WPIAL boys soccer playoffs roundup: Butler edges Connellsville in 1st round

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 19, 2019 | 11:46 PM

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Landon Mohney scored two goals 45 seconds apart in the 27th minute and that was enough for No. 7 Butler to secure a 2-1 victory over No. 10 Connellsville (12-7) in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA boys soccer playoffs Saturday at Art Bernardi Stadium.

Butler (13-5-1) advanced to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season, where it’ll play No. 2 Mt. Lebanon (13-4-1) on Wednesday at a time and site to be determined.

Mohney’s first goal came off a pass from Emerson Douthett. The second one came off a turnover in the midfield area and the ball bounced to Mohney, who broke free and deposited the ball into the net.

Luke Peperak dribbled around all four Butler defenders and scored a highlight reel goal in the final minute of the first half to get Connellsville on the board.

Butler controlled possession in the second half. The Golden Tornado had a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks in the final 40 minutes and a 9-2 advantage for the game. Brandon Routzahn made eight saves in goal for the Falcons.

Fox Chapel 5, Woodland Hills 1 — For the first time since 2015, Class AAAA No. 5 Fox Chapel is moving on to the WPIAL boys soccer quarterfinals after a win over No. 12 Woodland Hills.

Fox Chapel (12-3-3) struck first early in the game when senior midfielder Tommy Tsai received a ball deep into the box on a throw in and finished it off with a shot that just crossed over the line.

Just over a minute later, Woodland Hills (9-8-1) responded when Gavin Moore buried one into the back of the net from the left side of the box.

Ingram finished off a corner kick with 25 minutes remaining in the first half, then Nate Lazzara extended Fox Chapel’s lead to two goals at the 10:31 mark. Ingram added a second goal and Sean Ahia finished off an Anthony Shin through ball to cap off the scoring.

Fox Chapel will play No. 3 Canon-McMillan on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

Upper St. Clair 2, North Allegheny 0 — Cyrys Khani and Jack Myers each scored a second-half goal as No. 8 Upper St. Clair (12-3-2) defeated No. 9 North Allegheny (11-7-1) in the WPIAL Class AAAA first round. Upper St. Clair will play top-seeded Plum (15-0-2), which earned a first-round bye, Wednesday with a site and time to be determined.

Class AAA

Belle Vernon 1, Indiana 0 — Nathaniel Kikel scored in the first half for No. 4 Belle Vernon (17-1-0), and T.J. Watson made two saves in the Leopards’ WPIAL Class AAA first-round victory over No. 13 Indiana (8-10-1). Belle Vernon will play No. 12 Blackhawk (11-3-4) in the quarterfinals.

Blackhawk 1, South Fayette 0 — Noah Finkbeiner scored with 26:33 left to lift No. 12 Blackhawk (11-3-4) to a Class AAA first-round upset over No. 5 South Fayette (14-4).

In the first half and earlier in the second half, Finkbeiner had two opportunities to put headers in the back of the net.

The first, with a wide open cage, sailed over the crossbar. The second, cruised just wide of the right post.

Franklin Regional 16, Laurel Highlands 0 — Nolan Scholze had a goal and two assists, while Zach Lorenz, Blake Cooper and Sam Dawson added two-goal efforts as No. 1 Franklin Regional (16-0-1) routed Laurel Highlands (8-10-0) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class AAA playoffs.

For the Panthers, 13 different players scored. Isaac Gamwo and Jacob Kimmich had two assists. The Panthers scored 10 of their 16 goals in the first half, including the first two in the second minute, and a total of four in the first seven minutes. Franklin Regional plays against No. 8 Trinity (14-4-0) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Hampton 2, Ringgold 1 (SO) — Sophomore goalkeeper Thomas Bradfield made two big saves during the shootout, and classmate Brennan Wesley buried the final shot to give No. 6 Hampton (14-3-2) a 4-3 advantage in penalty kicks and a Class AAA first-round victory over No. 11 Ringgold.

Zach Panza, Gabe Viszlay and Christian Waldschmidt also scored for the Tabots in the shootout. Ringgold’s shootout goals came from Andrew Bottino, Brian Long and Brandin Jaki.

Bottino had given the Rams a 1-0 with his 16th goal of the season in the 36th minute. Panza tied the game for Hampton with a header off a pass from Vislay in the 75th minute.

Junior goalkeeper Jeremy Mullen made 13 saves in regulation and overtime for Ringgold (10-9) and also stopped a shot in the shootout.

Mars 5, Ambridge 1 — Mars (17-1-1) cruised to a WPIAL Class AAA first-round victory on its home turf. The Fightin’ Planets will play West Allegheny in the quarterfinals.

Moon 3, Chartiers Valley 0 — Ian Cueto had a goal and an assist as No. 3 Moon (16-2-0) shut out No. 14 Chartiers Valley (7-8-2) in a Class AAA first-round match. Darek Panucci and Jack Lenosky also scored. Justin Kopay added an assist for Moon, which will face sixth-seeded Hampton (14-3-2) in the quarterfinals.

West Allegheny 3, Thomas Jefferson 2 — Fletcher Amos scored two goals for No. 7 West Allegheny (12-5-1) as the Indians triumphed over No. 10 Thomas Jefferson (9-6-4) in the WPIAL Class AAA first round. Justin Finnegan also netted two goals for the Jaguars. Will Douglas added a goal for the Indians.

Trinity 2, Kiski Area 1 — Elijah Cincinnati and Jacaob Paez each netted a goal for the Hillers as No. 8 Trinity (14-4-0) earned a WPIAL Class AAA first-round victory over No. 9 Kiski Area (11-6-2).

Class AA

Freedom 7, Southmoreland 0 — No. 6 Freedom (11-7-0) scored five first-half goals on way to shutting out No. 11 Southmoreland (8-10-0) in the first round of the Class AA playoffs at Norwin.

Freeport 3, Keystone Oaks 2 (SO) — Addison Stewart scored twice in regulation on assists from Hunter Hardin, and then Hardin, Christian Waronsky and Daniel Lynch netted goals in the shootout to give Freeport (12-5-2) a WPIAL Class AA first-round victory at Mars. Lynch scored the winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout. Freeport keeper Luke Heider made three saves in the shootout. The Yellowjackets will play Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals Wednesday at a time and site to be determined.

North Catholic 8, Elizabeth Forward 0 — Senior Bryce Kopchak set the tone with two early goals on headers off set pieces to lead No. 7 North Catholic (13-3-2) past No. 10 Elizabeth Forward (8-9-1) in a Class AA first-round match at Norwin. Ryan Augustine and Joe Kearney had hat tricks, and Ryan Jackson recorded the shutout for North Catholic, which will meet second-seeded Deer Lakes (14-4-0) in the quarterfinals.

Quaker Valley 10, Beth-Center 0 — Class AA’s top seed, Quaker Valley (17-2-0), scored early and often, cruising past No. 16 Beth-Center (8-9-1) in the first round of the playoffs at South Fayette.

Dominating play with 40 total shots, 28 shots on goal and 13 corner kicks, Quaker Valley used its high-powered offense to score double-digit goals for the seventh time this season.

Leading the way for the Quakers were the Reiter brothers, combining for seven goals. Pitt commit Dom Reiter scored four goals, while brother Fritz added a hat trick. The other three Quakers to score were Franky Fernandez, Kellen Auth and Griffin Wirth.

Beth-Center mustered two shot attempts in the contest.

Shady Side Academy 4, Waynesburg 0 — Sam Farner scored twice to lead No. 4 Shady Side Academy (13-2-1) to the WPIAL Class AA first-round win against No. 13 Waynesburg (9-9-0) at Upper St. Clair. Hazen Hamda and Jack Naughton added goals for Shady Side Academy, which will face Charleroi in the quarterfinals.

South Park 1, Central Valley 0 (SO) — After a scoreless regulation and overtime at Trinity, South Park (14-4-1) advanced to the Class AA quarterfinals by defeating Central Valley (6-11-0), 4-3, on penalty kicks. South Park will face Freedom on Wednesday.

Class A

Avonworth 4, OLSH 3 — Johnathon Nicolaus scored twice, Tyler Bryan had a goal and an assist, and Lucas Schriefer also scored as No. 7 Avonworth (15-3-0) overcame a 3-2 second-half deficit with a pair of goals in the last 20 minutes to win a Class A first-round game.

Aymeric Verdier had three assists for Avonworth, which moves on to face second-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic (12-3-1). Ryan Gehring had two goals and Jake Warren also scored for No. 10 OLSH (9-6-1).

Bishop Canevin 4, Riverside 1 — Jack Staley, Connor Jacobs, Nevan Crossey and Luke Kaupinis scored as No. 14 Bishop Canevin (10-6-2) opened the Class A playoffs with an upset victory over third-seeded Riverside (13-4-0) at Mars. The Crusaders will face sixth-seeded Springdale (13-3-0) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Brentwood 3, Sewickley Academy 0 — Junior Riley Wirth scored a pair of goals, one in each half, to lift Brentwood (13-3-2) past No. 9 Sewickley Academy (8-8-1) in a Class A first-round match at West Allegheny. Shashak Gurung also scored for No. 8 Brentwood, which will meet top-seeded Winchester Thurston (14-1-0) in the quarterfinals.

Carlynton 1, Serra Catholic 0 — At Belle Vernon, Carnel Kerr scored with nine minutes remaining in the second half to give No. 4 Carlynton (16-2-0) the Class A first-round win against No. 13 Serra Catholic (9-7-2).

Seton LaSalle 1, Trinity Christian 0 — Kevin Bian scored with 14 minutes left in the first half and Chuck Vojtecky made five saves for Seton LaSalle (9-5-3) as the No. 5 Rebels defeated No. 12 Trinity Christian (10-8-0) in the WPIAL Class A first round game at Upper St. Clair.

Seton LaSalle will play Carlynton (16-2-0) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Winchester Thurston 4, Beaver County Christian 0 — Oliver Daboo scored two goals to lead No. 1 Winchester Thurston (14-1-0) to victory against No. 17 Beaver County Christian (7-9-1) in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Moon.

Alessandro Memoli and Alex Hauskrecht added goals for Winchester Thurston, while Morgan Graham picked up the clean sheet. Winchester Thurston will face Brentwood (13-3-2) in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.