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WPIAL (PIAA District 7) soccer playoffs resume Wednesday with Boys Class 1A/3A teams in action.
This is the thread for Class 3A, as four matches will be played starting at 6:30 p.m.
Be sure to follow this thread for updates / scores to be posted through the evening.
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FINAL: Franklin Regional 2, Thomas Jefferson 1
Chartiers Valley at Mars
FINAL: Bethel Park 2, Latrobe 1 (Extra Time / 2)
Black Hawks break the deadlock as junior forward Xavier Jackson scores in second period of extra time.
Hampton at Moon POSTPONED — WILL BE PLAYED THURSDAY
FULL TIME: FR 2 TJ 1
Fabrizzio Costa G
Jovan Sankoorikal G,A
Joey Bayne A@BillBeckner@WestmorelandSN@county_coaches@TribWestmoreCo@TribLiveHSSN@pghsoccernow#WPIALSoccer pic.twitter.com/ywxoZhQCBy
— FR Men’s Soccer (@mens_fr) October 24, 2024
Big 2nd Round Playoff Win. Great goal in 2OT.
BP 2
Latrobe 1
⚽️Pantin
⚽️ Jackson@TribLiveHSSN @pghsoccernow @PGHsportsnow @wpial7 #WPIALSoccer @bpsdinfo @johnkrysinsky @MattyIcePGH @TribSports @PGVarsityXtra @BP_BlackHawks
— BPHawksBoysSoccer (@BPHawksboyssoc1) October 24, 2024
There Will Be A New Champion!
The 16-team field will anoint a new champion, as South Fayette, in a very tough section with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Bethel Park, Trinity and Ringgold, finished 7-7, good for 5th place keeping them out of the playoffs.
Moon seized the top spot with a very impressive unbeaten campaign (18-0, 12-o in section).
The Tigers had no problem with their first round opponent, Belle Vernon, scoring early and often in a 6-0 win on Saturday.
Head Coach Tyler Blake, a guest on the Kids on Pitch podcast after the brackets came out ono Wednesday, is bullish on his team’s depth and scoring balance.
The Tigers, who play fast and look to always bring numbers forward quickly, had six players post at least nine goals: Aedan Costa (17), Marc Haupt , Evan Thomas, Zech Balbach (12 each)- Luiz Silva, Hayden Dunn (9 each). As dynamic as Moon has been in the attack, they’ve been downright stingy and a difficult opponent to score against, giving up only eight goals, with 11 clean sheets.
Now, the Tigers will have to face a Hampton side that is downright stingy. The Talbots opened first round with an exciting win over Moon’s section rival, West Allegheny, 2-1 in extra time.
As Blake indicated in the interview, Class 3A won’t provide an easy path for any team to claim the WPIAL Title. There could be a number of teams that could make a run like South Fayette, who were a No. 8 seed, made a season ago.
Blake also warned any team facing No. 14 seed Chartiers Valley, that they’ll have to content with one of the most dynamic scorers in the WPIAL and Riverhounds Academy standout, Johnny Crug.
“He has the ability to be a game-changer,” Blake stated. “A lot of wins they had this year, he made the difference.”
Sure enough, Chartiers Valley pulled off the biggest upset of the first round, as a No. 14 seed, defeating Indiana, 4-1, as it was Crug who led the way with a brace. Now, CV will face another team from Section 1, No. 6 seed Mars, who started off its tournament with a solid 4-1 win of its own, against Penn-Trafford. The Fighting Planets fell behind early, but scored three goals before the end of the half to take control of that match.
No. 2 Thomas Jefferson led by longtime head coach Michael “Doc” Kulish, are an experienced, senior laden squad which always bodes well in Class 3A, and after Saturday’s dismantling of Armstrong, 8-0, the Jags are now riding a 18-match unbeaten streak, having only lost once, its season opener at Laurel Highlands. The Jaguars are led by playmaking senior midfielder senior midfielder Brayden Miller. TJ will be tested against No. 7 Franklin Regional who controlled play throughout, in a 3-0 win over Trinity on Saturday.
No. 4 Latrobe were officially without a loss in Section 3, though City League’s Allderdice beat them twice in matches that no longer count in WPIAL section competition.
They’ve shown they can score — with a dynamic sibling duo of Ryan Agostoni and Warren Agostoni leading the way. Roman, the program’s all-time leading scorer, helped lead Latrobe to a Section title on October 8, when they defeated a tough Franklin Regional squad, 1-0.
Latrobe kept its monumental season going by defeating Ringgold, 2-0, on Saturday for its first-ever playoff win, with both Agostoni’s scoring goals.
Now, they’ll face No. 5 Bethel Park, who are certainly battle-tested after pulling out an exciting 3-2 win against always tough Montour on Saturday, with Xavier Jackson earning a brace, including the game-winner.
Roman Agostoni, Latrobe — 31
Russell Crane, Indiana — 26
Brayden Miller, Thomas Jefferson — 26
Ryan Maloney, Highlands — 25
John Krug, Chartiers Valley — 22
Danny Christafano, Franklin Regional — 21
Aedan Costa, Moon — 20
Jordan Callipare, Armstrong — 19
JJ Porter, Penn-Trafford — 19
Xavier Jackson, Bethel Park — 17
Cole Radcliffe, Laurel Highlands — 15
Warren Agostoni, Latrobe — 14
Jake Shoemaker, Thomas Jefferson — 14
Aidan Thomas, Allderdice — 14
Ethan Voight-Cherna, Allderdice — 13
Yuriy Bidochko, Penn-Trafford — 12
Zechariah Balbach, Moon — 12
Tim Birch, Indiana — 12
Marc Haupt, Moon — 12
Evan Thomas, Moon — 12
Zack Angoff, Mars — 11
Andrew Prunier, Montour — 11
Brady Celko, Highlands — 10
Evan Peterson, Obama Academy — 10
Jovan Sankoorikal, Franklin Regional — 10
(rosters can be found on teams with links)
FINAL: Franklin Regional 3, Trinity 0
FINAL: Latrobe 2, Ringgold 0
FINAL: Mars 4, Penn-Trafford 1
FINAL: Bethel Park 3, Montour 2
FINAL: Hampton 2, West Allegheny 1. ET
FINAL: Chartiers Valley 4, Indiana 1
FINAL: Thomas Jefferson 8, Armstrong 0
FINAL Moon 6, Belle Vernon 0
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