WPIAL Soccer Watch (9/18/2023)

WPIAL SOCCER WATCH

Monday, September 18, 2023 

If you have any updates to provide, please share on Twitter using #WPIALSoccer and/or include Pittsburgh Soccer Now’s Twitter handle @pghsoccernow.

For the 2023 High School soccer season, we will be using this forum to preview upcoming matches, share news and information and also share more from coaches and players, followed by a final WPIAL Scoreboard to post later that evening or early the following morning.

This week, the majority of the WPIAL girls section matches will be played on Monday and Wednesday, while the boys will take center stage on Tuesday and Thursday.

Can you believe, by midweek, we’ll actually start seeing some section rematches.

The lone remaining schools with girls soccer programs posting unbeaten overall records are:

Class 4A — North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair, Peters Twp (one draw)

Class 3A — Mars, Plum (one draw), Montour (two draws)

Class 2A — Avonworth (two draws), Freeport

Class 1A — Springdale, Winchester Thurston

Here’s the most up-to-date overall standings:

WPIAL Girls Soccer Standings (9/17/2023)

There’s still a lot of season left, so it should be fun to see how it all shakes out, as the race for playoff spots and section titles will certainly heat up in the final five weeks.

Here’s a look at two of the big matches on tap Monday, plus the remainder of the schedule below:

Upper St. Clair (7-0-0, 5-0-0 in section) vs Peters Twp 

In Class 4A, Section 2, the Upper St. Clair Panthers are off to a very strong start this season, winning its first five matches convincingly, before a pair of section 2-0 wins vs Canon-McMillan and Bethel Park last week.  With a win vs neighboring rivals to the south, Peters Township they will finish the first half of section schedule with an unblemished record.

🚨BIG GAME TODAY🚨
COME OUT & SUPPORT GSOC as they
take on Peters Township!!!

🆚 Peters Township Indians
⏰ JV 6:15pm / VARSITY 7:45pm
📍Peters HS Stadium@wpialsoccernews @TribLiveHSSN @SHillsAlmanac @USCSchools @Big56Conference @pghsoccernow @PGVarsityXtra pic.twitter.com/RrPljjYb1B

— USCHS Soccer (@USCHSsoccer) September 18, 2023

USC’s scoring has come from many sources this season, but sophomore and Riverhounds Development Academy standout Sierra Dupre, who scored twice in beating Bethel Park last week, is a player that Peters Township will look to shut down.  Dupre has also trained with and took part in competition with the U15 U.S. National Soccer Team. The squad recently competed against teams in the Netherlands and Germany this Summer.

In addition to having a talented Dupre leading the attack, Helena Walker, Natalie Disora Kate Moore Abby Mascaro and Ellie Shanholtzer have all contributed to their goal scoring in the past few weeks for the Panthers.

Peters Township, who played in the WPIAL Final last season, losing in a nailbiting Penalty Kick Shootout at Highmark Stadium to North Allegheny, kept pace with Upper St. Clair. The  Indians have outscored the opposition, 28-1, with goal scoring contributions coming from Julia Spergel, Cam Klein, Marina Hajnosz, Atleigh Ciprich and Milena Gill, while goalkeeper Molly Kubistek has been solid in goal this season.

Latrobe (4-1-0, 3-1-0 in Section) vs Penn-Trafford (6-1-0, 3-1-0 in Section) 

This is an important battle for pair of teams looking to challenge for Section 3 title, but have some work to do, as Plum has ascended into a familiar top spot.  This is a section where both schools are among the top four teams which can contend for a section title.

This is a good match-up that features a Latrobe side with talented attacking players, while Penn-Trafford have been quite stingy and organized out of the back thus far this season, allowing just two goals in seven matches.

Latrobe was able to keep pace in the section standings last week, as WVU commit Robin Reilly and freshman Emerson Shine scored to defeat a tough challenge from Franklin Regional.  A Class 3A WPIAL semifinalist and PIAA qualifier in 2022, Latrobe has one blemish thus far on its schedule, a 3-2 loss vs first-place Plum.

Penn-Trafford is in the mix, with just one loss this season, to Franklin Regional, 1-0.

We’ll see what gives in this match-up on Monday, but one thing is for certain, Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Latrobe will all give Plum a run for their money in Section 3.

WPIAL GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE (9/18/2023)

WPIAL Boys Soccer Schedule (9/18/2023)

Class 3A

Section 1 (3A)

6:30pm  Hampton at North Catholic

Section 4 (3A)

7:30pm   Penn Hills at Plum

Non Section 

5:00pm   Bentworth at Brownsville

6:30pm    Ligonier Valley at Greensburg Salem

7:00pm    Brentwood at California

7:30pm    Hopewell at Montour

John Krysinsky

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).