WPIAL boys soccer playoff capsules

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 19, 2017 | 10:45 PM

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Class AAAA

First round

No. 16 Fox Chapel (9-8) at No. 1 Peters Township (14-0-1)

5 p.m. Saturday

Winner plays: No. 8 Penn-Trafford or No. 9 Butler

Free kicks: Fox Chapel hopes for a deeper postseason run after falling in the first round last year. The Foxes made the WPIAL finals and PIAA quarterfinals in 2015. … Fox Chapel closed the regular season with a 4-0 victory over No. 10 seed Upper St. Clair. … The Foxes finished fourth in Section 4A, one point behind Allderdice. … Peters Township, the Section 2 champion at 10-0, is led offensively by seniors Logan Brinsky, Bryce Gablehart, Luke Kelly and Tyler Opferman. … Its only blemish was a 2-2 tie to Central Catholic in early September. … The Indians have won nine WPIAL championships, the most recent two coming in 2013 and '14.

First round

No. 10 Upper St. Clair (6-9-1) at No. 7 Plum (11-5-1)

1 p.m. Saturday

On the air: Tribhssn.triblive.com

Winner plays: No. 15 Connellsville or No. 1 North Allegheny

Free kicks: Plum finished as Section 3 runner-up to No. 4 seed Central Catholic. … The Mustangs closed the regular season with a 0-0 tie against No. 6 Norwin. … Plum had seven shutouts this season. … The Mustangs suffered a 1-0 first-round loss at Canon-McMillan last year. … Upper St. Clair ended the regular season on a four-game losing skid. It finished second to No. 1 Peters Township in Section 2 with a 6-4 record. … The Panthers own six WPIAL championships, the first coming in 1972 and the most recent in 2011. … USC senior defender Sean Korpics is a Duquesne recruit.

Class AA

No. 9 Riverside (10-5-1) vs. No. 8 Freeport (12-5)

3 p.m. Saturday, North Allegheny

On the air: Tribhssn.triblive.com

Winner plays: No. 16 McGuffey or No. 1 Quaker Valley

Free kicks: Freeport finished third in Section 2 at 8-4, twice falling in close fashion to section champ Mt. Pleasant (14-2) and second-place Deer Lakes (12-3-2). … The Yellowjackets have high hopes to advance further this year after a 3-2 loss to Beaver in the 2016 first round that saw them squander a 2-0 lead. … Freeport posted five shutouts in the regular season and outscored its opponents 64-22. … Riverside started Section 4 play 0-2-1 before rebounding to go 6-1 the rest of the way and finish second to No. 1 Quaker Valley. … The Panthers beat Obama in the first round last season before falling to Beaver in the quarterfinals. … Riverside captured a WPIAL championship in Class A in 2012.

No. 13 Brownsville (11-5-2) vs. No. 4 Deer Lakes (12-3-2)

1 p.m. Saturday, Chartiers Valley

Winner plays: No. 12 Beaver or No. 5 Keystone Oaks

Free kicks: Deer Lakes outscored its opponents 19-0 over a seven-game unbeaten streak late in the regular season. The Lancers surrendered only nine goals in its 17 games overall. … Deer Lakes, which came together after beginning the season with only three returning starters, eyes a run past the quarterfinals, the spot of its demise last season. … The Lancers finished as runner-up in Section 2, aided by a season sweep of rival Freeport. … Brownsville, the Section 3 leader for most of the season, lost its final two section contests and slipped to third behind No. 6 Charleroi and No. 7 Waynesburg. … The Falcons are in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in the program's 25-year history. The 11 wins this season are a school record.

Class A

First round

No. 11 Riverview (11-5-1) vs. No. 6 Sewickley Academy (9-8-1)

1 p.m. Saturday, Montour

Winner plays: No. 14 Avonworth or No. 3 Seton LaSalle

Free kicks: Riverview is trying to put behind it a 7-1 loss to Section 3 champion Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in Monday's regular-season finale. … The Raiders finished third in Section 3 with a 9-4-1 mark. Their closing push included a 2-1 win over section runner-up and No. 7 Springdale last week. … Riverview is in the postseason after falling short of the playoffs last year and in 2015. … Sewickley Academy, second (9-2-1) in Section 1 to No. 2 seed Freedom, won its seventh WPIAL title last year and finished as the PIAA runner-up. Twelve players were lost to graduation from 2016, and only three starters returned. … The Panthers concluded its section slate and the regular season with a win over OLSH, snapping a three-game losing streak.

No. 10 Serra Catholic (9-7-1) vs. No. 7 Springdale (12-4-1)

1 p.m. Saturday, North Allegheny

On the air: Tribhssn.triblive.com

Winner plays: No. 15 Trinity Christian or No. 2 Freedom

Free kicks: Springdale, the No. 2 team from Section 3, went 6-2 over its final eight games. …Ten of the Dynamos' 12 wins this season came via shutout. … Springdale, as the No. 10 seed, suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 first-round loss to Freedom in last year's WPIAL Class A playoffs. Freedom got the winner off a rebound of a penalty kick in the second overtime. … Serra Catholic, tied for third place with Trinity Christian in Section 2, is hoping to shake off a 1-4-1 stretch to close the regular season. … The Eagles also will attempt to halt a five-game playoff losing streak dating to 2013. … Serra and Springdale are familiar with each other as the teams met in a preseason scrimmage.

Tags: Brownsville, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Peters Township, Plum, Riverside, Riverview, Sewickley Academy, Springdale, Upper St. Clair