What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Oct. 25, 2023: Boys soccer quarterfinals kick off

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 | 11:43 PM

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The first round of the WPIAL boys soccer Class 3A playoffs was Shutout City.

Seven of the eight losing teams were held to nil on the scoreboard, and the only goal scored by an eliminated team came from No. 16 seed Chartiers Valley in a 5-1 loss to top-seeded Plum.

The winning teams in those eight matches scored a combined 25 goals.

Two double-digit seeds were in on the first-round fun and advanced to the elite eight.

No. 13 seed Indiana pulled off the biggest upset, beating No. 4 Bethel Park, 1-0, in penalty kicks.

No. 11 seed Franklin Regional also pulled off an eyebrow raiser in less dramatic fashion, blanking No. 6 Mars, 4-0.

Those two hit the road for the quarterfinals Wednesday, looking to deliver another stone cold stunner.

Indiana (6-10-1) travels to No. 5 Montour (14-4) while Franklin Regional (11-7) visits No. 3 and defending champion Moon (15-3-1).

The other two Class 3A quarterfinals pit top seed Plum (18-1) at home against No. 8 seed South Fayette (11-4-3) and No. 2 seed Hampton (15-2-1) hosting No. 7 seed Thomas Jefferson (16-2-1).

All four matches begin at 7 p.m.

Class A tight quarters

The theme from the first round of the Class A boys soccer playoffs was low-scoring, competitive matches.

Five of the eight opening-round contests were low-scoring battles decided by one goal.

That should continue with all but two higher seeds prevailing in the first round.

No. 11 seed Trinity Christian (10-5) pulled off the biggest surprise in the bracket, blanking No. 6 Serra Catholic, 1-0. The Falcons will now visit No. 3 Burrell (13-3) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The other lower seed winning in the opening round was No. 9 Eden Christian Academy (13-3-2) knocking off defending champion Winchester Thurston, 2-1. The Warriors travel to Charleroi (17-0) to battle the top-seeded Cougars at 7 p.m.

The other two quarterfinals will be played in a doubleheader at Avonworth.

No 2 Sewickley Academy (13-2-1) will square off against No. 7 Bentworth (15-2) at 6 p.m. followed by No. 4 Seton LaSalle (14-2-1) against No. 5 Springdale (14-3) at 8 p.m.

Volleyball openers conclude

Four Class 3A teams and five schools from 2A had to win preliminary round games Monday just to earn a spot in the 16-team brackets.

Now can any of them pull off a shocker against one of the top seeds in each tournament?

We’ll find out Wednesday with first-round matches in 3A and 2A.

In Class 3A, Laurel Highlands, Indiana, Ringgold and Kiski Area won to advance to Round 1 for 7:30 p.m. matches.

The Mustangs now face top-seeded Hampton, the Little Indians visit No. 2 North Catholic, the Rams head to Oakland to challenge No. 3 Oakland Catholic and the Cavaliers are at No. 4 Thomas Jefferson.

The other four first round matches are at 6 p.m.:

• No. 9 Montour against No. 8 Knoch at Hampton

• No. 12 Mars battles No. 5 South Fayette at Thomas Jefferson

• No. 10 Latrobe squares off with No. 7 Trinity at North Catholic

• No. 11 Gateway takes on No. 6 Armstrong at Oakland Catholic.

In Class 2A, Charleroi, South Park, Fort Cherry, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Ellwood City were all pigtail contest winners.

The Cougars visit top-ranked Freeport, the Eagles fly to Beaver to play the No. 2 Bobcats, Fort Cherry faces No. 3 Quaker Valley, the Chargers travel to No. 4 Southmoreland and the Wolverines go up against No. 5 Avonworth at Southmoreland.

All of the above matches are at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of Ellwood City vs. Avonworth at 6 p.m.

The three other first round matches are also at 6 p.m.:

• No. 9 Shehango plays No. 8 South Allegheny at Freeport

• No 10 Burrell takes on No. 7 Keystone Oaks at Beaver

• No. 11 Derry squares off with No. 6 Neshannock at Quaker Valley