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WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 1A First Round: No. 1 Springdale cruises, three matches go to Extra Time

File photo courtesy Ed Thompson

The postseason continues!

Tuesday will 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 Girls Class 1A first round, as top seed Springdale had no problem defeating Greensburg Central Catholic.  Most of the other matches were very close, tight contests, with two decided by penalty kick shootouts and another that went to extra time.

WPIAL Girls Class 1A First Round Playoff Schedule

 Click on links below to each team to find roster where applicable

FINAL:  Springdale 7, Greensburg Central Catholic 1

FINAL: Seton LaSalle 2, The Ellis School 0

FINAL:  Riverview 1, Waynesburg Central 0

FINAL:   Sewickley Academy 2, Riverside 0

FINAL: Freedom 1, Carlynton 1 (Freedom wins in PK shootout, 4-3) 

FINAL:  Winchester Thurston 4, Chartiers-Houston 0

FINAL:  Bentworth 2, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 1 (Extra Time / 2)

FINAL:  Aquinas Academy 0, Eden Christian Academy 0 (Aquinas advances by winning PK shootout)

Saturday’s Quarterfinal Round match-ups are now set: 

Freedom (8) vs Springdale (1)

Aquinas Academy (13) vs Sewickley Academy (4)

Riverview (10) vs Seton LaSalle (2)

Winchester Thurston (6) vs Bentworth (3)

Match Day Updates

Match Day Notes

The WPIAL soccer committee awarded the top four seeds in order of Section title winners including:  Springdale (13-1), Bentworth (15-1), Seton LaSalle (12-2-2) and Eden Christian (8-7-1).

Last year’s finalists Freedom and Riverview are lurking in the middle of the pack with relatively younger squads this season. Riverview, who made a run to the PIAA final a year ago, having to replace the production of Lola Abraham. who is now at Pitt.

It’s safe to say that there have been some outstanding individual players who can lift a team and take them pretty far in the postseason in Class 1A, as seen recently with Abraham and Steel Valley’s Kelsey Salopek, the teams with the most roster depth, like Freedom the past two years, are likely going to go far.

Springdale earned the top seed one the strength of a campaign without a loss against any Class 1A competition, and posting a goal differential of +76.  The Dynamos have dynamic scoring from Molly Hurley and Briana Ross and– with Ross accounting for more than 100 goals, but they’re equally tough to break down.

Bentworth has only one loss, to section rival Chartiers-Houston on Sept. 18. Head Coach Tyler Hamstra’s squads always compete hard and this year has been no exception with a senior laden squad.  Hamstra told Pittsburgh Soccer Now that his team took really big steps in the second half of the season and that his team has found an identity.

Bentworth will be facing OLSH, in Waynesburg.  OLSH finished fourth in a logjam of teams that come out of the same section that has produced the defending back-to-back champions, Freedom.

Head Coach Paige Petroval was a guest on Kids on the Pitch podcast on Bracket Release Day, sharing that all matches between the top teams in that section were good battles, preparing all four teams (OLSH, Freedom, Champions Eden Christian and

Kids on the Pitch Podcast: WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer Playoff Brackets are out (Part II w/ Beaver Area’s Nick Crivelli, OLSH’s Paige Petroval & Pine-Richland’s Jordan Wiegand)

Freedom have a tough match off the bat, when they travel to face a Carlynton squad that has a +47 goal differential in the first round on Tuesday.

Seton LaSalle are a hot team — having won nine of its last 10 matches in the homestretch.  Still, Sewickley Academy, who finished second to the Rebels, closed the season with a five match win streak too, so either team from Section 3 are capable of making a deep run.

Another second place team that could make a run is Waynesburg (13-2), who lost just twice during the regular season — both times to Section champs Bentworth.

Winchester Thurston (11-5) are led by Maeve Dever (Steel City FC product) in goal with eight clean sheets. WT have been knocking at the door in recent years, but are still looking for some postseason success as they host Chartiers-Houston at Penn Hills soccer specific field (which should be used more in the WPIAL playoffs!!).

Without Abraham, Riverview boasts some experience players who have been through the WPIAL/PIAA battles including Hannah Hudack, Alix Delsault, Katerina Tsambis, Mary Quinlan and Cailey Trosch.

Section I Section II Section III Section IV
Eden Christian Academy Bentworth Aquinas Academy Apollo-Ridge
Freedom Area Bethlehem-Center Bishop Canevin The Ellis School
Mohawk Brownsville Carlynton Greensburg Central Catholic
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart California Serra Catholic Jeannette
Riverside Chartiers-Houston Seton LaSalle Riverview
South Side Waynesburg Central Sewickley Academy Springdale
South Allegheny Winchester Thurston
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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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