WPIAL Class A boys soccer championship breakdown: Charleroi vs. Bentworth

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, November 2, 2023 | 3:57 PM

WPIAL Class A boys soccer championship

1-Charleroi (19-0) vs. 7-Bentworth (17-2)

8 p.m. Friday, Highmark Stadium

Tickets: $10 (general admission)

Coaches: Jon Ducoli, Charleroi; Nick Malarbi, Bentworth

Players to watch: Bryce Large, Charleroi; Ryan Moessner, Bentworth

WPIAL titles: Charleroi 0; Bentworth 0

Playoff path: Charleroi defeated No. 16 Beaver County Christian, 1-0, in the first round; No. 9 Eden Christian, 3-1, in the quarterfinals; and No. 4 Seton LaSalle, 1-0 in overtime, in the semifinals. Bentworth beat No. 10 OLSH, 2-1 in overtime, in the first round; No. 2 Sewickley Academy, 5-0, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Burrell, 2-1 in overtime, in the semifinals.

Corner kicks: Both teams are chasing their first WPIAL boys soccer championship. … Charleroi has been dominant this season en route to the finals. The Cougars won the Section 2 title at 10-0 and have outscored opponents 104-9 this season, including two wins over Bentworth — 2-0 on Sept. 7 and 2-1 on Oct. 3. Those were the only losses this season for the Bearcats. Charleroi had four players named to the All-WPIAL team — senior forward Arlo McIntyre, senior midfielder Bryce Large, sophomore midfielder Dylan Klinger and senior keeper Nick Mazon. Large led the team in scoring with 12 goals in the regular season. Klinger and McIntyre each had 11. McIntyre scored the game-winner on a penalty kick in the semifinals. Mazon has posted 12 shutouts. Ducoli was named the Class A coach of the year by the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association. … Moessner scored twice in the semifinals, including the game-winner with 10 minutes left in the first overtime. He had a team-high 26 goals in the regular season. The sophomore forward was an All-WPIAL selection with senior forwards John Scott and Ryan Colbert. Scott, who had 17 goals in the regular season, scored twice in the quarterfinal win and had the overtime winner in the first round. Bentworth has won seven straight games since losing to Charleroi. The Bearcats have posted 10 shutouts and outscored opponents 119-13 this season. They’ve scored more goals than any other WPIAL team.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Bentworth, Charleroi