berth on the line. Norwin won the regular-season meetings 5-0 and 4-2. The second meeting represented the most goals Norwin surrendered in a game this season. … Kiski Area is coming off a 2-1 upset of No. 5 Mt. Lebanon. Senior Lexi Moyer scored both goals for the Cavaliers. It was their first playoff victory since 2005. … Kiski Area has 63 goals this season. … Two-time defending WPIAL champion Norwin opened its title defense with a 6-1 victory over Canon-McMillan. Emily Harrigan and Lexy Kendro both scored a pair of goals. … With nine committed college players, including six Division I recruits, Norwin boasts perhaps the most talented roster in the WPIAL. The Knights have outscored their opponents, 91-7.

No. 7 Fox Chapel (13-5-1) vs. No. 2 Penn-Trafford (14-3-1)

8 p.m. Thursday at Norwin

Winner plays: No. 11 Upper St. Clair or No. 3 Peters Township (15-3)

Free kicks: Penn-Trafford and Fox Chapel met at the end of the regular season and the Foxes won 2-1. … Hannah Nguyen, a Duquesne recruit, recorded a hat trick in the Warriors' 6-1 victory over Penn Hills in the first round Monday. Jordan Lawrence, Brady Tramuta (Seton Hill) and Lauren Stovar (Army) also scored for Penn-Trafford. The Warriors, who last made the semifinals in 2014, lost to Fox Chapel in the first round in 2015. … Fox Chapel outscored Butler, 4-2, in penalty kicks for a 2-1 win Monday. Katie Livingston had the clinching penalty kick goal. Sabrina McQuarrie, Maura Curry and Claudia DeMartino also scored on their penalty kick attempts, and Abby Pogue scored in regulation. The Foxes made the semifinals each of the past two seasons and qualified for the state playoffs last year.

Class AA

WPIAL quarterfinals

No. 5 Burrell (12-3-1) vs. No. 4 Yough (13-2)

6 p.m. Thursday, Norwin

Winner plays: No. 1 Freedom or No. 9 Brownsville

Free kicks: Burrell is coming off a 5-0 victory over Charleroi in the first round, the Bucs' first WPIAL playoff win since 2007. Leesha Wagner led the attack with two goals. The Bucs lost to Charleroi in the first round last year. … Burrell has won 12 of its last 13 games, including the past seven in a row. The Bucs are outscoring opponents 35-7 during their winning streak. Two of their losses came against second-seeded Freeport. … Yough had a first-round bye after finishing second in Section 3-AA. The team's two losses came against No. 3 seed Waynesburg Central. … A large number of freshmen and sophomores are Yough's top contributors. Justine Appolonia, daughter of coach Dann Appolonia, is the Cougars' top scorer. … The Cougars advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals last season.

No. 2 Freeport (15-2-1) vs. No. 7 Quaker Valley (10-7-1)

8 p.m. Thursday, Mars

Winner plays: No. 3 Waynesburg Central or No. 6 Avonworth

Free kicks: Section 2-AA champion Freeport is coming off a first-round bye. The Yellowjackets were WPIAL runners-up last year, the best finish in school history, and picked right up where they left off. They are undefeated against WPIAL Class AA competition, with their losses coming to District 9's Karns City and to Class AAA's Knoch. … Kaylee Comperatore, who has 30 goals, and Sidney Shemanski lead a potent Freeport offense; the Yellowjackets scored 92 goals during the regular season. … Quaker Valley defeated Beaver, 1-0, in the first round on a goal by Katherine Blaugrund. … The Quakers fell in the WPIAL first round last season to Yough and finished in third place in Section 1-AA this season. … The first-round victory over Beaver marked Quaker Valley's seventh shutout of the season. Eleven of the Quakers' games were decided by one or two goals.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Kiski School, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Quaker Valley, Yough