WPIAL Boys Soccer Postseason Preview
The WPIAL Playoff seedings are set for boys’ soccer teams around the Pittsburgh area. Beaver County has a handful of teams in the playoffs, spanning across the 1A, 2A and 3A conferences.
Moon Area is looking to repeat in Class 3A, after defeating local rival Ambridge, 3-0, at Highmark Stadium last year. The Tigers have six WPIAL titles to their name, with five of them occurring in Class 3A. This year, they are led by first-year head coach Tyler Blake.
Take a look at how teams across Beaver County fared in the WPIAL seeding and bracket reveal.
Class 3A
No. 3 – Moon Area
Reigning champions Moon Area are back in the WPIAL 3A playoffs. In the first round, Moon will host Ringgold. Moon is the lone Beaver County representative in Class 3A. Last year, Moon and Ambridge faced off in a local final, but Ambridge did not make the playoffs this year.
Under Blake, the Tigers have enjoyed a strong season with a 14-3-1 record. In section play, the Tigers lost one match to Montour. Entering the playoffs, though, the Tigers are coming off an 11-0 victory against Chartiers Valley. This season, the Tigers have put up a few big-scoring matches, including a 7-0 win against Blackhawk, a 6-0 win against West Allegheny and a 6-0 win over Ambridge.
Moon will host #14 Ringgold at Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m.
Class 2A
No. 2 – Quaker Valley
After countless trips to the WPIAL Championship, Quaker Valley was stunned last year with Beaver Area stunning and advancing in the semifinals. Now, the Quakers are remembering that – by their standards – early exit of 2022, and hunting for their 11th WPIAL title.
Quaker Valley finished the season with a 14-3-0 record, and are entering the playoffs with a six-game winning streak. In the last six games, Quaker Valley has put up a whopping 41 goals. In fact, against Ellwood City, the Quakers scored 13 goals and blanked the Wolverines. In the first round of the playoffs, Quaker Valley will host #15 Jeannette.
Quaker Valley will take on the Jayhawks – who finished the season with a 10-7-1 record – on Monday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
No. 11 – Beaver Area
Last year, Beaver Area stunned Quaker Valley and punched their ticket to the WPIAL 2A Championship. The Bobcats fell in a tight, 1-0 contest to Deer Lakes, but represented themselves well. This year, they’re led by seniors Kyle Carlsen, Henry Harris, Jacob Harris and Evan Baker.
This year, the Bobcats finished the season with a 10-6-0 record. The last week of the season saw a few ups and downs for Beaver, as the team had two-straight losses against North Hills and Avonworth, but then bounced back with two home wins against Riverside and Beaver County Christian.
In the playoffs, the Bobcats will hit the road to face Shady Side Academy, on Monday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
No. 14 – Hopewell
For the second year in a row, Hopewell is matched up with Deer Lakes in the first round of the playoffs. Last year, Deer Lakes won it all, so Hopewell has a mighty hill to climb. The Vikings finished the regular season with a 9-6-0 record. Heading into the playoffs, Hopewell is currently riding a two-game winning streak, with 12 goals between the two fixtures against Mohawk and Freedom.
Under head coach Nick Mohrbacher, the Vikings are led by senior standout Chris Colonna, along with Landen Kramer and Zach Landry. Meanwhile, Deer Lakes are currently riding a four-game winning streak and have a successful history over Hopewell.
Hopewell will hit the road against Deer Lakes on Monday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
Class 1A
No. 2 – Sewickley Academy
The Sewickley Academy Cougars are highly ranked in the WPIAL Class 1A bracket, only below #1 Charleroi. The Cougars boasted a 12-2-1 record in the regular season but did not win games with big score lines. Recent wins saw Sewickley Academy defeat Neshannock by 2-1, and then take down Freedom, 1-0.
Head coach Joel Stewart has a large crop of seniors to rely on, including Andrew Caridad, Jose Maldonado, Cooper Wentz and Michael Woo. The Cougars will host Bishop Canevin, who sit at #15, at Montour High School. Bishop Canevin is the underdog, sitting on a 5-10-0 record.
The Cougars and Crusaders will face off on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m.
No. 10 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart have a big group of seniors that will help the Chargers lead the way into a deep playoff run. Sitting at the #10 spot, the Chargers will take on Bentworth, on the road, in their opening playoff match.
Mark Russell and Danny Bourgeois lead the Chargers, along with seniors Braden Wentling, Greg Mineard and Phillip DuBois.
OLSH finished the regular season with a 10-5-2 record, and recently won against Springdale and Neshannock. OLSH’s biggest win of the season came against Neshannock earlier in the season, with a 7-2 final score.
OLSH luck out with a ‘neutral’ location of sorts, as Bentworth will host the Chargers at South Fayette High School on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m.
No. 16 – Beaver County Christian
Beaver County Christian did not make the playoffs last year, but are in as the #16 team in 2023. Led by head coach Steve Warden, the Eagles are on the end of the three-game losing streak entering the playoffs, with losses against Eden Christian, Beaver Area and Portersville Christian.
Beaver County Christian have a tough task, taking a long road trip to the Mon Valley to take on Charleroi, who are the top-ranked team in Class 1A. The two sides will take each other on at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: WPIAL Boys Soccer Postseason Preview
