Connect with us

WPIAL

WPIAL Boys Class 3A and 2A Semifinal Round Scoreboard

Photo courtesy Ed Thompson

The WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer semifinal round will feature four section champions, or in the case of Plum and Franklin Regional, co-champions, while Class 2A has three teams from the same section, with two, Ambridge and North Catholic, crashing the party by scoring upsets in the quarterfinals.  Quaker Valley and Charleroi are both section champions.

We’ll be on site for coverage of West Allegheny vs Plum at North Allegheny. (Follow John Krysinsky on Twitter for updates)

Match Night Updates: 

 

WPIAL Boys Class 3A Schedule

Semifinal Round – Monday, November 1, 2021
  • (4) Plum (@PlumSoccerHS) vs (1) West Allegheny (@WestABoysSoccer), 8 p.m. at North Allegheny
  • Hampton 1, Franklin Regional 0
Championship at Highmark Stadium – Saturday, November 5, 2021 – 3:30 p.m.

WPIAL Boys Class 2A Schedule

Semifinal Round – Monday, November 1, 2021
  • (9) North Catholic (@NCHSBoysSoccer) vs (4) Charleroi (@CharleroiSoccer) 8 p.m.
  • FINAL: Quaker Valley 3, Ambridge 0
Championship at Highmark Stadium – Thursday, November 4, 2021 – 6 p.m.

Preview / Key Storylines 

3A 

Plum (17-2-1, Section 4 co-champions) vs West Allegheny (20-0-0, Section 2 Champion)

In the first weekend of the season, when these two teams faced each other, West Allegheny were in top form, dismantling Plum, at the Plum Tournament by a 7-1 margin.

Since that time, Plum has only lost once.

The Mustangs though have redeemed their early season loss to section rival Franklin Regional, 4-1, to claim a share of their section title.

Can Plum shock the Indians?

Plum’s coach Raf Kolankowski knew getting back to scheduling tough out of section and sometimes, out of conference matches this season, after last year’s mad-dash, hectic COVID-19 affected schedule, has helped his squad develop and show more improvement.  The Mustangs also have looked impressive in the first two rounds of the playoffs, defeating Montour 4-0, then Thomas Jefferson, 3-0, in the quarterfinal round.

“We played three quad-A (4A) teams, with two wins and a tie. The top 3A teams can compete with anybody. It’s going to be tough,” Kolankowski said. “I wanted to play the toughest teams out of section because it gets us ready for the playoffs.”

Plum got going against Thomas Jefferson when Luke Kolankowski scored five minutes into the match. Plum scored another goal less than four minutes later when Tristan Ralph took a beautiful cross from Lucas Pittman and chipped it in, then Zach Fulton added another second half score that allowed Plum to pull away with the three-goal win.

On Thursday, West Allegheny didn’t have any problem dethroning defending WPIAL and PIAA champions, Mars, by an impressive 6-0 margin with contributions coming with three players earning a brace each including Mason Day (2), Will Douglas (2), and Johnny Dragisich (2). while Day added three assists, along with one each for Alex Hennon, Brayden Lambert, and Trevor Day.

The Indians perfect season hasn’t been without pressure. Head Coach Kevin Amos acknowledged that his team, with a host of seniors and experience, were feeling the weight as the regular season came down to the wire to keep the unblemished season going.

West A capped the regular season with a tough test from South Fayette (winning 4-2) then topped Class 4A’s Mt. Lebanon, 3-0.  They’ve also started their playoff run with back-to-back shutouts, beating Indiana and Mars, with a host of contributions from various players.

Franklin Regional (15-3-0, Section 4 co-champions) vs Hampton (17-1-0, Section 1 Champion) at Gateway (8 p.m.) 

Against Kiski Area in the quarterfinal round, Franklin Regional found themselves in an old-fashioned shootout.  In fact, they were trailing by a pair of goals at one point.  Still, the Panthers, led by its All-American, Anthony DiFalco and an experienced squad, battled back to win 6-4.  

Franklin’s first-year head coach Thomas Louisy will need to get his boys to tighten things up in the semifinal round if they want to beat No. 2 Hampton and advance to its fourth consecutive WPIAL Boys Class 3A Final.  

Hampton (17-1), also a senior laden squad, led by all-WPIAL midfielder Gabe Viszlay, along with forward Liam Nichols, midfielder Zach Panza and defender Henry Hughes, and third-year goalie Thomas Bradfield, were put to the test against Moon in the quarterfinal round, coming away with a 1-0 win after scoring an early goal, and defending well to secure a trip to the semifinal round.  

2A 

North Catholic (11-7-0, Section 4 third-place) vs Charleroi (15-2-1, Section 2 Champions) at West Mifflin – 8 p.m.

The Trojans surpised many by knocking off No. 1 seed South Park on Thursday to advance to the semifinal round, putting three teams from Section 4 into the final four in Boys 2A.

They did it by hanging around in a tight defensive match, then finding the game winning goal from Dylan Greggs, the team’s leading scorer (33 goals this season).  With the win, North Catholic have won three games in a row for the first time this season.

Charleroi come into the semifinal round battled tested winning a pair of close matches already (beating Keystone Oaks 1-0, then Elzabeth Forward, 2-1). Senior Pitt commit Eben McIntyre said that the difference with this year’s team is his team’s experience, as they’ve worked hard to get to this point after being eliminated from the playoffs last year in the first round following a section title.

Ambridge (12-5-0, Section 4 runner-up) vs Quaker Valley (17-2-0, Section 4 Champions) at Montour- 6 p.m.  (Live Stream)

The nine-time WPIAL champions are starting to peak at the right time, but if there’s one team that knows them well, it’s neighboring Ambridge.

This will be the third time these two section rivals will meet this season, as Quaker Valley beat Ambridge twice by comfortable margins (7-0 and 6-0).

The Bridgers scored a mild upset, defeating Shady Side, 2-1, on Thursday, to deny another Quaker Valley-Shady Side playoff confrontation this year.

Ambridge found the magic with an overtime goal coming from Will Gruca, while Anthony Powell provided the other goal.  

Meanwhile, Quaker Valley, a No. 2 seed, had absolutely no problem in the first two rounds, including a whopping 14-0 win against No. 10 East Allegheny in the quarterfinals.  The margin of victory was the largest in program history for any playoff win, breaking a record that was set in 1985.  A bulk of Quaker Valley goals came from seniors, with nine coming from the star duo of Keller Chamovitz (5) and Rowan Kriebel (4).

 

Related Topics

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).

Subscribe to PGH Soccer Now

Enter your email address to subscribe to PGH Soccer Now and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

PSN’s Featured Community Partner: Open Field International

More in WPIAL