WPIAL (PIAA District 7) soccer playoffs resumed Monday with semifinal round contests.
Here’s our thread for BOYS CLASS 2A.
The top two seeds are moving on to what should be a terrific Championship match on Thursday. Both the defending champions South Park and No. 2 Avonworth scored three goals apiece in defeating Burrell and Deer Lakes, respectively.
Burrell and Deer Lakes will also now face off in the PIAA Play-In game on Wednesday.
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Semifinal Round
both matches were played at Newman Stadium on campus of North Allegheny High School
FINAL: No 1. South Park 3, No. 13 Burrell 0
FINAL: No. 2 Avonworth 3, No. 3 Deer Lakes 1
Match Day Updates
https://twitter.com/AvonworthMsoc/status/1851079962893353029
Match Day Notes
Defending Champs South Park look for repeat, but it’s not going to be easy
The top three seeds, South Park, Avonworth and Deer Lakes all advanced, while No. 13 seed Burrell outlasted No. 12 Seton LaSalle on Thursday, to continue its magical run, following its upset of Quaker Valley in a penalty kick shootout.
It’s Burrell, who are the remaining Cinderella, who entered the tournament with an overall losing record (but +12 goal differential) continued their strong run of play with a 1-0 win vs Seton LaSalle on Thursday. Parker Pruitt scored off an assist from Billy Kowalkowski early in the second half. Keeper Ben Doland had his second straight postseason clean sheet.
South Park boast Danny Battista as its leading scorer while Dawson Battista and Caden Loveland also were double-digit scorers. The Eagles were in command in Thursday’s win against upstart Central Valley squad which made some noise this year.
While on paper it feels like a David vs Goliath matchup, Burrell cannot be taken lightly, as Quaker Valley and Seton LaSalle discovered.
Avonworth has lots of attacking firepower, to the tune of scoring over five goals per season. In the first round they put it on full display, rolling to a 7-0 win against McGuffey, but Shady Side Academy slowed down the ‘Lopes on Thursday, forcing the match to go to extra time. Still, patience paid off for Avonworth as Rowan Carmichael scored the winning goal off an assist from Abdul Basit Sleiman Kaije. Basit ended the regular season as the ‘Lopes’ leading scorer, with 18 goals.
Expect a fantastic contest when Avonworth and Deer Lakes face off in the other semifinal.
The Lancers have not allowed a goal and limiting shot chances for its opponents thus far in the postseason (posting a pair of shutout wins vs Hopewell and North Catholic), but that could get put to the test against Avonworth. Stil, if things open up, the Lancers have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Lopes.
In a match with section rival and quality side North Catholic, Deer Lakes left no doubt in the season series, taking all three matches this season. The Lancers only loss this season against Class 2A competition came to their other section rival, Shady Side, 1-0 in extra time way back in late August. With a strong core of juniors and seniors who were part of 2022 Class 2A title team, Deer Lakes appear to be a team on a mission. In the win vs North Catholic, Cuyler Crim scored twice, Peyton Kushon added one and it was Collin Rodgers setting the table as the playmaker with three assists. Kushon, Rodgers and Jacob Orseno had 12 goals each, and Crim and Artemey Parshyn had 11 in the regular season to lead the Lancers.
Updated Bracket
Boys Class 2A Playoff Results
Quarterfinal Round
Thursday, October 24
FINAL: Deer Lakes 3, North Catholic 0
FINAL: Avonworth 1, Shady Side 0
FINAL: Burrell 1, Seton LaSalle 0
FINAL: South Park 3, Central Valley 0
Boys Class 2A First Round Results
Monday, October 21
South Park 6, Waynesburg Central 0
Shady Side Academy 2, Mt. Pleasant 0
Deer Lakes 4, Hopewell 0
Seton LaSalle 3, Charleroi 2
Central Valley 4, Elizabeth Forward 2
North Catholic 6, Southmoreland 0
Burrell 0, Quaker Valley 0 (Burrell advances in PK shootout)
Tuesday, October 22
Avonworth 6, McGuffey 0
WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 2A 1st Round Playoff Final Scoreboard
Boys 2A Goal Scoring Leaders
Dylan Klinger, Charleroi — 38
Ryan Maloney, Highlands — 25
Angelo Porco, Freeport — 23
Justin Garvey, North Catholic — 22
Danny Battista, South Park — 21
Anthony Furda, Beaver — 21
Colin Benge, Quaker Valley — 20
Cam DeVincentis, Central Valley — 20
Arthur Mendonca, North Catholic — 20
Aidan Davis, Elizabeth Forward — 19
Abdul Basit, Avonworth — 18
Aiden Johnson, Mount Pleasant — 18
Manek Gerhardy, Shady Side Academy — 16
Jack Smith, Southmoreland — 15
Luca Valerio, Elizabeth Forward — 15
Landon Barcus, Charleroi — 14
Jack Dobronz, Central Valley — 14
Sutton Hoehl, Quaker Valley — 14
Trevor Kovatch, Belle Vernon — 14
Owen Shearer, Central Valley — 14
Carter Turk, Quaker Valley — 13
Nathan Kline, Avonworth — 12
Billy Kowalkowski, Burrell — 12
Peyton Kushon, Deer Lakes — 12
Eli Noel, South Allegheny — 12
Darius Norkevicus, Seton LaSalle — 12
Jacob Orseno, Deer Lakes — 12
Collin Rodgers, Deer Lakes — 12
Angelo Amelio, North Catholic — 11
Dawson Battista, South Park — 11
Cuyler Crim, Deer Lakes — 11
Calder Mahan, Avonworth — 11
Artemey Parshyn, Deer Lakes — 11
Hunter Ryan, Southmoreland — 11
Brady Celko, Highlands — 10
Gabe Gess, Derry — 10
Caden Loveland, South Park — 10
Last Five WPIAL Boys Class 2A Champions
- 2023 – South Park
- 2022 – Deer Lakes
- 2021 – Quaker Valley
- 2020 – Deer Lakes
- 2019 – Quaker Valley