WPIAL Soccer Boys Class 3A Quarterfinal Round: Franklin Regional, South Fayette score upsets

WPIAL Soccer Playoffs Scoreboard 

BOYS CLASS 3A — FIRST ROUND 

Scores / Reports 

FINAL: Franklin Regional 2, Moon 1, ET

PSN’s Matthew Baldwin was at Moon, and files this quick recap.  Look for a more detailed game report to come later tonight.  

“Sheer will” was the deciding factor in the eyes of Franklin Regional Head Coach Lukas Petersen as his #11 side stunned #3 ranked Moon Area High School to advance to the next round of the 3A WPIAL Playoffs thanks to two goals from Tyler Pipon.

Having come off a 4-0 victory over Mars in the previous round, it was a much closer affair this time around as the game was forced into extra time, but the head coach was keen to praise his players for their ability to handle such a crazy affair:

“I knew the boys would pull through, they showed incredible heart. I’ve been extremely tough on these kids all year, and they came through for me and for the whole team. Grinding it out, everybody played their hearts out and I’m just so proud of the boys. Coming into Moon Area High School is always a challenge, and I’m just proud.”

“It was won through sheer will. It wasn’t the prettiest… it was two top program’s slugging it out and we were just fortunate to come out on top.”

FRANKLIN REGIONAL WINS

Didn’t see who scored the final goal. Think it might have been Pipon again. Moon’s journey is over. #WPIAL @timesscores @WPIAL_Insider pic.twitter.com/YPLQ4nQ9OW

— Rachael Kriger (@RachaelKriger) October 26, 2023

FINAL: South Fayette 1, Plum 0

For the third time in a four years, these two schools met in the Class 3A playoffs, and this time, South Fayette pulled off the upset, thanks to a free kick goal from Adam Thompson.

The free kick came when Plum keeper Owen Zalewski was called for handling the ball outside the 18.

“It was a well-struck ball,” South Fayette’s Robby Eldridge said.

“He’s been working hard all year on those and spends a decent amount of time after each practice to do that. It paid off, and I’m happy for him.”

South Fayette (12-4-3) advanced to play section rival Montour in the semifinals Monday. Plum had an 18-game winning streak snapped and finished the year 18-2.

Plum 0 S Fayette 1
Great game by both teams and it came down to the wire. Good luck to S Fayette as they move on. Great season for Plum. Plum proud. @PlumAthletics @pghsoccernow @plumboroughsd @Big56Conference @TribLiveHSSN @SouthFayetteSD @MensPlumSoccer @PlumSoccer

— Rafal Kolankowski (@RafalKolankows1) October 26, 2023

“The referee said (Zalewski’s) fingers were just over the line before he let go of the ball,” Plum coach Raf Kolankowski told Tribune-Review’s Jerin Steele. “I haven’t seen that called in high school in eight years, and (South Fayette coach) Rob (Eldridge) hasn’t seen it in six years. It’s a shame. It’s a big game to make a call like that, but hey (Thompson) made a great shot. They didn’t test us too much before that was an ESPN (SportsCenter) top-10 finish. Kudos to him.”

FINAL:  Montour 2, Indiana 1 

FINAL: Hampton 2, Thomas Jefferson 1, ET-2

The Talbots find the golden goal in the 2nd OT. Great match & effort by Thomas Jefferson. Goals by Aidan Cole and Coleman Docherty. Hudson Struble and Oliver Spinola get the assists. Way to go, Talbots. ⁦@HTSDAthletics⁩ ⁦@pghsoccernow⁩ ⁦@wpialsoccerboys⁩ ⁦ pic.twitter.com/7QzVSoqQm0

— @HamptnBoysSocr (@HamptnBoysSocr) October 26, 2023

First Round Results (Oct. 21) 

	Trinity vs Hampton	0-1   ET
	Ringgold vs Moon	0-4
	North Catholic vs Thomas Jefferson	0-1   ET
	Latrobe vs South Fayette	0-4
	Indiana vs Bethel Park	1-0
	Gateway vs Montour	0-5
	Franklin Regional vs Mars	4-0
	Chartiers Valley vs Plum	1-5

Semifinal Round (Monday, Oct. 30) 

#8 South Fayette at #5 Montour

#2 Hampton vs #11 Franklin Regional

Final (TBA @Highmark Stadium) 

MATCH PREVIEWS

Kickoff: 7:00pm at Hampton	# 7 Thomas Jefferson (16-2-1) at #2 Hampton (15-2-1) How they got here: TJ defeated North Catholic, 1-0 with an extra time winner coming from Ray Schrello; Hampton also needed Extra Time to defeat Trinity, 1-0, as Coleman Docherty scored the game-winner Players to Watch:  T.J. — Brayden Miller (24 goals and four assists) was co-section player of the year. Hampton — Luke Fiscus – through the regular season finale scored 32 goals, and had the assist on the playoff game-winner.
Kickoff: 7:00pm at Plum	#8 South Fayette (11-4-3) at #1 Plum (18-1-0)  How they got here: Plum beat Chartiers Valley, 5-1, as Brady French had two goals; South Fayette defeated Plum’s section rival, Latrobe, 4-0 Players to Watch: Plum — Tristen Ralph led the Mustangs with 11 goals and 10 assists during the regular season, and when called upon, also dropped to the back line, as a center back. South Fayette — Michael Plasko — was a force on Saturday as he scored all four goals in the Lions’ 4-0 win vs Latrobe. Also, goalkeeper Dylan Janoski, who plays for the Riverhounds Development Academy, had the clean sheet. More on this match-up…  South Fayette punished Latrobe on set pieces and in the air, and will hope to do the same against a Plum side that likes to possess the ball.  The two schools have met multiple times in the playoffs in recent years, with Plum winning last year’s encounter, 2-1, in Extra Time. They Said It: Plum Head Coach Raf Kolankowski on playing Chartiers Valley and now South Fayette:  “It looks like we have to go through that section (Class 3A Section 2) if we want to make it through to the final.” “Well, here we meet again, playing South Fayette 3rd time in 4 years. Last year we played three teams from that section and if we make it to Semi again it look like it will be the same situation. South Fayette is a very good team and they create problems for us. Last year we beat them in a shootout and they have most of their guys back so it will be a monumental feat for us to compete with them. They are very well coached and Rob does a great job with them.”
Kickoff: 7:00pm at Montour	# 13 Indiana (6-10-1) at #5 Montour (14-4-0)  How they got here: Indiana pulled off what is probably the upset of the WPIAL soccer playoffs to this point, defeating No. 4 Bethel Park, in a penalty kick shootout (0-0, 4-1 in PKs); Montour took care of Gateway, in impressive fashion, rolling to a 5-0 win. Players to Watch: Indiana – Under pressure, Goalkeeper Alex Bauer earned the clean sheet against Bethel Park — plus helped his team to victory in the PK shootout. Montour — Jaxson Camp led the Spartans with 14 goals during the regular season, but it was Andrew Prunier who had the hat trick on Saturday to bring his total to 16 for the season and playoffs.
Kickoff: 7:00pm at Moon   Note: PSN’s Matthew Baldwin will be on site for coverage of this match.	#11 Franklin Regional (11-7-0) vs #3 Moon (15-3-1)