Top-seeded Fox Chapel girls lead 15 A-K Valley teams on road to Highmark Stadium

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 | 4:33 PM

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The waiting ended at about 1:15 Wednesday afternoon when 15 Alle-Kiski Valley boys and girls soccer teams found out their playoff fates as the WPIAL revealed all eight brackets for the road to Highmark Stadium.

The Fox Chapel girls lead the way with a No. 1 seed in Class 3A as they begin what they hope is a run to a second straight WPIAL title game opportunity.

The Foxes (14-1-1) fell short of gold last year with a loss to South Fayette at Highmark. Junior Emily McKee, again a prolific goal scorer throughout the regular season, is looking forward to leading the charge against the likes of the defending champion and No. 2 seed Lions, No. 3 Moon and No. 4 Plum.

“We kind of discussed (Tuesday) about who might get No. 1 or No. 2 seeds, and I kind of figured it would be us and South Fayette,” said Fox Chapel coach Carlo Prati, who will lead his team into a first-round home game at 6:30 p.m. Monday against Laurel Highlands.

“We figured we would most likely be on opposite sides, so it really didn’t matter to me. Just keeping the girls focused is what we want to do at this point. I want to make sure they don’t read too much into the seed because that just puts a bigger target on our backs. Thinking one game at a time is the biggest thing.”

Plum, meanwhile, won its seventh straight section title and has lost just once overall, a 2-1 overtime setback to Class 6A Norwin on Sept. 27. The Mustangs will host No. 13 Chartiers Valley at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Also in the bracket is No. 12 Kiski Area (7-6). The Cavaliers, third in Section 4 behind Plum and Franklin Regional, will play Monday at No. 5 Mars.

The Freeport girls (14-1) are the No. 2 seed in Class 2A after winning 13 in a row and capturing their third straight section title. The Yellowjackets, who will host No. 15 Ringgold at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, were the No. 5 seed last year and made the quarterfinals before falling to South Park on penalty kicks.

There could be a rematch in the finals as South Park, the only undefeated girls team prior to Wednesday evening’s exhibition games, is the No. 1 seed.

But No. 5 Deer Lakes (15-2) and No. 8 Burrell (9-5-2) hope to have a big say in who meets in the Class 2A finals at Highmark. The Lancers host Shady Side Academy at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and the Bucs, last year’s Class 2A runner-up and PIAA qualifier, host Belle Vernon at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Springdale, the No. 4 seed in Class A with a 10-1-1 record, begins defense of last year’s WPIAL title with a first-round home matchup against Chartiers Houston at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Dynamos posted four straight section shutouts to close the regular season.

“There are a lot of solid teams across single-A this year, and it definitely is going to be a difficult challenge from the very first round because every team that makes the playoffs earns it and has won some close and competitive games,” Springdale coach Marc Bentley said. “It will be a challenge but one the girls will be ready for.”

Riverview (8-5), fronted by the goal-scoring efforts of junior Mary Quinlan, has drawn the No. 12 seed in Class A and will match up with No. 5 Riverside in the first round Tuesday at 6 p.m.

On the boys side, a rematch of last year’s Class 4A title game between Plum and Fox Chapel won’t happen at Highmark Stadium.

If they are to meet, it will be in the semifinals as the Section 3 champion Foxes (14-1) and the Section 1 champion Mustangs (14-2-2) have drawn the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, on the same side of the bracket.

They won’t play their first games of the tournament until the quarterfinals as the top four seeds in Class 4A earned byes in the first round.

Fox Chapel is hoping to claim back-to-back WPIAL titles while Plum is seeing another trip to Highmark. Both also qualified for the 2024 PIAA playoffs.

Deer Lakes (14-3-1) won WPIAL gold in 2020 and 2022, and it hopes to do it again in 2025. The runners-up in Section 1-2A drew the No. 6 seed in its bracket and will host No. 11 Central Valley at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Last year, the Lancers made it to the WPIAL semifinals before falling to No. 2 Avonworth, 3-1. They rebounded, however, and topped Burrell in the third-place match to punch their ticket to states.

Springdale (11-5) returns to the Class A playoffs under second-year coach Mario Liberati.

The No. 5 Dynamos host No. 12 Neshannock in the first round at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Last year, Springdale, with 10 seniors, advanced to the quarterfinals where it lost in a shootout to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Riverview (7-8-1) hopes to return to full health for Saturday’s first-round game against No. 6 Aquinas Academy at noon at Peters Township.

The Raiders won their final two games of the regular season, including a 3-2 triumph over playoff-bound Trinity Christian on Monday, after dropping four straight.

Knoch and Highlands both are back in the WPIAL playoffs and were placed as No. 15 seeds in their respective brackets.

The Knights (5-12-1) finished tied with Indiana for fourth in Section 1-3A. They will visit No. 2 Bethel Park at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Golden Rams (8-7-1), fourth in Section 1-2A behind North Catholic, Deer Lakes and Shady Side Academy, will travel to No. 2 Quaker Valley at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

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: Plum, Springdale