Sewickley sports notebook: Quaker Valley girls soccer spreads out scoring

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, September 7, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Quaker Valley girls soccer team had nine reasons why its season-opener was a successful outing.

The Quakers blanked Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 9-0, on Aug. 28 as six players scored goals for the winning side.

Freshman MF/ATT Ella Plachecki, senior MF Ari Bosh and sophomore MF/D Mia Duckstein collected two goals apiece to lead the way offensively.

Juniors ATT/MF Annabel Miko and Hope Waller and sophomore ATT Lily Baker each added one goal.

QV also defeated Burrell, 2-1, on Aug. 31 as Miko and sophomore MF Lily Carver scored once.

Sophomore Ava Hajok was the winning goalkeeper in both games.

Miko, who collected 29 goals last season, raised her career total to 49 goals.

Hajok surrendered just five goals in 22 games in 2024.

The QV girls are hoping to repeat as section and WPIAL champions this season followed by a strong PIAA playoff run.

The Quakers hung on to beat Burrell, 2-1, in the 2024 WPIAL Class 2A championship Nov. 2 at Highmark Stadium. QV finished 19-3-2 overall and tied for first with Beaver atop the section standings.

QV coaches Maggie Behun and Rachel Loudermilk predicted a first-place finish for their team in Section 3-2A this year, followed by Avonworth, Beaver, Central Valley, Hopewell and Ambridge.

QV is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A in the Trib HSSN WPIAL girls soccer rankings.

Penalties take a toll

One early blip on the radar for the Quaker Valley football team is penalties.

The Quakers were assessed 14 penalties for 100 yards in their 20-13 win against Keystone Oaks in Week 1.

“I thought we got too many flags during the game,” said senior RB/DB Ty Popowich said. “Everyone on the team, including myself, needs to work on ignoring other teams when people talk trash. I expect everyone to keep relying on our coaches and stay disciplined and keep improving as a team and as people outside of football.”

The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Popowich caught two passes for 59 yards and one touchdown against the Golden Eagles, averaging 29.5 yards per reception.

Popowich reeled in a 21-yard scoring toss from senior QB/LB Atticus Barr at the 11:54 mark of the second quarter. Popowich also rushed for 20 yards on five carries.

“I had to play lots of positions during that game,” he said, “and I got to show the coaches, and everyone, we have athletes all around field.”

Popowich played at wide receiver, tight end, running back and cornerback against Keystone Oaks and also moved back to one of the primary positions for kick returns.

On the links

Sewickley Academy was represented by a pair of senior linksters, Severin Harmon and Karan Kad, at last year’s PIAA Class 2A boys golf finals at Penn State.

Harmon, currently a freshman at Dartmouth, finished in a six-way tie for 41st place. Kad, now at Boston College, ended up in a three-way tie for 55th.

“Severin was the team’s captain and he proved it with his play and his leadership,” Sewickley coach Chuck Scally said. “His scoring average for all the matches he played was 69.3, compared to par 72.”

Harmon advanced to the state tournament four times in his prep career. He tied for second at the WPIAL championships and was the only golfer able to shoot an even-par round in the two-day event.

“As Severin’s coach, I thought his season was successful,” Scally said.

Kad qualified for the PIAA finals by tying for 11th place at the WPIAL playoffs

“Karan was our second-best player on the team,” Scally said.

Sewickley finished third in Section 9 with a 7-3 record. Quaker Valley and North Catholic tied for first.

“I just wanted to note that Karan and I were paired up for the (PIAA) final round,” Harmon said, “which was a really nice way to finish our careers in high school.

“It was a full-circle moment, for sure.”

Panthers have variety of experience

The starting lineup for the Sewickley Academy boys soccer team this year consists of four seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen.

Ben Terrell is a junior striker, freshman Patrick Nielson and sophomore Owen Brooks are outside midfielders, senior Nick Day is an attacking center midfielder, senior Finn Wentz and junior Jake Donesec are center defensive midfielders.

Max Soderstrom and Mason Baker, both juniors, are outside backs; Blake Wilmot and Luca Peluso, both seniors, are center backs. Haden Haley is a freshman goalkeeper.

Net gains

The four teams that racked up the most wins in girls volleyball last season — 21 — were North Allegheny (21-1) in Class 4A, Mars (21-5) in 3A and Eden Christian Academy (21-4) and Greensburg Central Catholic (21-3) in Class A.

NA (9-1), Mars (10-0) and Eden (8-0) were section champions; GCC (6-2) finished second in Section 4A.

Tags: Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy