WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 3A Playoff First Round Scoreboard

The WPIAL soccer playoffs continue on Monday with first round action in Boys Class 2A and Girls Class 3A and Class 4A.

Below we have the latest scores from Girls Class 3A.

WPIAL Girls Class 3A First Round Scoreboard (Monday, October 20)

#9 West Allegheny 3, #8 Thomas Jefferson 2 (Extra Time)

#11 Shaler 0, #6 Franklin Regional 0 (Shaler wins in PK shootout)

#3 Moon 3, #14 Oakland Catholic 0

#1 Fox Chapel 7, #16 Laurel Highlands 0

#5 Mars 1, #12 Kiski Area 0

#7 Montour 1, #10 Hampton 0 (Extra Time/2)

#2 South Fayette 5, #15 Elizabeth Forward 0

#4 Plum 5, #13 Chartiers Valley 0

WPIAL Girls Class 3A Quarterfinal Round Schedule (Thursday, October 23)

#7 Montour #2 South Fayette

#11 Shaler vs #3 Moon

#5 Mars vs #4 Plum

#9 West Allegheny vs #1 Fox Chapel

Match Day Preview

Below you’ll find a look at Monday’s schedule for Girls Class 3A, along with our outlook for this classification’s 16-team tournament as Fox Chapel is the top seed, while the two-time defending champions, South Fayette are the second seed.

Plus, be sure to check out our latest subscriber feature, High School Girls Coaches Corner for more insights on the upcoming post season from numerous coaches.

High School Coaches Corner: Girls coaches’ insights on top teams in each classification, potential playoff sleepers and postseason format

PSN’s Girls Class 3A Tournament Outlook

The Favorites

Looking at the top two seeds, South Fayette and Fox Chapel, posted impressive regular season campaigns once again, with identical 15-1-1 records, with each loss coming to Class 4A schools.

Last year, South Fayette struck early and quickly to dispatch Fox Chapel, 4-0, in a rare final that featured two defending WPIAL champions, to win its second straight Class 3A WPIAL title (Fox Chapel had won Class 4A title in 2023).  The Lions, led by Head Coach, Nick Rosser, have all the ingredients to make it a three-peat, bringing back the heart of its core talent including Mia Deramo, Gabby Beinecke, along with goalkeeper Caitlyn Thompson.  The latter two, who are part of Riverhounds Development Academy, also trained and competed with Pittsburgh Riveters SC this past Summer.  Deramo, a Youngstown St commit, scored the game-winner for South Fayette in the 2023 WPIAL final to beat Moon.

The Foxes started the season with six new starters, but with Pitt commit, junior Emily McKee leading the attack, they still remain a very dangerous squad.   If you recall, McKee was a freshman when Fox Chapel won th WPIAL title in 2023, after stunning the top three seeds in the Class 4A tournament.

FC Head Coach Carlo Prati told PSN that heading into the season, it was a rebuilding year for the Foxes. Prati said that while his squad isn’t as dynamic on the width this season, having McKee pulling the strings and utilizing her ability on the ball has helped the Foxes control tempo and dictate terms in most matches.

Once again, Prati made sure the Foxes took on a challenging schedule, which they earned some impressive wins but more importantly, has the team battle-tested and ready for another deep run.

Still, Prati admits, there’s a gauntlet of tough teams in this classification.

“In Class 3A, it’s anyone’s match, any day of the week. That’s why I try to make it as tough as possible during the season, so they’re ready come playoffs,” Prati explained.

In the playoffs, it’s just as good as (Class 4A).  You can’t take any days off. We try to keep the competitiveness as high as we can for our girls.”

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Are there any potential sleepers lurking among this Girls Class 4A field? 

You can hardly call Moon, Plum or Mars teams that may sneak up on anyone, but in this classification, they’re in the 3rd through 5th seeds with programs and Head Coaches who have reached their share of WPIAL Finals, and in the case of Moon and Mars — lots of WPIAL and PIAA championship pedigree.

In fact, Moon and Plum, the 3-and-4 seeds, also ran through unbeaten section campaigns with their only losses also coming against a 4A schools (Moon to Pine-Richland and Plum to Norwin).

One coach said of Moon, led by Bill Pfeifer, who has won more games than any coach in the WPIAL (over 500 win overall and surpassed 400 wins at Moon this season): “They’re loaded with players who play hard. The tradition of winning carries through every player. They are very hard to beat.”

Another coach had this to say about Plum: “They are fast, skillful, and have tremendous depth in the team. They defend with a deep back line, so it is tough to create a lot of great goal scoring opportunities against them.”

Mars Head Coach Blair Gerlach also has a very impressive record, most recently earning three-straight WPIAL titles from 2019-21.

Franklin Regional, who placed second to Plum, and landed as a 6-seed in this tournament, also have a very talented but a young squad that could be dangerous — riding a six-match winning streak — all clean sheets for goalkeeper Addison Ayres, who also plays with Internationals SC and is an Allegheny College commit.

Head Coach Scott Arnold shared in PSN’s Coaches Corner earlier this season: “We graduated a strong senior class full of starters and all section players,” Arnold said of a squad that would only lose twice in section (both to Plum) and its only other loss came to Class 4A section champs, Norwin.

“It is like a new team this season. We are currently starting four freshmen which I have never done in the past. Thankfully they are very productive.”

Another coach thought Montour would be a team to watch out for in this tournament, as the Spartans only two losses in section came to rival Moon — both in tight, 2-1 contests.

One coach shared that what makes Montour a difficult team to play is having to account for Irelynn Hobbs who is a dangerous attacking threat.

“We were able to limit her impact pretty well in our game, but we had to have one of our best players commit to man marking her,” that coach stated in Coaches Corner.

Beyond many of these traditional top programs, there are teams that sit amongst the 8-12 seeds that are more than capable of beating almost any team in the tournament and made the seeding projections (for PSN!) and especially WPIAL’s committee very difficult in this classification.

Prati likened Hampton’s current squad to his Fox Chapel’s team a few years back that surprised many by winning 4A title, with lots of young players who play at a very fast pace and with numerous talented freshmen. may be a team that could be getting better with each match.  He also said that Shaler is a team that is very disciplined and plays to its strengths and could sneak up on some teams on any given day.

WPIAL Girls Class 3A First Round Schedule and Bracket

6:30pm               #9 West Allegheny (9-8-0) at #8 Thomas Jefferson (10-8-0)

6:30pm               #11 Shaler (9-7-1) at #6 Franklin Regional (14-3-0)

6:30pm               #14 Oakland Catholic (8-8-0) at #3 Moon (16-1-0)

6:30pm               #16 Laurel Highlands (6-8-0) at #1 Fox Chapel (15-1-1)

6:30pm               #12 Kiski Area (8-7-0) at #5 Mars (13-3-1)

6:30pm               #10 Hampton (10-6-1) at #7 Montour (12-4-0)

6:30pm               #15 Elizabeth Forward (7-6-0) at #2 South Fayette (15-1-1)

6:30pm               #13 Chartiers Valley (6-10-2) at #4 Plum (15-1-0)