Mars girls, Seneca Valley boys ready to defend WPIAL soccer titles as top seeds

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 | 2:43 PM

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Mars’ girls soccer team and Seneca Valley’s boys soccer team have dominated WPIAL competition in recent years. Both are again favored to defend their district titles.

The WPIAL soccer playoff brackets were released Wednesday afternoon, and both teams earned No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets.

Mars (14-0) is chasing a fourth straight WPIAL championship in Class 3A. The Fightin’ Planets claimed their eighth WPIAL title a year ago and are unbeaten in 77 straight games.

Moon (16-0), which won the Class 4A title last year, dropped down to 3A in the offseason via PIAA realignment and will be Mars’ top competition as the No. 2 seed.

North Allegheny (17-1) earned the top seed in Class 4A, and North Catholic (13-1) and Freedom (13-4) were awarded the No. 1 seeds in Class 2A and A, respectively.

On the boys’ side, Seneca Valley has won two straight WPIAL titles, and three of the last four, in the highest classification and again is the top seed in Class 4A.

Moon (16-0-1) is the No. 1 seed in Class 3A, South Park (17-0) is the top seed in Class 2A, and Greensburg Central Catholic (14-1) got the No. 1 seed in Class A.

Preliminary-round games start Thursday, with first-round games scheduled for Saturday (3A boys, A girls), Monday (2A boys, 3A girls) and Tuesday (A boys, 2A girls).

Quarterfinals will be played Oct. 26, 27 and 29, and the semifinals are Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

The championships are set for Nov. 3-5, at Highmark Stadium.

Check out complete WPIAL playoff brackets here.

Also watch an archived broadcast of the WPIAL Soccer Pairings Show on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Here are the schedules for the opening rounds:

Soccer

Boys

WPIAL playoffs

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

Oct. 29 schedule

Times TBD

Upper St. Clair (9-6-2) at Seneca Valley (16-0-1); Canon-McMillan (12-5) at Fox Chapel (12-3-2); Butler (12-4-2) at Peters Township (13-2); Pine-Richland (12-4-1) at Norwin (11-5)

Class 3A

Preliminary round

Thursday’s schedule

Ringgold (8-10) at Connellsville (10-7), 6 p.m.

First round

Saturday’s schedule

Ringgold/Connellsville winner at Moon (16-0-1), 2 p.m.; Mars (10-6) at Bethel Park (13-5), 2 p.m.; Montour (9-4-4-) at Franklin Regional (14-4), 2 p.m.; Gateway (10-7-1) at Kiski Area (14-3), 2 p.m.; North Catholic (7-6-3) at Plum (16-1-1), 2 p.m.; Trinity (12-5) at South Fayette (9-4-3), 2 p.m.; Penn-Trafford (9-8-1) at Thomas Jefferson (16-2), 2 p.m.; Ambridge (11-6-1) at Hampton (12-5), 2 p.m.

Class 2A

First round

Monday’s schedule

Mt. Pleasant (8-8-2) at South Park (17-0), 6:30 p.m.; Knoch (10-8) at McGuffey (12-5-1), 6:30 p.m.; Hopewell (8-7) at Deer Lakes (16-2), 6:30 p.m.; West Mifflin (11-6-1) at Belle Vernon (13-4), 6:30 p.m.; Freeport (7-9) at Quaker Valley (15-3), 6:30 p.m.; Avonworth (10-5-1) at East Allegheny (13-3), 6:30 p.m.; Keystone Oaks (7-8-1) at Shady Side Academy (13-3), 6:30 p.m.; Brownsville (11-7) at Beaver (11-6), 6:30 p.m.

Class A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Bishop Canevin (2-12-1) vs. Greensburg C.C. (14-1) at Norwin, 6:30 p.m.; Freedom (12-4) at Charleroi (14-2), 6:30 p.m.; Trinity Christian (9-5-1) vs. Eden Christian (13-2-1) at Avonworth, 6 p.m.; Bentworth (12-5) vs. Seton LaSalle (11-3-1) at South Park, 6 p.m.; California (5-10) vs. Winchester Thurston (12-2-1) at Shady Side Academy, 6 p.m.; Serra Catholic (9-6) at Burrell (14-3), 8 p.m.; OLSH (8-7) vs. Sewickley Academy (14-2) at Beaver, 6 p.m.; Carlynton (9-4-2) vs. Springdale (12-4) at Burrell, 6 p.m.

Girls

WPIAL playoffs

Class 4A

Quarterfinals

Oct. 27 schedule

Bethel Park (10-4-2) at North Allegheny (17-1), 6:30 p.m.; Upper St. Clair (10-6) at Seneca Valley (12-1-2), 6:30 p.m.; Pine-Richland (8-5-1) at Mt. Lebanon (14-2-1), 6:30 p.m.; Butler (10-6-1) at Peters Township (12-1-3), 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A

Preliminary round

Saturday’s schedule

Connellsville (8-9) at Penn-Trafford (7-6-4), 12:30 p.m.

First round

Monday’s schedule

Connellsville/Penn-Trafford winner at Mars (14-0), 6:30 p.m.; Franklin Regional (10-5-2) at South Fayette (11-4-1), 6:30 p.m.; West Allegheny (11-7) at Thomas Jefferson (15-2), 6:30 p.m.; Ringgold (11-6-1) at Latrobe (10-2-2), 6:30 p.m.; Indiana (6-9-1) at Moon (16-0), 6:30 p.m.; Oakland Catholic (8-6-1) at Elizabeth Forward (14-2-1), 6:30 p.m.; Kiski Area (7-10-1) at Plum (14-1), 6:30 p.m.; Montour (9-5-2) at Hampton (14-3), 6:30 p.m.

Class 2A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Valley (7-9) at North Catholic (13-1), J.C. Stone Field, 6:30 p.m.; Burrell (11-3-3-) at Beaver (7-5-3), 8 p.m.; Hopewell (6-9-1) vs. Knoch (13-3-1) at Freeport, 6 p.m.; Keystone Oaks (8-8-1) at Avonworth (15-3), 8 p.m.; West Mifflin (7-6-1) at Mt. Pleasant (16-1), 6:30 p.m.; Southmoreland (11-3-1) at Freeport (13-2), 8 p.m.; Woodland Hills (8-6) at South Park (12-4), 8 p.m.; Yough (10-6-1) at Shady Side Academy (9-5), 8 p.m.

Class A

Preliminary round

Thursday’s schedule

Bishop Canevin (7-9) vs. Bentworth (6-9-1) at Peters Township, 7:30 p.m.

First round

Saturday’s schedule

Bentworth/Bishop Canevin winner at Freedom (13-4), noon; Seton LaSalle (11-4) vs. OLSH (10-5-1) at Peters Township, noon; Riverview (8-7) at Chartiers-Houston (14-2), 2 p.m.; Riverside (5-9 vs. Greensburg C.C. (10-3) at Peters Township, 2 p.m.; Sewickley Academy (8-7) vs. Springdale (13-3) at Kiski Area, noon; Charleroi (10-6) vs. Mohawk (9-6) at Neshannock, 2 p.m.; Serra Catholic (8-9) vs. Winchester Thurston (9-0-1) at Shady Side Academy, 2 p.m.; Aquinas Academy (11-4) at Waynesburg Central (13-3), 2 p.m.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Freedom, Greensburg C.C., Mars, Moon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Seneca Valley, South Park