Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Oct. 26, 2021

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 25, 2021 | 8:05 PM

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Tuesday’s games

Boys

Class 4A

First round

12-Penn-Trafford (9-7) at 5-Fox Chapel (13-3-1)

8 p.m. at James Burk Athletic Complex, O’Hara

Winner plays: At 4-Canon-McMillan (13-2-1) on Saturday (time TBD)

Notes: Penn-Trafford faded late in the season, losing five of its last six with shutouts against Norwin (1-0) and North Allegheny (3-0). The Warriors have a 1-0 win over Central Catholic, the No. 7 seed. Nathan Schlessinger is an integral player as a center back/attacker. A.J. Visco has played well in big games. The Warriors lineup is a mix of upper and underclassmen. … Fox Chapel beat the Warriors, 3-1, in a nonsection game. The Foxes have not lost in October, winning four and tying top-seeded Seneca Valley, 2-2. They also edged a good 2A team in Shady Side Academy (3-2). Sean Ahia and George Tabor are scoring threats.

Class A

16-Chartiers-Houston (6-11-1) at 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (12-3)

6 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

Winner plays: Winner of 9-Seton La Salle (9-4-1)/8-Springdale (10-4-1) on Saturday (time, site TBD)

Notes: Chartiers-Houston finished fourth in Section 4 with four section wins. Nine of the team’s 11 losses were via shutout. The Buccaneers have netted 21 goals all season. They lost in the first round last year to Sewickley Academy, 3-0. … Greensburg Central Catholic is chasing a third consecutive WPIAL championship. Oddly, GCC is a top seed that starts the playoffs on a two-game losing streak. The Centurions beefed up the late-season schedule with games against Quaker Valley (No. 2 2A) and Kiski Area (No. 6 3A). Their other loss was in the season opener against upstart Eden Christian. Mason Fabean, Carlo Denis and Kyler Miller are the team’s top scorers. Fabean was the Section 2 Player of the Year.

15-Jeannette (11-5) at 2-Winchester Thurston (15-0-1)

8 p.m. at Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Brentwood (8-4-1)/7-OLSH (9-2-2) on Saturday (time TBD)

Notes: It has been a historic year for Jeannette, which made the playoffs for the first time in the program’s 20-year history. The Jayhawks also set a school record for wins in a season. They have a strong attack led by Jordan Taylor, who has 45 goals. Austin Emery has 20 scores. … Winchester Thurston has become a perennial contender. The Bears were the WPIAL runners-up to GCC the last two years and finished second in the PIAA in 2019. One of the best attackers in the class is Alex Hauskrecht. The game originally was slated for Graham Field in Wilkinsburg, but there was a schedule conflict with Chatham.

Girls

Class 2A

9-Deer Lakes (10-7) at 8-Yough (12-3-1)

6:30 p.m. at Cougar Mountain Stadium, Herminie

Winner plays: Winner of 17 Waynesburg (7-8)/1-North Catholic (14-1) on Saturday (time, site TBD)

Notes: Deer Lakes has won five of its last six games with its only loss coming against 5-seed Shady Side Academy (3-1). The Lancers were a semifinalist three years ago, lost in the quarterfinals in 2019 and fell in the first round last year. Madeline Boulos has 104 career goals for the Lancers. … Yough bested Deer Lakes early in the season, 4-2. The Cougars made the semifinals last year after reaching the WPIAL finals two years ago. Robert Morris commit McKenzie Pritts leads the Cougars’ offensively, but Kendalyn Umbel, a freshman, is not far behind. Yough split a pair of 2-1 games with Mt. Pleasant in nine days time. They went 0-1-1 against Section 3 champion and No. 2 seed Southmoreland.

10-Beaver (9-4) at 7-Mt. Pleasant (12-5)

8 p.m. at Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

Winner plays: Winner of 15-West Mifflin (4-12-2)/2-Southmoreland (12-1-2) on Saturday (time, site TBD)

Notes: Beaver came in third in a tough Section 1 that features title contenders North Catholic and Avonworth. Avonworth only won 1-0 against Beaver. More than half of the Bobcats’ wins (seven) have come via shutout. … Mt. Pleasant made a push for the Section 3 title but finished second to Southmoreland despite tying the Scotties with eight wins. The Vikings split with Southmoreland and Yough. Hanna Gesinski, Carsyn Rivardo and Rylin Bugosh are some of the top players for the Vikings.

15-West Mifflin (4-12-2) at 2-Southmoreland (12-1-2)

6:30 p.m. at Russ Grimm Stadium, Alverton

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Beaver (9-4) at 7-Mt. Pleasant (12-5) on Saturday (time, site TBD)

Notes: West Mifflin found a way to finish in a tie for fourth with South Allegheny in Section 4 to make the tournament. Five of the section’s six teams qualified. The Titans started 0-8 but went 2-2-3 down the stretch. A tough schedule included Latrobe, Allderdice and Yough. Drina Johns gets the offense going. … Southmoreland just won its second straight section title and is riding a seven-game winning streak. That includes wins over Yough (4-3) and Mt. Pleasant (2-0). The Scotties tied South Park, the third seed, 2-2. Olivia Cernuto has been hampered by a leg injury but still quite effective, and Kendall Fabery has played well despite a concussion.

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