Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Playoff teams await pairings

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The WPIAL will announce playoff pairings Wednesday afternoon, and tournaments could start this weekend.

Westmoreland County teams in the postseason are Latrobe (12-2), Franklin Regional (11-5-1), Penn-Trafford (11-6), and Kiski Area (7-9-2) in Class 3A; Mt. Pleasant (14-2), Southmoreland (9-5), Yough (5-13) and Burrell (11-4) in 2A; and Greensburg Central Catholic (10-2) in A.

BV eliminated

Belle Vernon made it interesting this season, taking playoff hopes into the final night of section play.

The Leopards (7-9-1) fell to Elizabeth Forward, 5-0, to get eliminated from postseason contention. They needed a win and to have Laurel Highlands lose or tie against Connellsville.

Connellsville won 2-1.

Having their backs

Franklin Regional star goalkeeper Aris Lamanna made it a point to thank her defense after the Panthers lost a pair of section games against top-tier teams in Latrobe and Plum.

They fell to Latrobe, 2-0, before taking a gut punch against Plum in a 1-0 loss on a controversial penalty kick in overtime.

Lamanna posted on X, formerly known as Twitter:

“We had two hard fought matches this week against two very good teams. Tonight’s (Plum) game really proved how much my defense has my back. They’ve had it all season. I want to thank them publicly.”

Streak ends for LV

Ligonier Valley quietly ended a 24-game winless streak last week when the Rams defeated East Allegheny, 4-0.

Ella Pierce had two goals, and Sophie Carns and Jorja Vaniel scored one apiece.

Their previous win was a 3-2 victory over East Allegheny on Sept. 21, 2022.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Kiski Area, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford, Yough