WPIAL (PIAA District 7) soccer playoffs resumed Tuesday with semifinal round contests.
Here’s our thread for GIRLS CLASS 2A.
Moving on to the Finals — to be played on Saturday at 11 a.m. — are Quaker Valley and Burrell.
Burrell outlasted South Park in a wild, back-and-forth affair, with the score trading hands a few times, eventually with the Bucs’ finding the game winner with just :16 seconds left in regulation.
The results of these matches will also further determine how spots for PIAA tournament are decided, as the winners will advance to PIAA tournament and North Catholic and South Park now face each other in a Play-In match Thursday.
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Semifinal Round Schedule
Both matches played at North Allegheny
FINAL: Burrell 3, South Park 2
FINAL: Quaker Valley 2, North Catholic 0
Match Day Updates
https://twitter.com/QV_GirlsSoccer/status/1851442725260071052
Quaker Valley Goal
⚽️ Annabel Miko
35:57 left in the 2nd half
— Quaker Valley Girls Soccer (@QV_GirlsSoccer) October 30, 2024
Quaker Valley Goal!
⚽️ Lily Baker
QV 1 – NC 0
— Quaker Valley Girls Soccer (@QV_GirlsSoccer) October 30, 2024
Burrell defeated South Park in a wild match that featured four second half goals.
For the Bucs, Eva Wilson executed two perfect corner kicks, with finishes coming from Parker Moore and Maggie Nesko.
After South Park found an equalizer, Burrell’s Makiah Buchak scored the game-winner with just 16 seconds left in the match.
New Story: Girls Varsity Soccer beats South Park 3 – 2 https://t.co/2nTWycVGXs
— Burrell School District (@BSDBucs) October 30, 2024
Notes & Recent Coverage
There will also officially be a new champion and a new runner-up this season, as both Avonworth and Shady Side Academy have been eliminated. For Avonworth, it was a very impressive three-year reign but now there’s four teams remaining who all can make a case for taking the crown as it’s pretty much up for grabs.
On Saturday, top seed Mt. Pleasant were stunned by No. 9 Burrell, by a 4-0 score. It was the second season in the row that Burrell has eliminated Mt. Pleasant as a lower seed. The Bucs attack is clicking on all cylinders as they’ve now scored 10 goals in two playoff matches.
No. 2 seed Quaker Valley edged Deer Lakes, 1-0, while South Park outlasted Freeport, in a match that was decided by Penalty Kick shootout.
Rounding out the field, North Catholic got by a tough Beaver Area squad, to advance to the semifinal round yet again.
North Catholic are the last school in this classification not named Avonworth to win a WPIAL Girls Class 2A title. In addition to beating Beaver Area in the quarterfinal round, the Trojans (15-3) also have a 3-0 victory against Yough. Simone Sharpless (junior attacking threat) and Lauren Mealie are two All-WPIAL standouts who’ve led North Catholic back to the brink of another WPIAL finals appearance, as they missed the past two years, but were regulars in the Final from 2019-21. Sharpless finished the regular season campaign with 25 goals, and will be a key player that its semifinal opponents, Quaker Valley, will look to neutralize.
With Beaver and Quaker Valley earning high seeds, the WPIAL committee obviously thought highly of that section. Quaker Valley didn’t have much difficulty defeating Southmoreland, then passed a stern test from Deer Lakes, with Lily Baker scoring the match’s lone goal, while Ava Hajok had the clean sheet. The Quakers’ leading scorers, Annabel Miko (26 goals) and Ari Bosh (14) have combined for 40 goals during the regular season.
Burrell (12-5-1) were very much in contention for Section title this year in a good battle with Freeport and North Catholic — but now — stepping out of section and into the postseason playing against teams from other sections, they’ve shown how much firepower they have by completely dominating Keystone Oaks, 6-0 in the first round, then really sending shockwaves through the rest of the field with their commanding win against Mt. Pleasant, which Head Coach Frank Nesko credited to neutralizing the Vikings top three attackers and controlling midfield play. Sophomore Makiah Buchak scored twice to lead the assault in the 4-0 win vs Mt. Pleasant. Only senior midfielder Maggie Nesko, earned All-WPIAL honors from a squad that’s definitely playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulders.
No. 4 seed South Park who went the distance against one of Burrell’s section rivals, Freeport, in a match that didn’t see a goal in the run of play, are next in line for the Bucs. The Eagles, like Mt. Pleasant, finished unbeaten in Section play, but as they always do, stepped out of their comfort zone, playing tough competition again, with its losses coming in tight matches vs Beaver Area, Mt. Pleasant, Burrell and non-WPIAL Erie McDowell in their season opening tournament. If anything, the Eagles are battle tested and will be a very tough out. Earning All-WPIAL honors from South Park included two seniors, Alicia Riberich and Emily Mihelcic.
Final Scoreboard: WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 2A Quarterfinal Round
WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 2A All-Section player selections (2024)
Last Five WPIAL Girls Class 2A Champions
- 2023 – Avonworth
- 2022 – Avonworth
- 2021 – Avonworth
- 2020 – North Catholic
- 2019 – North Catholic
WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 2A Results
Quarterfinal Round
Saturday, October 26
FINAL: Quaker Valley 1, Deer Lakes 0
FINAL: Burrell 4, Mount Pleasant 0
FINAL: South Park 0, Freeport 0 (South Park wins Penalty Kick Shootout, 4-1)
FINAL: North Catholic 2, Beaver Area 1
First Round
Click on links at bottom of page to find team rosters courtesy of WPIAL where applicable
FINAL: Beaver Area 1, Shady Side Academy 0 (Extra Time / 1)
FINAL: Mount Pleasant 8, McGuffey 0
FINAL: Burrell 6, Keystone Oaks 0
FINAL: Deer Lakes 1, Avonworth 0
FINAL: Quaker Valley 4, Southmoreland 0
FINAL: South Park 2, Central Valley 1
FINAL: Freeport 8, Belle Vernon 0
FINAL: North Catholic 3, Yough 0
Rosters
Section I | Section II | Section III | Section IV |
Belle Vernon | Burrell | Ambridge | Deer Lakes |
Charleroi | Freeport | Avonworth | East Allegheny |
Keystone Oaks | Knoch | Beaver | Ligonier Valley |
McGuffey | North Catholic | Central Valley | Mt. Pleasant |
Ringgold | Shady Side Academy | Ellwood City | Southmoreland |
South Park | Valley | Hopewell | Yough |
Steel Valley | Quaker Valley |
WPIAL Girls Class 2A Leading Scorers
Morgan Gesinski, Mount Pleasant — 33
Sydney Chontos, Beaver — 28
Annabel Miko, Quaker Valley — 26
Aubrey Seder, Southmoreland — 25
Simone Sharpless, North Catholic — 25
Rylin Bugosh, Mount Pleasant — 23
Claire Cacurak, Deer Lakes — 22
Aubrey Grater, Central Valley — 18
Daisy Miller, Yough — 17
Alicia Riberich, South Park — 17
Megan Mehall, Southmoreland — 16
Camryn Woods, Freeport — 15
Ari Bosh, Quaker Valley — 14
Ella Voyten, South Park — 14
Lilia Battalini, Beaver — 13
Gionna Piontka, Yough — 13
Taylor Vargo, South Park — 13
Brooke Paylo, South Park — 12
Ava Scalise, Belle Vernon — 12
Aly Simon, Keystone Oaks — 12
Britany Baumiester, Yough — 11
Mia Furda, Beaver — 11
Sarah Kushnir, Shady Side Academy — 11
Kate Slavick, Yough — 11
Arianna Beck, South Park — 10
Elena Jenkins, Freeport — 10
Addison Kerr, South Park — 10
Reese Waruszewski, Deer Lakes — 10
Brooke Wieland, Yough — 10