Sunday Rewind: Ten things we learned from a wild Saturday of WPIAL Soccer opening-round action

Take a deep breath. Saturday’s opening round of the WPIAL soccer postseason delivered everything we love about district tournament soccer: shocking blowouts, dramatic golden goals, high-stakes penalty shootouts, and plenty of talking points as the field narrows down for Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

While Sunday offers a well-deserved day of rest across the region, let’s look back at the chaos and brilliance from Saturday’s action across Boys 3A & 1A and Girls 4A & 2A.

First Round WPIAL Boys Class 3A / 1A scoreboard 

First Round WPIAL Girls Class 4A / 2A scoreboard

Here are 10 Things We Learned from the pitch:

1. Golden Goals Are Back (And Flying Fast & Furious)

With the PIAA’s regular-season no-OT rule wiping out extra periods this fall, teams and fans were reminded just how intense sudden death soccer can be.

Saturday’s drama proved it: Trinity walked off with a 2-1 overtime win over Latrobe thanks to Jake Wright’s strike with 3:37 left in OT; Springdale outlasted Serra Catholic 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller settled in extra time behind Alex Wylly’s hat trick; and Upper St. Clair punched its 4A ticket in a match that needed to go beyond the 80 minutes of regulation.

2. Upper St. Clair Wins the Girls 4A Battle of the (South vs North) Hills

In Girls 4A, No. 9 Upper St. Clair had experienced some turbulence down the stretch of section play, but the Panthers proved records go out the window in November.

Going on the road to face No. 8 Pine-Richland, USC dug deep for a 2-1 extra time triumph, as Audrey Bodamer scored off a Bella Blohm free kick in the 85th minute, setting up a daunting quarterfinal clash against section rival and top-seeded Mt. Lebanon.

3. Second-Chance at 7-Seed, Eden Christian Battle Past Trinity Christian

The Class 1A bracket experienced a seismic pre-tournament shockwave Friday when a PIAA retroactive ruling issued a forfeiture to Aquinas Academy, removing them from the postseason. While social media and local parent groups expressed understandable frustration over the timing and impact on student-athletes—noting how brutal it is for seniors to have their season ended by an administrative ruling on the eve of the playoffs—Eden Christian Academy made the absolute most of their sudden second chance. Seeded No. 7, Eden Christian battled past No. 10 Trinity Christian 3-2 in overtime, earning a Wednesday quarterfinal date with No. 2 Winchester Thurston.

4. Plum and Franklin Regional Flex Their Muscle

The top two seeds in Boys 3A made statements.

Raf Kolankowski’s No. 1 Plum Mustangs continued their flawless drop-down from 4A, blanking Laurel Highlands 5-0 behind two goals and an assist each from Kent Holmes and Caden Zoller. Meanwhile, No. 2 Franklin Regional kept its 16-game unbeaten streak alive with a tough 2-1 victory over Shaler, courtesy of goals from Aiden Alexander and Ian Johns. Plum meets Hampton next, while the Panthers draw Mars.

5.  The Chartiers Valley Shocker: Colts Stun Penn-Trafford

There are usually 5v12 upsets but even this one was surprising. The biggest bombshell of Saturday happened right out of the midday gate in Class 3A. No. 12 Chartiers Valley put on an absolute masterclass, rolling to an 8-0 shutout victory over No. 5 Penn-Trafford. Yazeed Hamdan and Jonah Mastren-Williams netted two goals apiece, stunning a PT side that entered the final week of the regular season fighting for an undefeated section crown. Credit to the Colts, who advance to face No. 4 Trinity on Wednesday.

6. Freedom Survives a 6-Round PK Shootout Thriller

If you like high-pressure drama, the Class 1A Boys clash between No. 9 Freedom and No. 8 Bishop Canevin was your game.

After a 1-1 defensive chess match through regulation and extra time, the Bulldogs outlasted Canevin in a six-round penalty shootout—cemented when goalkeeper Brennan Vucinic came up with a massive save. Freedom advances to face juggernaut Bentworth on Wednesday.

7. South Park and Central Valley Girls Mean Business

In Class 2A Girls, top-seeded South Park picked up right where they left off all fall, blanking Southmoreland 6-0 behind a pair of goals from Eden Very and Berlin Washington.

Fellow Section 3 powerhouse Central Valley also made massive noise, romping to a 9-1 win over Waynesburg powered by a Nina Guandolo hat trick and a stellar two-goal, two-assist performance from Ellie Patten.

8. Springdale and Serra Catholic Put on a Goal-Fest

If you want to talk about wide-open, chaotic tournament soccer, look no further than the 9-goal thriller between No. 5 Springdale and No. 12 Serra Catholic. Springdale’s Alex Wylly and Serra’s Brayden Graham both recorded hat tricks in a back-and-forth masterpiece before the Dynamos finally clinched a 5-4 overtime victory. Springdale now advances to face No. 4 Beaver County Christian.

9. The Rest vs. Rust Debate Heading to Wednesday

While Saturday’s winners put their bodies on the line and built crucial live-match momentum, top-seeded heavyweights holding first-round byes—such as Boys 1A’s Bentworth, Girls 2A’s South Park, and Boys 3A’s Plum—have been sitting idle for over a week. As we head into Wednesday’s quarterfinals, we’ll find out whether the extra rest is a superpower or if battle-tested opening-round winners can spring early upsets.

10. The Stage is Set: Wednesday’s Quarterfinal Slate Awaits for Boys 3A/1A and Girls 4A/2A

The bracket is officially trimmed. After a quiet Sunday to recover, teams are back to work preparing for Wednesday’s quarterfinal showdowns.

Here is what is on deck across our featured classifications:

📅 Upcoming Playoff Schedules: Wednesday Quarterfinals & Monday First Round

As we close out the weekend, Monday brings the opening-round kickoff for our next four classifications (Boys 4A & 2A, Girls 3A & 1A), followed immediately by Wednesday’s high-stakes quarterfinals.

📅 Monday, October 26 — First-Round Slate (Boys 4A/2A & Girls 3A/1A)

Boys Class 4A First Round

(Top 3 seeds #1 Norwin, #2 Seneca Valley, and #3 Peters Township hold First-Round Byes)

• #13 North Hills at #4 Mt. Lebanon — 7:00 PM @ Mt. Lebanon HS

• #12 Gateway at #5 North Allegheny — 8:00 PM @ North Allegheny HS

• #11 Moon at #6 Fox Chapel — 6:00 PM @ Fox Chapel HS

• #10 Canon-McMillan at #7 Pine-Richland — 7:00 PM @ Pine-Richland HS

• #9 Central Catholic at #8 Upper St. Clair — 7:00 PM @ Upper St. Clair HS

Boys Class 2A First Round

• #16 West Mifflin at #1 Avonworth — 8:00 PM @ Avonworth HS

• #15 Hopewell at #2 Deer Lakes — 7:00 PM @ Deer Lakes HS

• #14 Burrell vs. #3 North Catholic — 8:00 PM @ Mars Athletic Complex

• #13 Ambridge at #4 Elizabeth Forward — 8:00 PM @ Elizabeth Forward HS

• #12 South Park at #5 Mount Pleasant — 7:00 PM @ Mount Pleasant HS

• #11 Seton LaSalle at #6 Shady Side Academy — 8:00 PM @ Shady Side Academy

• #10 Belle Vernon at #7 Beaver Area — 7:00 PM @ Beaver Area HS

• #9 Quaker Valley at #8 Freeport — 7:00 PM @ Freeport HS

Girls Class 3A First Round

• #16 Albert Gallatin at #1 Penn-Trafford — 8:00 PM @ Penn-Trafford HS

• #15 Thomas Jefferson at #2 Shaler — 7:00 PM @ Shaler HS

• #14 Knoch at #3 Montour — 7:00 PM @ Montour HS

• #13 West Allegheny at #4 Mars — 6:00 PM @ Mars Athletic Complex

• #12 Franklin Regional at #5 South Fayette — 7:00 PM @ South Fayette HS

• #11 Belle Vernon at #6 Plum — 7:00 PM @ Plum HS

• #10 Greater Latrobe at #7 Elizabeth Forward — 6:00 PM @ Elizabeth Forward HS

• #9 Moon at #8 Hampton — 7:00 PM @ Hampton HS

Girls Class 1A First Round

• #16 Beth-Center vs. #1 Sewickley Academy — 6:00 PM @ Peters Township MS

• #15 Mohawk vs. #2 Winchester Thurston — 7:00 PM @ U.S. Steel Community Field (Hazelwood)

• #14 Springdale vs. #3 Brownsville — 6:00 PM @ Penn-Trafford HS

• #13 Serra Catholic vs. #4 Shady Side Academy — 6:00 PM @ Shady Side Academy

• #12 Aquinas Academy vs. #5 Bentworth — 8:00 PM @ Peters Township MS

• #11 Freedom Area vs. #6 Riverview — 8:00 PM @ Fox Chapel HS

• #10 Chartiers-Houston vs. #7 Eden Christian Academy — 6:00 PM @ North Allegheny HS

• #9 Steel Valley vs. #8 Carlynton — 6:00 PM @ Avonworth HS

📅 Wednesday, October 28 — Quarterfinal Slate (Boys 3A/1A & Girls 4A/2A)

• Boys Class 3A Quarterfinals:

  • #1 Plum vs. #9 Hampton

  • #4 Trinity vs. #12 Chartiers Valley

  • #2 Franklin Regional vs. #7 Mars

  • #3 West Allegheny vs. #6 Central Valley

• Boys Class 1A Quarterfinals:

  • #1 Bentworth vs. #9 Freedom

  • #4 Beaver County Christian vs. #5 Springdale

  • #2 Winchester Thurston vs. #7 Eden Christian

  • #3 OLSH vs. #6 Riverview

• Girls Class 2A Quarterfinals:

  • #1 South Park vs. #9 Quaker Valley

  • #4 Burrell vs. #5 Central Valley

  • #2 Freeport vs. #7 Deer Lakes

  • #3 Avonworth vs. #11 North Catholic

• Girls Class 4A Quarterfinals:

  • #1 Mt. Lebanon vs. #9 Upper St. Clair

  • #4 Fox Chapel vs. #5 Seneca Valley

  • #2 Peters Township vs. #7 Canon-McMillan

  • #3 North Allegheny vs. #6 Norwin

Also, over the next 24 hours, look for more PREVIEWS to drop — as we have four more Classifications to kick off its tournament play on Monday.  These classifications include:  Boys 4A / 2A and Girls 3A / 1A.

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).