What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Aug. 31, 2022: South Hills soccer showdown in spotlight

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 | 10:54 PM

We close out the month of August with another busy evening of WPIAL girls soccer on the pitch.

One of the top district matches Wednesday has Bethel Park hosting neighboring Peters Township.

Both teams won their section openers Monday as Bethel Park edged Norwin, 2-1, while Peters Township shut out Canon-McMillan, 2-0.

The Indians opened their season Saturday with a nonsection match against South Fayette that ended in a 1-1 tie.

A year ago, Peters Township finished second behind Moon in Section 2-4A while Bethel Park qualified for the postseason as the fourth-place finisher. The Black Hawks lost in the first round to Fox Chapel while the Indians reached the district semifinals before falling to eventual champion Moon.

Peters Township won the season series in 2021, 1-0-1. The Indians shut out the Black Hawks 2-0 at home before the teams played to a 1-1 tie in the rematch at Bethel Park last October.

Hope springs eternal

A new season brings a fresh start, a clean slate and plenty of dreams.

Some of those may not last long, but for seven WPIAL girls soccer teams, any win would be a tasty treat here in 2022. That’s because victory eluded them in the 2021 season.

Three of those teams begin their season Wednesday with a 0-0 record.

Ambridge finished 0-12 last season and faces the daunting task of hosting traditional power and 2021 district runner-up, North Catholic.

East Allegheny also ended last season with a record of 0-12. The Wildcats open on the road with a nonsection match at Valley, a team that was 4-9-1 last season.

Uniontown opened up Section 2-3A action Tuesday with a 6-0 loss to Laurel Highlands. The Red Raiders finished 0-17 in 2021.

Three of the four other teams that were winless last year that have already started their 2022 schedule without a win, enter Wednesday optimistic the tide will turn.

They include Hempfield (0-2) hosting Norwin, Highlands (0-1) at Burrell, and Jeannette (0-2) visiting Serra Catholic.

Beth-Center (0-1) next plays Thursday at Chartiers-Houston.

Two to watch

There are two notable matches Wednesday afternoon, one in girls golf and the other in girls tennis.

In golf, defending WPIAL Class 2A team champion Greensburg Central Catholic will face host Mt. Pleasant in the first of two Section 1-2A matches between the two.

Last year in the WPIAL championships, the Centurions won their seventh straight title with a score of 332 while the Vikings finished in third place behind runner-up Central Valley with a team score of 433.

In tennis, district powers Beaver and visiting Sewickley Academy go head-to-head in the first of two Section 4-2A matches.

The two met in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals last fall with the Panthers sweeping past the Bobcats, 5-0. Sewickley Academy went on to win WPIAL gold.

Both teams qualified for the state playoffs. Beaver lost in the quarterfinals while Sewickley Academy reached the state title match before falling to Wyoming Seminary.