WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 3A First Round Schedule and Match Snippets

With WVU commit Robin Reilly as a goal scoring threat, and a talented surrounding cast, Latrobe enters this year’s tournament a confident team, with experience having made runs to the WPIAL semifinal round and PIAA quarterfinals a season ago.  West Allegheny’s had to play through the gauntlet of a section, facing Moon, South Fayette and Montour a combined six times, so, if anything, they’ll be battle tested having come from such a tough section.

South Fayette became the first team to beat Moon in more than two years, while Penn-Trafford had to navigate a tough section of its own, and coming out of it with a 6-6 record.  What a turnaround it’s been for South Fayette, who lost four of its first seven matches, but have been in great form, going unbeaten in its last 10 matches, including a win and draw against Moon, who still edged them for the section title.

Oakland Catholic has a fairly recent history of WPIAL tournament upsets, and now they’ll face a Thomas Jefferson side that hasn’t lost a match since its opener, against West Allegheny, including a perfect 14-0 mark to win Section 2. The Jags have posted nine clean sheets this season, while Oakland Catholic tend to play low scoring, tight contests against top competition, so this could very well be a match where one play could make a difference.

The Planets are once again zoned in on making another WPIAL Finals appearance, as they made it in all but two Class 3A (or 2A before they went to four classifications), finals since Highmark Stadium opened.  To earn a playoff spot, Laurel Highlands had to battle off competition from other Section 2 contenders that have been playoff regulars, including Belle Vernon and Ringgold.

Moon wasn’t the only team that finished the season without a loss, as Plum overcame challenges from top teams in section, while its only non-win was a draw vs Montour in a non-section match.  The Mustangs have only surrendered three goals in its last 11 matches.  If they can stay organized, Kiski Area has given some other playoff teams tough contests, including battling Mars in a 1-0 loss earlier in the season and played two extra time scoreless affairs with Oakland Catholic.

Franklin Regional has only lost close matches to top teams in his classification, thus are battle tested for any tough postseason matches.  Montour has been lights out defensively for the most part this season. The Spartans came awfully close to taking the section title, but they conceded a strike from distance in second period of extra time to lose their second match to Moon.

EF is in really good form heading into the tournament, having won 10 of its last 11 matches, with one exception, a wild, 5-4 shootout with section champs Thomas Jefferson.  The Talbots head into the postseason having won four in a row, and six of the last seven, with their one loss coming in a non-section match vs playoff-bound Thomas Jefferson.

It’s possible that the best thing for the defending WPIAL and PIAA champions, Moon, has been having very tough competition in section, where they’ve been tested by both South Fayette and Montour, and won the Section title on the strength of Lillian Snyder’s strike from distance in the waning moments of a second Extra Time affair with Montour.  Connellsville comes out of section 2, a bit under the radar as third place side from Section 2, with only two wins vs playoff teams came against Section rival Laurel Highlands.