Op-Ed: Allderdice boys soccer players (and supporters) petition to complete season as intended, in WPIAL playoffs

To the Pittsburgh soccer community and all supporters of what is right, just and fair.

Pittsburgh Soccer Now (PSN) invited Allderdice (“Dice”) Boys Soccer (via X/Twitter) for an editorial letter on the WPIAL’s unprecedented end-of-season action to erase their record, which has been covered by PSN’s Mark Asher Goodman [1] and John Krysinsky [2] [3] [4]. 

Here’s our response:

What happened?

Mysteriously and suddenly, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), erased all Fall 2024 records of Taylor Allderdice High School boys soccer conference games AND made the team ineligible for an earned spot in the WPIAL Class 3A, Section 3 playoffs. Allderdice boys soccer team’s record is 8-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in their section play (or should be). But on Thursday, 10/3/2024, after having played eight of its 12 WPIAL conference games and being well on track to make the playoffs with a chance to win the section, WPIAL announced that all of Allderdice’s conference games were void, and that the team was suddenly ineligible for the WPIAL playoffs, owing to a rule (1) written over one year ago by the PIAA to address an unrelated issue outside of Pittsburgh, (2) ignored by WPIAL when creating Fall 2024 schedules and maintaining standings, but (3) enforced more than midway through the season, after wins and losses were already officially recorded. Authorities now claim that Allderdice will need to play the one other Pittsburgh Public school with a boys soccer team, Obama Academy, for an automatic bid to the state tournament. If this bizarre “new” reality stands, then Allderdice will play the winner of District 9, which includes teams many miles away in Clarion and Clearfield counties.  Whatever the reason for this abrupt change, everyone can agree that the Allderdice boys soccer team has been treated unfairly.

Why does this matter?

So, you might be thinking: “What’s all the fuss? Isn’t a faster route to the state tournament a good deal?” No, it is not. The WPIAL playoffs are a major event, in which Western PA teams play each other. It culminates with final games at Highmark Stadium, one mile away from Allderdice’s home stadium, along the Monongahela River in the city of Pittsburgh. Soccer players dream of playing under the lights in Highmark, home of the Riverhounds professional soccer club. WPIAL playoff games attract crowds with a lot of eyes; not just classmates, family, and friends, but also coaches, scouts, and media. Players get recruited to play in college based, in part, on their performance in the WPIAL playoffs. 

If the WPIAL hadn’t taken the end-of-season action to erase Allderdice’s record, the team and its players would have received distinctions. The Dragon’s defense boasts 6 shutout games, conceding only nine goals. Players, including senior Aidan Thomas (10 goals, 5 assists), senior Jacek Piekut (7 goals, 8 assists), and junior Ethan Voight-Cherna (8 goals, 4 assists), would likely have been recognized in the WPIAL boys soccer all-section teams, selected by the WPIAL Soccer Coaches Association and publicized in the Post Gazette. Fall 2023, Allderdice players were recognized on these teams.

If this bizarre “new” reality stands, teams, such as Greater Latrobe Senior High School, which is 46 miles away from Highmark Stadium, will have the right to play in the WPIAL final, while Allderdice High School, which is six miles away, will not. Instead, Allderdice is being put in a position where their most likely postseason opponent will be DuBois Area Senior High School located 100 miles north of Pittsburgh. Few classmates, friends, or family will be able to drive that distance on a weeknight for a game, and few if any college coaches or scouts are likely to attend.

What happens next year? Or three years from now? If a team like Allderdice is not allowed to compete in the WPIAL playoffs and automatically gets a state bid by beating the one other city league team, why even have a regular season? The team might go 0-12 and still qualify for the state tournament. Any student who is passionate about soccer would not be blamed for choosing to attend another school outside of the city. The value of city schools will deteriorate making this a problem for the entire city of PIttsburgh.

What do we want?

All the Allderdice soccer players (and their supporters) are asking for is the chance to play the game they love in the section they were placed in WPIAL and in the playoff spot they earned. Allderdice was given a Fall 2024 WPIAL schedule in good faith at the start of the school year. To take this away is reprehensible.

What can you do?

Come to see the Allderdice Dragons play at their home stadium, George K. Cupples Stadium, 800 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. They play Uniontown on Tuesday, 10/8 at 3:15pm, Franklin Regional on Tuesday, 10/15 at 6:30pm, and Obama on Wednesday, 10/16 at 6:30pm.

Join us in advocating for these student athletes at the next public PIAA soccer specific, District 7 (WPIAL) chapter meeting that will take place Sunday 10/13/ 24 at 7:00pm Grace Collective Church, 275 Brush Creek Rd, Irwin,  PA  15642. 

Sign the petition https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/let-the-dragons-play. As of 10/7/2024 at 8:22pm it had 1,273 signatures. 

Hold PIAA and its district 7 accountable for their actions. 

Contact District 7 (WPIAL) Executive Director Scott Seltzer: sseltzer@wpial.com  

Reach out to PIAA using their comment website: https://www.piaa.org/contact/default.aspx. 

Thank you for your support and attention.

Sincerely,

The 2024 Allderdice Boys Soccer Team Boosters and Parents

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).