WPIAL soccer championships kick off, girls volleyball semis conclude on Halloween Thursday

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 | 11:48 PM

Thursday will be a golden treat for two district soccer teams as championship weekend begins at Highmark Stadium at Station Square.

The two highest classifications take center stage on the first night.

In the boys Class AAAA title match, No.4 seed Canon-McMillan faces No. 2 seed Mt. Lebanon at 8 p.m.

The Big Macs are trying for their third district title, having won gold in 2012 and 2015. The Blue Devils are hoping to win a WPIAL boys soccer crown for the 11th time, though their most recent championship was 10 years ago in 2009.

These teams are Section 2-AAAA rivals and this is their third meeting of the season. Mt. Lebanon beat Canon-McMillan twice by scores of 3-1 and 4-3.

Girls AAAA soccer finals

The early match in the championship doubleheader Thursday will be North Allegheny against Norwin in the girls Class AAAA finals at 6 p.m.

Norwin has won girls soccer gold four times, both coming in back-to-back years. The Knights won gold in 1996-97 and then again in 2015-16.

As a school, North Allegheny has won many WPIAL championships. However the Tigers have never won it all in girls soccer.

These two teams met in a late-season, non-section playoff tune-up earlier this month with Norwin winning at home, 3-1.

You can watch all eight WPIAL soccer championship matches Thursday through Saturday here on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Volleyball Final Four, Day Two

WPIAL girls volleyball’s two highest classes set their title match on Wednesday. Now it’s time for the Class AA and Class A semifinals Thursday.

In the AA doubleheader at North Allegheny, defending champion and top seed North Catholic will meet Beaver at 7:30 p.m. This is a battle of the two most recent AA champions with the Trojans winning it all last year and the Bobcats claiming gold in 2017.

The 6 p.m. match features No. 2 Freeport against Avonworth. The Yellow Jackets have won four district crowns this decade while the Antelopes are the lowest seed left in any class as the No. 6 seed.

In Class A at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, No. 2 Fort Cherry faces No. 3 Shenango at 6 p.m. The Rangers have yet to lose a game in two playoff wins, while the Wildcats won a five-game thriller in the quarterfinals over Greensburg Central Catholic to advance to the final four.

In the second match at 7:30 p.m., top seed Bishop Canevin takes on Geibel Catholic.

The Crusaders are trying to win a third straight district championship while the Gators are the last Class A team to have a shot at three straight girls volleyball championships. Geibel Catholic won back-to-back titles in 2005-06 but could not three-peat in 2007.

All four matches can be heard here at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Tags: Avonworth, Beaver, Bishop Canevin, Canon-McMillan, Fort Cherry, Freeport, Geibel, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Norwin, Shenango