Norwin boys get another shot at Seneca Valley, Mt. Pleasant girls receive top 3 seed

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 | 4:43 PM

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Norwin will have to wait until next weekend to open the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs.

Until then, the Knights will be teeming with anticipation. They have been itching for another shot at their nemesis.

“I wish the game was tomorrow,” coach Scott Schuchert said Wednesday after learning his Knights (12-5-1) will open the tournament at No. 1 seed Seneca Valley (13-0-3), the defending state champs, in a Class 4A quarterfinal at a time to be announced Oct. 28.

Norwin is the No. 8 seed in the eight-team bracket, but that didn’t irk Schuchert as much as the matchup encouraged him.

“Love it,” he said. “To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

Norwin lost to Seneca Valley, 5-1, in the season opener. The Knights have struggled to beat the Raiders since they met in the WPIAL championship game in 2018.

The rest of the Westmoreland County postseason teams will open the playoffs Saturday, Monday or Tuesday.

Several teams will play at home.

The Mt. Pleasant girls, eager to get back to Highmark Stadium for another 2A title game appearance, are seeded No. 3 behind two-time defending champion Avonworth and North Catholic.

“What you see is (the WPIAL) did not think much of our section competitively,” said Mt. Pleasant coach Rich Garland, whose Vikings won their final 14 regular-season games by shutout and clinched a section title. “There are three fourth-place teams ahead of our third-place team. That wasn’t unforecasted. You have to play them all anyway, right? We’re excited to show our talent.”

Mt. Pleasant (15-2) hosts No. 14 West Mifflin (7-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The Belle Vernon boys (14-2) earned a No. 5 seed in 2A and will host No. 12 East Allegheny (11-4-1) at 7 p.m. Monday.

The Leopards have won back-to-back section titles.

“To make it to the finals, you have to be able to play all 15 other teams and compete,” Belle Vernon coach Al Yeschenko said. “We will prepare to show up and compete. EA comes out of a great section loaded with quality teams and players, so I am sure it will be a great game to watch.”

Latrobe’s girls (12-2) are the No. 6 seed in 3A and will host No. 11 West Allegheny (10-7) at 7 p.m. Monday.

The Wildcats made the semifinals last year. The 3A bracket is loaded again with No. 1 Mars, No. 2 Plum, No. 3 Moon and No. 4 Thomas Jefferson all contenders.

Plum, which beat Latrobe twice by 3-2 scores, is on the same side of the bracket as the Wildcats.

Another girls home game went to Southmoreland (10-5), which will welcome Quaker Valley (10-5-1) in a matchup of eighth and ninth seeds at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

It will be the second game of a doubleheader at Russ Grimm Field. The first game at 6 p.m. features No. 12 South Allegheny (11-7) and No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (10-2) in a Class A opener.

The No. 1 seeds for the boys playoffs are Seneca Valley (4A), Plum (3A), South Park (2A) and Charleroi (A).

The girls top seeds are North Allegheny (4A), Mars (3A), Avonworth (2A) and Riverview (A).

More from the county scene:

• Latrobe (13-3), which set a team record for wins, earned the No. 9 seed in the 3A boys bracket and will play at No. 8 South Fayette (10-2-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“Unfortunate draw for us in terms of seeding,” coach Jake Rice said. “South Fayette is a quality team, but I think our boys will be a little upset they didn’t get the home game. I think we’ll play with a chip on our shoulder and hopefully get a rematch with Plum next Wednesday night.”

• The Greensburg Central Catholic boys (7-10) will play another county team in the Class A first round when they visit No. 3 Burrell (12-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

• The Yough boys and girls are No. 16 seeds and will open against No. 1 teams in 2A. The boys (10-7-1) visit South Park (18-0) at 7 p.m. Monday, and the girls (5-13) play at Avonworth (14-1-2) at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

• Other boys matchups: Class 3A — No. 11 Franklin Regional (10-7) at No. 6 Mars (11-3-1), 1 p.m. Saturday; Class 2A — No. 9 Mt. Pleasant (12-4) at No. 8 Keystone Oaks (11-5), 7 p.m. Monday; No. 15 Jeannette (10-7-1) at No. 2 Quaker Valley (14-3), 7 p.m. Monday.

• Other girls matchups: 3A — No. 12 Penn-Trafford (11-6) at No. 5 South Fayette (10-4-2), 7 p.m. Monday; No. 10 Franklin Regional (11-5-1) at No. 7 Montour (12-2-3), 7 p.m. Monday.

Franklin Regional and Montour tied 1-1 earlier in the season.

Westmoreland County has not produced a WPIAL champion in soccer since the GCC boys and girls won in 2020.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.