Westmoreland County boys soccer preview capsules for Saturday’s PIAA quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 9, 2018 | 8:42 PM

Boys soccer

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

Franklin Regional (19-0-1) vs. Cathedral Prep (20-1)

4 p.m. Saturday at Slippery Rock High School

Winner plays: Winner of Hershey (15-4-1)/West Allegheny (20-2) on Tuesday in the semifinals

Players to watch: Zack Snider, Franklin Regional (Sr., MF); Liam King, Cathedral Prep (Sr., D)

Corner kicks: Franklin Regional won its first state playoff game in its first PIAA playoff appearance, 5-1, over Bellefonte. Auston Kranick, Justin LeDonne, Anthony DiFalco, Connor Hudson and Joseph Bonfiglio all scored for the Panthers, who ripped 54 shots at the Red Raiders, half of them on goal. With 15 shutouts and just five goals allowed, the Panthers have been one of the stingiest teams in the state. … Cathedral Prep played 10-man soccer against Thomas Jefferson in the first round. Senior standout Jack Foht was red-carded for fighting and ejected. King managed a goal in the 77th minute for a 1-0 victory. Foht will miss this game due to a one-game suspension. Jack Hillbrich is another scoring threat for the Ramblers. Foht scored three times in the District 10 semifinals and twice in the finals. The Ramblers have 30 district titles but have not won a state title since 2001.

Class A

Quarterfinals

Greensburg Central Catholic (18-2) vs. Seton LaSalle (19-4)

1 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township

Winner plays: Winner of Rockwood (20-2)/Avonworth (21-0-1) on Tuesday in the semifinals

Players to watch: Sean Gargan, Greensburg Central Catholic (Sr., MF); Ethan Gardner, Seton La Salle (Jr., MF)

Corner kicks: This is a playoff rematch. The teams played on Oct. 29 in the WPIAL semifinals when Seton LaSalle won 2-1 in a physical matchup at Norwin. … Luke Mort, Dylan Sebek and Sean Gargan scored for Greensburg Central Catholic in a 3-2 victory over Iroquois in the PIAA first round. Mort, a Pitt recruit, and Rico Ciccarelli both left the game with leg injuries. Mort returned and is expected to play Saturday. Ciccarelli’s status is unknown. GCC last made the state semifinals in 2009 when it also faced Seton LaSalle and lost 2-1 at Chartiers Valley. … Seton LaSalle used a goal from Gardner to slip past Brockway in the first round, 1-0. Kellen Krebs scored for the Rebels against GCC in the WPIAL semis. The Rebels made the semifinals two years ago and lost to Sewickley Academy, 2-0.

— Bill Beckner

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C.