WPIAL Girls Soccer Semifinal Round: Burrell, Freeport advance in 2A, top seeds Sewickley Academy, Bentworth hold serve in 1A

The WPIAL Boys and Girls Soccer playoff tournaments are down to the Final Four in each classification.  On Tuesday night, on the girls’ side, the Class 2A and 1A semifinal round matches will be played — with spot in the Finals at Highmark Stadium on the line.

Both classifications are truly up for grabs.

Be sure to follow along below with the latest updates, highlights and scores.

Tuesday WPIAL Girls Playoff Soccer Schedule / Scoreboard

2A

FINAL:   #8 Burrell 2, #4 Mount Pleasant 0

FINAL:     #2 Freeport 2, #3 Quaker Valley 0

WPIAL Championship Game — #8 Burrell vs #2 Freeport (Date / Time TBA)

1A

FINAL:     #1 Sewickley Academy 2, #4 Springdale 1

FINAL:     #2 Bentworth 1, #11 Waynesburg Central 0

WPIAL Championship Game — #1 Sewickley Academy vs #2 Bentworth (Date / Time TBA)

GIRLS 2A Match Capsules and Schedule / Bracket

Semifinal Round (Tuesday, October 28) – Sites, Times TBA

6 p.m.   #8 Burrell (11-6-2) vs #4 Mount Pleasant (14-4-1) (at Gateway)

Mount Pleasant were unbeaten in section play (10-0-0) and played a very difficult schedule out of section — which has them battle-tested and ready for the postseason. Led by Robert Morris commit, Morgan Gesinski, the Vikings shook off a challenge from Avonworth in the first round.  Addy Cole also scored in the first half for the Vikings. In the Quarterfinal Round against a Shady Side team that upset No. 5 Deer Lakes, it was Gesinski who once again came up with a pair of goals to get Mount Pleasant back into the semifinal round.

In another edition of PSN’s Coaches Corner, Burrell’s Frank Nesko drew praise from other coaches as someone who has his teams ready to play and the Bucs are a tough group to beat.

In its first-round win (1-0 vs a defensively sound Belle Vernon squad), Burrell junior Makiah Buchak had the timely goal that was the difference late in the first half.  Maybe even more impressive, the Bucs held the Leopards to just two shots, none in the second half, in walking away with a 1-0 victory.

Burrell weren’t done yet.

For the second straight year, the Bucs knocked out top-seeded South Park — this time coming in Thursday’s Quarterfinal round.   In doing so they also knocked out the only remaining unbeaten girls’ team in the WPIAL.

Nesko described the game winner from McKenna Miller as a ‘dirty goal’ after Makiah Buchak sent the ball into the 18 from a set piece, with Miller getting in the right place as the right time for a very timely goal in what was a tight contest.

Leah Waldsmith made five saves, including a spectacular one with 25 seconds left to preserve the shutout.

Burrell, last year’s WPIAL runner-up, are one step from getting back to the big stage.

8 p.m.    #3 Quaker Valley (13-2-1) vs #2 Freeport (16-1-0) (at Hampton)

Freeport continue to roll — as they completed a tall task of beating the same team three times this season, on Saturday, topping section rival North Catholic in a wild, back-and-forth match, 4-3, in extra time.

Camryn Woods scored two goals, including the golden goal with one minute left in the second period of extra time.

The No. 2 seed in this tournament, Freeport showed its firepower adding to its plus-64 goal differential in the regular season by beating Ringgold, 11-0, in the first round.  The Jackets were led by a hat trick from Woods, plus braces from Nia DiSanti and Brinley Sullivan in that encouter.

Leading the way for the Quakers, is Annabel Miko this season, with the junior earning her 50th goal early in the season (on Sept. 3 against Ambridge) and not slowing down since. Miko, a Delaware commit, finished the regular season with 17 goals.

The defending WPIAL champs — Quaker Valley — didn’t have any trouble in the opening round of the playoffs — with an easy 9-0-win vs Southmoreland.  In the one-sided affair, Lily Baker scored five goals for the Quakers. Like Freeport, QV had to endure a tough challenge from a section rival in the quarterfinals, beating Central Valley, 1-0, as Maddie Gatehouse scored the only goal in the first half, with an assist from Ari Bosh.

WPIAL Girls Class 2A First Round Scoreboard

WPIAL Girls Class 2A Quarterfinal Round Scoreboard

Final

TBA (at Highmark Stadium)

PIAA Play-In Match 

Semifinal losers (Date, Site, Time TBA)

Girls Class 2A Players To Watch

Alyssa Alcorn, Freeport

Arianna Beck, South Park

Ariana Bosh, Quaker Valley

Morgan Gesinski, Mt. Pleasant

Annabel Miko, Quaker Valley

Cam Woods, Freeport

GIRLS 1A Updated Classification Outlook and Schedule / Bracket 

Semifinal Round (Tuesday, October 28) — Sites, Times TBA

6 p.m.       #1 Sewickley Academy (17-1-0) vs #4 Springdale (12-1-1) (at Hampton)

How They Got Here… 

• Sewickley — def Ellis School, 7-0; def Carlynton, 2-0
• Springdale — def Chartiers-Houston, 2-1; def Riverside, 3-0

7:30 p.m.   #11 Waynesburg Central (10-4-2) vs #2 Bentworth (16-1-0) (at Peters Twp)

How They Got Here… 

• Waynesburg Central — def Winchester Thurston, 1-0; def Seton LaSalle, 3-1
• Bentworth — def Freedom, 3-2;  def OLSH, 2-0

WPIAL Girls Class 1A First Round Scoreboard

WPIAL Girls Class 1A Quarterfinal Round Scoreboard

Final

TBA (at Highmark Stadium)

PIAA Play-In Match 

Semifinal losers (Date, Site, Time TBA)

PSN’s Girls Class 1A Tournament Outlook

If this year’s Class 1A Girls Soccer tournament is anything like it was a year ago, we’ll be in for a treat.

If you recall, last year’s eight-match District Championship weekend whirlwind began with Springdale-Winchester Thurston high scoring affair, where the Dynamos outlasted the Bears, 5-3.

However, this year, Springdale is back in the mix, but there’s a host a teams’ who can rise to the top in this field.

Judging from our recent Coaches Corner survey about top teams in this classification, most coaches agree that it’s going to be there for the taking.

“Looks like could be really wide open for the top eight teams. There’s a good chance the WPIAL could have a new, first-time champion this year in 1A.”

Another believes that there are middle-and-lower seeded teams that could wreak havoc.  Considering there was a period of time from 2010-2019, where only two or three programs dominated this classification, things have come a long way.

One coach points out: “The most interesting part is how tough the bottom seeds 12-15 could be super tough matchups for seeds 2-5. Many of the (section) champions won’t have easy run.”

The top-ranked team is Sewickley Academy, who have been the closest to being a very dominant team this season at this level, losing only once (to Class 2A neighbors, Quaker Valley) while going unbeaten in section that includes a talented Seton LaSalle side.

The top-seeded Panthers earned a return trip to the semifinals by shutting out Carlynton. SA were the stronger team in the second half — getting both goals in the final 20 minutes of the game. Emilia Carrabba scored off a corner kick by Claire Karsman. Makenzie Dice scored the insurance goal. Gabby Edmunds recorded a clean sheet with six saves.

Bentworth’s longtime coach, Tyler Hamstra, reaped the benefits of having an experienced squad, as the Bearcats had a heck of a regular season.  One coach pointed out: “Bentworth has a solid group of Seniors and should make a run this year” and another added “Bentworth spreads the field well and passes well.”

The other top four seeds include the second-place team in Section 3, Seton LaSalle and the defending champs, Springdale.

Seton LaSalle’s only losses in section play came in a pair of one-goal results to Sewickley Academy (3-2 and 1-0). The Rebels have not been shy about playing up in Class, facing 3A Moon (losing 3-0), 2A Deer Lakes (3-1 loss) and earning wins against Armstrong (5-3) and Keystone Oaks (4-1).

Springdale featured a balanced attack with sophomore Tessa Derringer, senior Hailey Marchlewski and freshman Adele Walters-Vrabel, senior Lacey Shondeck combining for 40 goals. Head Coach Marc Bentley’s name came up in Coaches Corner survey as someone who is tough to play against and has a well thought out game-plan.

Are there any potential sleepers lurking among this Girls Class 1A field? 

Waynesburg Central has been the surprise team that’s emerged from the pack of strong challengers in the lower seeds that many of the coaches hinted would be the case.  WC knocked off last season’s runner-up, Winchester Thurston in the first round, then doubled up on the upsets by beating Seton LaSalle, 3-1, on Saturday with an early assault, with Ava DiAlesandro and Rylei Rastoka getting goals in the first 15 minutes, then Serenity Taylor added another before the half.

Can Waynesburg take down another high seed — as they now face a team they know very well when facing section rival Bentworth.  The Bobcats defeated WC twice this season, 2-0, then 2-1.

_______________________________

Westmoreland Sports Network’s Mike Powers joined PSN’s John Krysinsky on Kids on the Pitch Podcast on Sunday to talk about WPIAL Championship week.

Kids on the Pitch Podcast: It’s WPIAL Soccer Championship week with Westmoreland Sports Network’s Mike Powers

John Krysinsky

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).