Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoffs capsules for Monday, Oct. 25, 2021

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, October 24, 2021 | 5:40 PM

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Monday’s games

Boys

Class 2A

First round

16-Yough (7-10) at 1-South Park (18-0)

6:30 p.m. at South Park Stadium, South Park

Winner plays: Winner of 9-North Catholic/8-McGuffey at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (time, site TBD)

Notes: Yough is back in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Cougars had hoped to clinch their first winning season since 2014, but dropped their final five games to close the regular season. Joe Obeldobel is one of the better players in 2A. … South Park is ranked No. 1 in the state. The three-time WPIAL champion Eagles lost to Deer Lakes, 1-0, in last year’s quarterfinals. They have allowed just five goals and have 13 shutouts. Keep an eye on talented scorer Andrew Spowart.

12-Mt. Pleasant (6-8-2) at 5-Elizabeth Forward (11-4)

6:30 p.m. at Warrior Stadium, Elizabeth

Winner plays: Winner of 13-Keystone Oaks (10-6)/4-Charleroi (13-2-1) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (site TBD)

Notes: Mt. Pleasant finished third in Section 3 to secure its eighth playoff appearance in the last nine years. A semifinal team last year, the Vikings tied McGuffey, the No. 8 seed, 2-2. Luke Rivardo and Chase McCloy are key scorers for the Vikings. … After finishing second to No. 1 South Park in Section 1, Elizabeth Forward is primed for another run after reaching the semis in 2020. The Warriors have a pair of one-goal losses to South Park, while they lost 1-0 to 3A No. 5 seed Thomas Jefferson. Ethan Bowser powers the offense.

Girls

Class 4A

First round

13-Penn-Trafford (6-10) at 4-Seneca Valley (13-3-2)

6:30 p.m. at NexTier Stadium, Jackson Township

Winner plays: Winner of 12-North Hills (6-11)/5-Norwin (11-4) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (site TBD)

A perennial playoff team, Penn-Trafford had to work a little harder than usual to get into the tournament, but the team has talent. The Warriors only lost, 1-0, to No. 3 seed Latrobe, and by the same score to Class 3A No. 3 seed Franklin Regional. Malia Kearns (Robert Morris) is a finisher, and Taylor Lloyd (Youngstown State) is strong in goal. … Seneca Valley, which owns a 5-0 win over Penn-Trafford, is on a seven-game winning streak. The Raiders have a dozen clean sheets. Seneca Valley won WPIAL titles in 2009, ‘13, ‘14 and ‘18.

12-North Hills (6-11) at 5-Norwin (12-4)

6:30 p.m. at Norwin Knights Stadium

Winner plays: Winner of 13-Penn-Trafford (6-10) at 4-Seneca Valley (13-3-2) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (site TBD)

Despite finishing one spot from the bottom in Section 1, North Hills tied Pine-Richland for fourth place to get into the playoffs. When the Indians lose, they usually don’t score: They have nine losses by shutout. They do, however, have a 1-0 win over Avonworth, a good 2A team. … Norwin has battled injuries but has been in every game, with nine of them decided by one goal. Latrobe swept the Lady Knights for the first time, but they beat Seneca Valley (1-0), Plum (1-0), Fox Chapel (1-0, 2-1) and swept Penn-Trafford (3-0, 1-0). A late-season, 3-2 loss to top-seeded North Allegheny showed the committee something. Paloma Swankler is a Robert Morris commit.

Class 3A

9-Oakland Catholic (12-3-1) at 8-Belle Vernon (15-3)

6:30 p.m. at James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon

Winner plays: Winner of 16-Penn Hills (9-7-1)/1-Mars (12-0-1) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (site TBD)

A WPIAL champion in 2018, Oakland Catholic has won nine of 10 games heading into the postseason. They gave No. 2 seed Plum all it could handle in a 3-2 loss in Section 3. The Eagles also beat a good Class A team in Freedom (4-2). Mia Lowery is one of the better players from Section 3. … Belle Vernon is on a hot streak, winning 11 in a row following a 1-0 loss to Elizabeth Forward. You won’t find many better scoring tandems than Morgan Einodshofer and Farrah Reader, who have combined for more than 60 goals. Addy Guess is among the top defenders in 3A.

13-West Allegheny (6-9-2) at 3-Franklin Regional (13-3-1)

6:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium, Murrysville

Winner plays: Winner of 11-Gateway (10-6-1)/6-South Fayette (11-7) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (site TBD)

The fourth-place team from Section 4, West Allegheny knows plenty about shutouts. The Indians have played in 15 of them this season. They lost 3-0 to Mars and 1-0 to Avonworth. They have only scored 14 goals in 17 games. … Franklin Regional has a number of experienced players back from last year’s quarterfinal team that lost to Montour. The Lady Panthers won their first section title since 2016. They haven’t lost in six straight games and all three of their losses are by one goal — Montour (3-2), Hampton (2-1) and Upper St. Clair (1-0).

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