WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 4A Playoff Preview: Five Keys to the Road to F.N.B. Stadium

Class 4A is an absolute gauntlet from top to bottom, so sometimes it’s the little things that separate the teams each year.   With realignment cycle seeing some schools moving up and down in classification, this is one of those unique situations where we have not one, but two defending District Champions in the same field.

Experience and coaching sometimes are at the top of the list of what separates teams — and of course talent and determination.

With the biennial realignment bringing defending 3A champion Fox Chapel back into the mix (don’t forget that they did win 4A in 2023!), alongside perennial heavyweights like Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, North Allegheny, and Seneca Valley, every single matchup carries state-title implications.

But as PSN’s exclusive coach interviews reveal, the path to F.N.B. Stadium isn’t just about the seed number—it’s about surviving the schedule, managing the “Sleepy Saturday” matinees, and finding that late-season gear.

Five Keys to the Road to F.N.B. Stadium in Girls 4A

Can anyone crack ‘Battle-Tested’ Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township, who earned the top two seeds?

Section 2 was an absolute battlefield, but two of the division’s three tri-champions that got the nod as the top two seeds by the WPIAL committee . Mt. Lebanon probably got the nod for being the team that finished in the best form, unbeaten in its last eight matches, while Peters Township put together a blistering 7-game clean sheet streak and allowed a mere four goals all year.

In single-elimination playoff soccer, breaking down those kinds of defensive blocks is the ultimate test.  In these matches, and it always sounds like cliche, but it will come down to which team can come up in the biggest moments.

Being that Canon-McMillan finished with the exact same record in section, it appears that its three losses out of section cost them a chance to have a higher seed.

“Certainly a strange conclusion to section play, but it still somehow felt fitting ending like this,” Mt. Lebanon’s Head Coach, Seth Young told Pittsburgh Soccer Now at the conclusion of section play.

“All six teams in our section are capable of finding a result on any night.”

Canon-McMillan’s Matt Fonagy believes his section’s level of play and intense battles will prepare all teams for the WPIAL playoffs.

“It will be exciting to see all Section 2 teams competing in the WPIAL championship,” Fonagy told Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

“We will all be battle-tested going into the playoffs.”

Scoring Was at a Premium in the North

Having won five WPIAL titles since 2019, including last year’s tournament, No. 3 seed North Allegheny are under Chuck Kelly are built for postseason soccer. In section play this season, they scored just 16 goals which didn’t come close to some of the other higher seeded teams goal outputs, but as long they’re shutting teams down (they didn’t give up a single goal.

WPIAL coaching icon, Mark Perry’s Seneca Valley squad put up similar production on both sides of the ball in section play — 15 goals and only three allowed, with two of those coming in a pair of 1-0 losses to North Allegheny.

Don’t Sleep on the #6 Seed: Ashley DeVito’s Surging Knights

On paper, Norwin is the No. 6 seed playing away from home at a neutral site (Yough HS) due to ongoing facility renovations.

In reality, head coach Ashley DeVito’s ultra-young group (featuring 25 underclassmen) has embraced a “nomadic” road-warrior identity all fall and enters the postseason on a 32-goal scoring binge over their last five matches. Backed by DeVito’s mantra of controlling only what they can, nobody on the top half of the bracket wants to see the Knights in the quarterfinals.

Fox Chapel’s Seamless 3A-to-4A Transition

Moving up a classification via biennial realignment after winning the 3A crown last year was no small task, but the Foxes didn’t miss a beat, even with a coaching change, from Carlo Prati, who stayed in 3A with Shaler, and Peter Torres came back to steer the Foxes forward.

Outside of a hard-fought 1-0 opening-night setback to North Allegheny, Fox Chapel conceded just three goals all season while unleashing versatile Pitt commit and the reigning Moe Rosensteel Award winner Emily McKee up top, where she’s most dangerous with the ball at her feet.  McKee’s been used over the past few years in various positions, but with enough talent around her, she has thrived in the number nine or the number 10 roles. The Foxes, given a No. 4 seed, hold a first-round bye and look every bit like a title contender ready to defend their district dominance.

The Lower-Seed Landmine in the 7–10 Line

Lower seeds in Class 4A are never pushovers. Canon-McMillan (#7) are tri-champs for a reason. They have an explosive attack.  The Lady Macs proved its ceiling by handing No. 1 Mt. Lebanon its final loss back in September, and Pine-Richland (#8) comes out of a brutal Section 1 gauntlet that prepared them for high-stress, low-scoring wars.

We saw what Canon-Mac is capable of a few weeks ago in our featured coverage of their big win vs Upper St Clair.

Canon-McMillan powers past Upper St. Clair in Class 4A Section showdown, standing together for Mental Health

Don’t be shocked to see at least one opening-round matchup where an underdog grabs an early goal and turns the bracket upside down.

Navigating the ‘Sleepy Saturday’ Matinee Trap

High school student-athletes are creatures of weekday routine.

Class 4A Girls will have to start the playoffs on Saturday afternoon.

Forcing teams onto a bus for a 1:00 PM Saturday kickoff can flip their biological clocks—and history shows early weekend matinees are famous for throwing heavy favorites off their rhythm.

As each one of the coaches noted on the Kids on the Pitch Podcast, controlling variables like pre-game nutrition, sleep, and early focus will dictate who survives Saturday and who gets caught flat-footed.  Upsets and poor performances are bound to happen, and coaches are well aware, preaching to their players that they have a great opportunity in front of them.

“Well, it’s not a secret. All the kids want to play under the lights, right? Everybody wants to play primetime. Everybody wants that. So it’s not a secret. And you know, when I was a teenager, I probably wanted the exact same thing, right? They want all their fans there and you know, the whole aura of it all. But I think that, you know, no matter when it is, right, we’re fortunate we still get a chance to play. There’s a lot of teams that their season is over. So whether it’s Saturday afternoon or a Wednesday night, we still get to play and that’s all that matters.”

📋 Mini Team Capsules

The top four seeds have earned first-round byes and will host quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, October 28. First-round matches kick off Saturday, October 24.

• No. 1 Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils (13-1-2)

  • The Scoop: Head Coach: Seth Young.  Survived a brutal Section 2 gauntlet, finishing on an 8-game unbeaten run with 9 shutouts. (Bye to Quarterfinals)

  • What Players to Look Out For? Ana Lombardi scored the game-winning goal to lift Lebo to its win over Peters on September 30. Makenna Tappe recorded the shutout for the Blue Devils

• No. 2 Peters Township Indians (12-1-2)

  • Coach: Rob Hueler

  • The Scoop: Section 2 co-champions anchored by a stingy defense that posted a 7-game clean sheet streak. (Bye to Quarterfinals)

  • What Players to Look Out For?  Forward Marina Hajnosz (Riverhounds Development Academy)

• No. 3 North Allegheny Tigers (14-2-1)

  • Coach: Chuck Kelly.  Worthy Staff | Top Player: Jordan Beemer (Goalkeeper)

  • The Scoop: Defending 4A champions enter on a 10-game win streak (8 by shutout). There’s a lot of talent — but molding this program into a solid, organized unit is what’s most impressive year after year. (Bye to Quarterfinals)

  • What Players to Look Out For?  Experience matters — as six seniors were honored on All-Section squad this week: Jordan Beemer, Mia Barsotti, Rosalia Varlotta, Sahara Catlos, Kieran Shannon and Meghan Dutkovich were all honored, along with junior Samantha Carman.

• No. 4 Fox Chapel Foxes (10-1-2)

  • Coach: Staff | Top Player: Emily McKee (Forward / Pitt Commit)

  • The Scoop: Stepped up smoothly from 3A, conceding just 3 goals all regular season. (Bye to Quarterfinals)

  • What Players to Look Out For?  McKee is the reigning Moe Rosensteel Award winner and the team’s leading goal scorer, but Lia Pizzella has been a rock in goal, coming up with some big saves in the Foxes section title clinching win vs Norwin.  Antonia Linzoain is a key midfielder/playmaker instrumental in facilitating transitions and maintaining possession in the attacking third. 

• No. 5 Seneca Valley Raiders (11-2-3)

  • Head Coach: Mark Perry

  • The Scoop: Last year’s WPIAL runners-up boast a balanced, physical lineup — but once again — organizationally solid and difficult to break down. (Hosts Gateway, Sat. 1:00 PM)

  • What Players to Look Out For? Just like North Allegheny, there’s a lot of senior leadership on this squad includling: Lexi Smith (D), Sydney Postler

• No. 6 Norwin Knights (11-3-4)

  • Coach: Ashley Devito | Top Player: Ryan Schoemer / Young Underclassmen Core

  • The Scoop: Blending a very young roster with a blistering late-season 32-goal scoring run to finish the season with five straight wins, Norwin bounced back from a sluggish start to the season that included three draws and two wins. In fact, they didn’t win a match until September 14.  Devito’s squad had lost just once since, to section winners, Fox Chapel.

  • What Players to Look Out For? Neeve Graham (Junior,  MF), anchors the midfield, and a number of goal scoring threats including Tatum Casper, McKenzie Carpenter & Katelyn Navarra. 

• No. 7 Canon-McMillan Big Macs (7-4-4)

  • Head Coach: Matt Fonagy

  • The Scoop: Dangerous team that can score in a variety of ways. Lady Macs handed Mt. Lebanon its only recent loss. (Hosts Armstrong, Sat. 1:00 PM)

  • What Players to Look Out For? Sarah Coffman, Rachel Tomley, Elana Moreschi

• No. 8 Pine-Richland Rams (4-8-3)

  • The Scoop: Battle-tested by Section 1’s physical gauntlet. (Hosts Upper St. Clair, Sat. 1:00 PM)

  • What Players to Look Out For? Lily De Jesus (Senior, Def): A foundational piece of the Rams’ backline, De Jesus is a dominant presence who has committed to play at Duquesne University.

• No. 9 Upper St. Clair Panthers (4-8-3)

  • The Scoop: Unfazed by the road-underdog role coming out of Section 2. (Travels to Pine-Richland, Sat. 1:00 PM)

  • What Players to Look Out For? Delaware commit, senior Abby Mascaro, has been a catalyst for Upper St Clair, and has at times helped elevate young, talented roster of players around her.

• No. 10 Armstrong River Hawks (10-7-1)

  • The Scoop: High-energy squad relying on quick transition play. (Travels to Canon-McMillan, Sat. 1:00 PM)

• No. 11 Butler Golden Tornado (8-8-1)

  • Head Coach: Ari Ford

  • The Scoop: Unique roster chemistry featuring four sets of sibling pairings. (Faces Norwin at Yough HS, Sat. 3:00 PM)

• No. 12 Gateway Gators (3-7-4)

  • The Scoop: Slipped into the bracket looking to disrupt with a stubborn defensive block. (Travels to Seneca Valley, Sat. 1:00 PM)

  • What Players to Look Out For?  Three seniors who lead the way include: Maggie Magill,

Rosters 

Section I	Section II	Section III
Armstrong	Baldwin	Butler
Connellsville	Bethel Park	North Allegheny
Fox Chapel	Canon-McMillan	North Hills
Gateway	Mt. Lebanon	Pine-Richland
Hempfield Area	Peters Township	Seneca Valley
Norwin	Upper St. Clair

🗺️ Official Tournament Bracket & Schedule Roadmap

First Round (Saturday, October 24)

• • #8 Pine-Richland vs. #9 Upper St. Clair — 1:00 PM @ Pine-Richland HS

  • #5 Seneca Valley vs. #12 Gateway — 1:00 PM @ Seneca Valley HS

  • #6 Norwin vs. #11 Butler — 3:00 PM @ Yough HS (Neutral Site)

  • #7 Canon-McMillan vs. #10 Armstrong — 1:00 PM @ Canon-McMillan Stadium

Quarterfinals (Wednesday, October 28)

• • #1 Mt. Lebanon vs. Winner of (#8 Pine-Richland / #9 Upper St. Clair) — Time TBA @ Mt. Lebanon HS

  • #4 Fox Chapel vs. Winner of (#5 Seneca Valley / #12 Gateway) — Time TBA @ TBA

  • #3 North Allegheny vs. Winner of (#6 Norwin / #11 Butler) — Time TBA @ TBA

  • #2 Peters Township vs. Winner of (#7 Canon-McMillan / #10 Armstrong) — Time TBA @ TBA

Semifinals (Monday, November 2)

Matchups TBD — Time TBA @ Neutral Sites

WPIAL Championship  (November 5–7)

WPIAL Championship Game: Time TBA @ F.N.B. Stadium (South Shore, Pittsburgh)