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WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A First Round: North Hills stuns defending champs Norwin in dramatic finish

File photo courtesy Ed Thompson

The postseason continues!

Tuesday brought more first round playoff matches in WPIAL Soccer – with Class 2A and Class 1A Girls along with Class 4A boys kicking off their respective tournaments.

This is the thread for BOYS CLASS 4A first round.

Look for updates / scores to be posted here later.

WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A First Round Scoreboard

Click on links below to each team to find roster (if applicable)

FINAL:  Canon-McMillan 6, Gateway 0

Leading the way for the Big Macs was Adam Kuchera with a hat trick

FINAL:  North Allegheny 2, Central Catholic 1

Nick Denysenko and Nathan Katari bookended goals for the No. 4 seed Tigers in their quest to return to the WPIAL Final.

FINAL:  North Hills 3, Norwin 2

The biggest upset of the night came when No. 12 seed North Hills stunned No. 5 Norwin, Class 4A’s defending champs in dramatic fashion.  Senior midfielder Zach Fritz’s shot attempt toward the goal box resulted in a clearance effort by Norwin, but the ball was deflected off another Norwin player and past the goal line.  It was the first playoff match for North Hills since 2016

FINAL:  Upper St. Clair  3, Pine-Richland 1

Shawn Khurana scored a pair of first-half goals to lead the way for No. 6 Upper St. Clair.

FINAL: Seneca Valley 6, Mt. Lebanon 0

Tyler Prex’s brace led a balanced and deep Raiders’ attack which is starting to click at the right time. 

Saturday’s Quarterfinal Round Match-Ups include:

North Hills (12) at North Allegheny (4)

Upper St Clair (6) at Fox Chapel (3)

Seneca Valley (7) at Peters Township (2)

Canon-McMillan (8) at Plum (1)

Match Day Updates

Match Day Notes

Top three seeds have a bye, leaving five first round matches to be played

Plum, Peters Township and Fox Chapel will each wait to play on Saturday, when they enter the fray in the Quarterfinal round.  This leaves five first round matches to be contested on Tuesday as Class 4A has expanded to three sections this season (from two in previous seasons).  This means that a 13 team field will be included in the fray, potentially giving the higher seeds a bit of an advantage this time around, instead of having to start from the quarterfinal round.

With the eight-team, three games to the Finals format the previous two seasons, we saw the No. 8 and No. 5 seeds, Norwin and Pine-Richland, get hot and win the whole thing.

Note that Pine-Richland and North Hills ended the season tied for fourth place in Section three, with both advancing.

Last week, after the brackets were released, we caught up with Plum Head Coach Raf Kolankowski on Kids on the Pitch Podcast to get his insights as the Mustangs have continued success even in their first year back in Class 4A.  Knowing that they would need to be ready for postseason competition, Kolankowski scheduled a lot of tough non-sectiom matches both on the front end of the season (Peters Township, North Allegheny, Upper St. Clair) and on the back end (Fox Chapel).   Having home field advantage should also help, as no one outside of the Eastern suburbs likes to drive out to Plum (haha).

Kids on the Pitch Podcast: WPIAL Soccer Playoff Brackets are out (Part I w/ Moon’s Tyler Blake and Plum’s Raf Kolankowski)

Fox Chapel Head Coach Erik Ingram had All-State Davidson recruit Pablo Linzoain, but the young talented midfielder signed an USL Academy contract with Riverhounds SC in May.  The key to Fox Chapel’s success this year came in its ability to control tempo and possession, which they did so well in two wins against co-champion North Allegheny to take the No. 3 seed.  S

Section 2 — the South Hills gauntlet — it was Peters Township who rose about the competition in the regular season, as Bobby Dyer’s club only lost to Plum early in the season.  Led by scorers Alex Parise and Jeven Kelly, the Indians are riding a 13-game winning streak.

Upper St. Clair, Canon-Mac and Mt. Lebanon had some very good battles in Section 2 as they always do — and each are eyeing a chance to advance this year.  Upper St Clair and Canon-Mac will host Pine-Richland and Gateway, while Mt. Lebanon will have to go on the road to face Seneca Valley.

Seneca Valley, coached by George Williams and led by Senior Tyler Prex, who despite his team’s inconsistency this season (by their lofty standards) has put together some impressive performances including a four-goal outburst vs Fox Chapel.  We saw Seneca Valley early this season at the JRK Memorial Classic as they were still sorting things out, but still came away with a win against a very strong Wheeling Park side and played Four-Time PA Private Schools champs, The Kiski School, in an exciting contest of PA High School heavyweights that was decided by a late goal.

Last Five WPIAL Boys Class 4A Champions

  • 2023 – Norwin
  • 2022 – Pine-Richland
  • 2021 – Seneca Valley
  • 2020 – Seneca Valley
  • 2019 – Canon-McMillan

WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A Rosters

Section I Section II Section III
Central Catholic Canon-McMillan Butler
Gateway Connellsville Fox Chapel
Hempfield Area Mt. Lebanon North Allegheny
Norwin Peters Township North Hills
Penn Hills Upper St. Clair Pine-Richland
Plum Woodland Hills Seneca Valley
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).

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