WPIAL Soccer Semifinals Recaps

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 | 12:35 AM

On one side, the girls held serve as all three top-seeds and a pair of #2-seeds have advanced through the first three rounds to lead to three anticipated title matches. On the other side of the pitch, it has been a great postseason to be a #4-seed as all three upset the top-seeds in the Semifinals and are one victory away from district gold. Here are ALL of the summaries from the twelve district boys and girls Semifinals contests from Monday in the WPIAL Soccer Playoffs.

A special thanks to Rob Longo, Mike Azadian, Lee Mohn, Randy Gore, Adam Hoerner, James Dotson, Matt Vandriak, Brandon Showers, Greg Kuntz and Kyle Dawson for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA BOYS Semifinals:

Canon-McMillan Big Macs 1 – Seneca Valley Raiders 0 
The Canon-McMillan boys’ soccer team will return to the WPIAL championship game for the first time since 2012 thanks to a 1-0 victory over the Seneca Valley Raiders in the WPIAL semifinals on Monday night. The leading scorer in Class AAA, Nick Sodini, scored the game’s only goal with 11:12 remaining in regulation to punch the ticket for the Big Macs to Highmark Stadium this weekend. The game was fiercely fought and physical with defense ruling most of the night. The top-seeded Raiders had a great scoring opportunity in the 8th minute of the contest but a header by Griffin Mathew was tipped away by CM goalie Christian Snatchko to keep the game scoreless. The Big Macs managed only two shots on net all game, the first of which was a header by Noah French with 1:00 left in the first half but was denied on a great defensive save by Seneca Valley junior midfielder Tommy Washington and the game went to halftime, 0-0. The defensive stalemate continued deep into the second half until Sodini tallied his 30th goal of the season to lift fourth-seeded Canon-McMillan to victory.  Seneca Valley furiously pressured CM in the waning minutes but was unable to find the equalizer. The Raiders outshot the Big Macs 7-2 and led in corner kicks, 8-1. Canon-McMillan improves to 17-3 overall and advances to the WPIAL finals to face Fox Chapel. Seneca Valley slips to 14-2-1 overall and will take on Kiski Area in the third place consolation match on Wednesday night.

Fox Chapel Foxes 4 – Kiski Area Cavaliers 0 
The third time was not the charm for the Kiski Area Cavaliers as they took on AAA Section 3 rival Fox Chapel Foxes in the semifinal round of the WPIAL Soccer playoffs. In a matchup that was decided by a combined score of 7-1 in their two regular season matches Fox Chapel came in as the clear favorite. That was ok for the Cavaliers as they were riding a Cinderella story to the semifinals and looking to prevent the clock striking 12 on their ball. Things looked good for the Cavaliers at the start as both teams were playing back and forth in the first half. Neither team really was able to possess the ball inside about 35-40 yards from goal in the first half and the stalemate was on. We’d go to halftime with the score tied 0-0 and Kiski with some momentum if from nothing else but withstanding the Foxes first half offense. Early in the 2nd half Fox Chapel would get a corner kick, their 4th of the game and 1st of the 2nd half, where the ball would be punched out by junior goalkeeper Nicholas Bisceglia nicely and it looked like Kiski would hold momentum. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers the ball was punched to a Fox on the near side of the pitch where he crossed it in to the waiting left food of junior forward Michael Snowball and at the 44:48 mark the Foxes would take a 1-0 lead. Snowball factored into the second Fox goal when he set up junior midfielder Gung Hong who was able to rifle one past Bisceglia at 58:47. The play evened out a little and when it was still 2-0 in favor of the Foxes Kiski got it’s best opportunity from the foot of Drake Neumann a junior forward. Neumann to redirected a crossing attempt on net. The shot was stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Dunn and the Foxes took to the offense again scoring off the foot of Ted White a senior forward at the 67:08 mark to make it 3-0. Holden Armor a senior forward added to the Foxes lead at the 73:50 mark when he was able to put a shot underneath a sliding Bisceglia and that would end the scoring at 4-0 in favor of the Foxes. Fox Chapel finished with 9 total shots in the game to Kiski Area’s 5, seven of Fox Chapel’s shots came in the 2nd half. Fox Chapel will go on to play Canon-McMillan in the championship round for WPIAL gold while Kiski Area will play Seneca Valley to try and secure a PIAA playoff birth.

WPIAL CLASS AA BOYS Semifinals:

South Fayette Lions 2 – South Park Eagles 1 in Double Overtime
In a rematch of last year’s semifinal clash, South Fayette avenged a 2-0 loss from a year ago with a double-overtime victory over South Park to advance to the WPIAL Championship match. Zach Ali’s goal in the 99th minute gave South Fayette (17-3-0) the win over the top-seeded Eagles.  The Lions controlled play in the first half and struck early when Nick Aul headed in a cross from Zach Lutz just eight minutes into the contest. South Park would come out strong in the second half and found the equalizer. In the 57th minute, Dan Irwin headed in his own goal off of a corner kick from Christian Payne to tie the match. Both teams exchanged great scoring opportunities in the late stages of the second half and in overtime, but neither squad could find the back of the net. Lions’ sophomore goalkeeper Tim Locher made the save of the night just two minutes into the second overtime session, denying Payne from eight yards out. Locher, who had to leave the game briefly in the second half with a back injury, recorded six saves on the night, many in spectacular fashion. Two minutes later, Ali’s strike from 20 yards curved into the top corner of the net, and the dogpile ensued.  The Lions will take on Mars in the finals on Friday or Saturday. The season does not end for South Park (18-2-1) as they have qualified for the PIAA playoffs by reaching the district semifinals.

Mars Fighting Planets 3 – Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 0 
Mars may have had a little beef receiving the No. 2 seed in this year’s WPIAL Class AA Championships, but the selection looked like a fair assessment after the Fightin’ Planets needed penalty kicks in the opening round to down Quaker Valley and overtime against Montour in the quarterfinals, after falling behind 3-0 to win 4-3. However, Mars looked large and in charge Monday evening, rolling past Thomas Jefferson 3-0. Cory Ferguson, Nick Cimini and Andrew Diefenbacher all found the back of the net for Mars, but Cimini’s goal might be the most impressive. Off a free kick from 56 yards out, Cimini’s shot hit off the hands of the keeper and went in. Equally impressive – if not more impressive – was the Mars’ defense. The Fightin’ Planets only allowed one total shot, which was on net, by Thomas Jefferson in the first couple of minutes of the match. The Jaguars had three corner kicks throughout the match, but had nothing to show for it. Thomas Jefferson now turns into a cheerleader for Mars, hoping the Fightin’ Planets earn WPIAL gold against South Fayette this weekend to earn a higher seed in the PIAA playoffs next week.

WPIAL CLASS A BOYS Semifinals:

Avonworth Antelopes 2 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 1 in Overtime Shootout
Avonworth (15-3-3) only managed one shot on on goal in each half of regulation in its Semifinal match against Sewickley Academy (17-3-0) The Antelopes mustered none in either of the two overtime periods. The Panthers totaled 13 shots. Yet it was the underdog winning in penalty kicks over the perennial power in Class A boys soccer. Matt Teitelbaum got Sewickley on the board in the 15th minute, beating Corey Dick from 18 yards out for a 1-0 lead. Panthers goalkeeper Jackson O’Neill then turned aside Avonworth’s Parker Chamber, easily his team’s best player in the first half, in the 19th and 29th minutes to maintain the lead. Dick would counter that by denying Teitelbaum on the doorstep in the 30th minute, and the score remained 1-0 at halftime. O’Neill came out to challenge John Oddo at the top of the box in the 42nd minute to prevent a shot, and then Dick stopped Teitelbaum again in the 51st minute, which would be key. The Antelopes got a free kick in the 52nd minutes, and Patrick Cronin buried a loose bouncer in the box to tie the score. Teitelbaum got two more quality chances in the 71st and 76th minute, but again Dick had his number. As time expired in the second overtime, Teitelbaum managed the only shot for either team in the extra frames, but Dick again came up with the big save. So, it went to penalty kicks, and high drama ensued. The Panthers shot first, and Paul Chropek buried his chance. Oddo countered with a goal before the keepers stoned Gus O’Connor and Griffin Geppert in round two. Mike Napoleone and Teitelbaum scored in the next two rounds for Sewickley, but Jason Novosel and freshman Owen North did the same for Avonworth. So, it came down to the fifth round. Todd Doyle missed high, but the Antelopes’ football kicker Cole Pappas did not, and he earned his squad a trip to Highmark Stadium this weekend against Seton-LaSalle for the championship. 

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 2 – Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 1 
Following the Greensburg Central Catholic girls soccer team’s win to make it to the WPIAL Championship, the boys’ team took the pitch to try and earn its way to Highmark Stadium as well, but were ultimately stopped by a good-looking, young Seton-LaSalle Rebels team by a final score of 2-1. Greensburg Central Catholic dominated at the beginning of a back-and-forth match, netting the first goal of the contest at the 20:15 mark of the first half when Ethan Slike fed his brother, Riley Slike on a free kick, with Riley putting into the net to give the Centurions the 1-0 lead. As the first half progressed, the Rebels started to get full heads of steam, and took control of the game towards the end of the half, but weren’t able to find the back of the net, even with a flurry of shots on goal in the final minutes of the opening half. After the break, GCC still held its own in a game that clearly favored Seton-LaSalle and its bump-and-run style of play. At the 21:18 mark of the second half, Kellen Krebs got a feed from Chris Stack and scored a beauty of a goal to tie things up at 1-1. About eight minutes later, the Rebels capitalized on of their seven corner kicks on the night when Nick Messina headed the set piece in off the feed from Brandon Benedetti. Seton-La Salle, unofficially, won the shots on goal battle 15-8, all while playing most of the second half in the offensive end. The Rebels, with their rich history will try and win the first WPIAL title for the boys’ soccer program since 2011 when they meet Avonworth for the crown at Highmark Stadium this weekend. The Centurions will play for a PIAA berth in the third place contest against Sewickley Academy.

WPIAL CLASS AAA GIRLS Semifinals:

Norwin Knights 2 – Seneca Valley Raiders 0 
The Norwin Knights kept their undefeated season alive defeating the Seneca Valley Raiders 2-0 in semi final action on Monday night. The first ten minutes Seneca Valley played even with the Knights and had a terrific opportunity in the 9th minute.  Morgan Majeski had a free kick from nineteen yards out but shot it over the net.  After this Norwin would take control of the first half scoring two goals. The first coming in the 14th minute on a goal from 25 yards out from Alexis Kendro then in the 24th minute  from Emily Harrigan from a beautiful pass from Micayla Livingston. The second half Seneca Valley would apply pressure but could never get a good scoring opportunity because the Knights defense as they have been all year was playing exceptionally well. Norwin won the battle of shots 6-4.  Norwin will mow move on to the WPIAL championship game this weekend where they will play Upper St. Clair.

Upper St. Clair Panthers 1 – Fox Chapel Foxes 0 in Overtime Shootout
Fox Chapel had scored 114 goals coming into this Semi-Final round match up.  Upper St. Clair was averaging 3.6 goals per match coming in.  But despite those scoring accolades, neither team could score in 110 minutes of soccer at Linton Middle School Field at Penn Hills.  So it was penalty kicks that would decide who would get the chance to play for the Class-AAA with the Panthers outlasting the Foxes 5 to 4 in the shootout phase.  Upper St. Clair had the better of the play in the opening half, outshooting Fox Chapel 4 to 1, while generating 6 scoring chances to the Foxes 3.  In the 2nd half though, it was Fox Chapel who got the better of the play, outshooting the Panthers 8 to 3.  But both teams freshman goalkeepers were strong.  Filling in for injured starter Elayna Burdelski, the Foxes Julie Scheffler stopped all 10 shots she faced through regulation and overtime while USC’s Nikki Gibbons had 12 saves.  In the penalty kick round, both teams converted their first two shots with the Foxes Dixon Veltri and Deena DeBaldo scoring while Maddy Rocks and Lauren Hamel scored for the Panthers.  Taylor Cohen would shoot next for Fox Chapel, but wouldn’t convert because Gibbons dove right to make the only save of the 10 penalty kicks.  Emma Hasco and Elaina Walnoha would convert for USC, while Katie Livingston and Maggie Coulson scored for the Foxes.  It came down to the Panthers Rachel Witte as the last shooter, and Witte would convert her chance, sending Upper St. Clair on to the title game.  The victory was USC’s 3rd straight win over Fox Chapel.  The Panthers had beaten the Foxes 4-1 on September 10th, and also had won in the 2013 Quarterfinals.  With the win, the Panthers improved to 16-1-1 on the season.  They’ll face Norwin for the Class AAA Championship at Highmark Stadium this Saturday.  Playing in the semi-finals for the first time since 1999, Fox Chapel fell to 18-3-0 after the loss and will play Seneca Valley on Wednesday with the winner advancing to the PIAA playoffs.

WPIAL CLASS AA GIRLS Semifinals:

Mars Fighting Planets 2 – Central Valley Warriors 0 
For the first 10 minutes of Monday’s Class AA Semifinal match between Central Valley and Mars, it looked like the Warriors were poised to knock off the top seeded Fightin’ Planets. However, Mars scored two quick goals in the 18th and 19th minutes, and never looked back with a 2-0 shutout over Central Valley. Erin Posey scored the first goal for Mars after a short goal kick by Central Valley. Isabel Wrobelski added the second one a minute later off a corner kick from Dillon Wright, and the back line for Mars held the entire match. Central Valley did muster three shots on net, but none were very threatening. Central Valley now must turn around and play a consolation match for the third and final spot into the PIAA playoffs from District 7.

South Park Eagles 2 – South Fayette Lions 0 
The second seeded South Park Eagles defeated the third seed and section rival South Fayette Lions in WPIAL Girls AA semi final action at Canon MacMillan high school 2-0. South Park came out strong In the first half and had 3 shots on goal and a tremendous offensive push but could not score. South Fayette wasn’t able to garner a scoring chance in the first half. Lion Keeper Natalie Caraway kept her team in the game in the first half. South Park would get the only goal they needed at 16:53 of the 2nd half as Jordan Minda scored to make its 1-0. The play started as defender Nicole Evans took the ball deep in South Park territory from a South Fayette offensive player. She passed it to midfield to  Katie Shultz who crossed it midfield to Carly Pcholinski. Pcholinski then quickly fed it back to Shultz who ran 20 yards before feathering a pass to Minda. A beautiful play  from back end to front to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead. Minda would score again from 30 yards out at 35:07 to put the game away. South Park had 7 total shots on goal, South Fayette ended with only one shot on goal. South Park improves to 18-2-1 and will play Mars the number one seed this weekend at Highmark Stadium in the Girls AA championship.  South Fayette falls to 13-5-2 and will play in a consolation match versus Central Valley for the right to go to the PIAA state playoffs.

WPIAL CLASS A GIRLS Semifinals:

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 7 – Freedom Bulldogs 2 
The Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions will defend their WPIAL crown this weekend at Highmark Stadium, on the heels of a 7-2 win that came in convincing fashion over the team the Centurions beat for the WPIAL championship last year, the Freedom Bulldogs. In last year’s title match, Greensburg Central Catholic rode to a 9-1 win and later defeated the Bulldogs in the PIAA semifinals 4-1. When the two teams met toe-to-toe again last night at Peters Township High School, the theme of domination by the Centurions that has been their mantra all season long, with eight wins coming by nine or more goals, came to the forefront again, though not as glaring. GCC got off to a quick start when junior midfielder Keli Rosensteel scored the first goal for the Centurions at the 30:13 mark of the first half off an assist by prolific goal-scorer and junior Bailey Cartwright, who scored four goals in last night’s win, three of which came in the second half. Sophomore Sydney Ward scored twice to ad on, once in both halves. Both scores for Freedom were scored by Alexa Schwab in the second half, one of which came on a penalty kick. Shots on goal favored GCC heavily, unofficially amounting to 16 for GCC and six for Freedom. The Centurions will defend their title against Charleroi while Freedom will look for third place and a PIAA tourney berth with a win over Shady Side Academy Wednesday night.

Charleroi Cougars 1 – Shady Side Academy Indians 0 in Overtime 
The Shady Side Academy Indians pitched 2 shutouts en route to the Girls Class A Soccer Semifinals, eliminating both Serra Catholic and Vincentian Academy in the process.  The Charleroi Cougars used their offensive prowess to get to the same point, scoring a 2-1 victory over Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and a 5-2 victory over New Brighton.  When the 2 squads met at Chartiers Valley Monday Night, the contrast in styles seemed to benefit the Indians as the defensive style kept the #2-seeded Cougars off the board.  Charleroi got the better of the chances in the 1st half, outshooting SSA, 4-2.  The Indians’ persistence in their own end turned into chances in the offensive zone as they outshot the Cougars, 3-1 in the 2nd half.  Still, neither team could solve the other’s goaltender, thus the game needed to be resolved in overtime.  However, that only took 1:01 as a foul in the penalty area was whistled on Shady Side, which led to a penalty kick.  Senior midfielder Kayla Watkins drove the shot past SSA netminder Sam Morlacci to give the Charleroi Cougars the 1-0 victory and the right to play the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions for the WPIAL Class A Title on Super Soccer Weekend.  Despite the loss, the Indians can still qualify for the PIAA State Playoffs if they defeat the Freedom Bulldogs in the Consolation Game, which will transpire Wednesday night.