West Allegheny Boys & Central Valley Girls Win WPIAL Class AA Soccer Titles

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, November 2, 2013 | 10:52 PM

Coming into Super Soccer Saturday, West Allegheny was the top seed in the Boys Class AA playoff field while Central Valley was the only undefeated and untied team remaining in the WPIAL. At then end of the day, both were wearing the golden crown in the sport of soccer for the first time in their schools history. Here are the recaps from both Class AA district championship soccer matches.

AA Girls:  Central Valley Warriors 2 – Hopewell Vikings 1

The Central Valley Warriors and Hopewell Vikings girls soccer teams had played two one-goal games as section 3 rivals during the regular season. Central Valley won both those games. A similar script was written Saturday afternoon in the Double-A title game at Highmark Stadium at Station Square, with the 2nd seeded Warriors celebrating their first WPIAL girls soccer championship with a 2-1 win over the 8th seeded Vikings. Both teams were scoreless through the first half. Hopewell had a few chances right at the outset, but Central Valley's defense held the fort. The Warriors offense would eventually get going and had the better chances as the half went along, but both teams had their share of missed opportunities heading to halftime. With the rain falling at Highmark Stadium to start the 2nd half, Central Valley got a crazy goal just ten seconds into play. The Warriors started the half with possession at the midfield circle. Senior Ashley Mutkus got a hold of the ball at midfield and sent the ball towards the net. Hopewell's freshman goaltender Emilie Hovanec was caught off-guard and misjudged the ball as it bounced over her head and into the net, giving the Warriors a 1-0 lead. Central Valley dominated play in the 2nd half and did a great job of keeping the ball in Hopewell territory. One of the offensive stars for the Warriors was freshman Carolina Lucci. Her speed was on display all day long. In the 62nd minute, junior teammate Samantha Fields quickly moved up the near sideline and centered the ball towards the net. The ball deflected off Hovanec and was put home by Lucci to make it 2-0. Hopewell's lone goal came in the 79th minute. It was junior Abby Losco who received a pass from the far side and headed it home past sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Hamilton to cut the deficit to 2-1. But it was too little too late for Hopewell as Central Valley ran out the last couple of minutes to clinch WPIAL gold. The Warriors undefeated season continues as they improve to (19-0-0) and play District 5 champion Somerset in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. This was Hopewell soccer's first ever appearance in a WPIAL title game. The Vikings fall to (15-5-0) and will play District 9 champion Clearfield in the state playoffs. 

Scoring Summary:

Central Valley Warriors :  0  –  2  =  2
Hopewell Vikings :  0  –  1   =  1

1st Half:
No Scoring
2nd Half:
CV: Ashley Mutkus – 40:10
CV: Carolina Lucci – 61:52
H: Abby Losco – 78:03

AA Boys:  West Allegheny Indians 1 – South Fayette Lions 0

In a matchup of two of the best defensive teams in the WPIAL, the thought coming in was one goal might be enough to decide the winner.  That turned out to be the case, as West Allegheny won their first ever WPIAL Boys Soccer title, defeating their section rival South Fayette 1-0 at Highmark Stadium.  Heading into the title match, West Allegheny had given up only 5 goals against in 20 games and had posted 15 shutouts.  South Fayette had given up only 6 goals in 21 games and had posted 18 shutouts.  Neither team had given up a goal in the post-season either.  With that kind of defense, a corner kick or another set piece would likely be the only way one of these teams would break through for a goal.   That theory turned out to be true. In the 12th minute, West Allegheny's Patrick Harmon scored the only goal of the game off of a corner kick play.  Cooper Amos took the corner kick and sent the ball across the South Fayette goal box.  The ball bounced across the box and out on the other side of the pitch, where Harmon sent the loose ball back to the net from 15-yards out.  The floating shot eluded Lions GK Alex Gadrys, giving the Indians a lead they would never relinquish.  The Indians smothering defense did the rest, holding South Fayette to just 2 shots on goal and 4 scoring chances on the night.   This was the third meeting of the season between these Section-5 rivals.  The teams had played to 0-0 and 1-1 ties during the regular season.  But West Allegheny continued their dominance of South Fayette.  With the title game win, West Allegheny is 10-1-2 versus South Fayette since the two schools became section foes in 2008.   Both teams will now head to the PIAA tournament.  West Allegheny (18-0-3) will take on District-10 runner-up Warren, while South Fayette (17-3-2) will battle District-5 champion Bedford.

SHOTS– WA  5  –  SF  2

CHANCES– WA  11 –  SF  4

CORNERS– WA  7  –  SF  2

Tags: Central Valley, Hopewell, West Allegheny