Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 24, 2022 | 3:45 PM

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Tuesdays’ games

Girls

Class 2A

First round

15-West Mifflin (8-6-1) at 2-Mt. Pleasant (16-1)

6:30 p.m. at Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Southmoreland (11-3-1) at 7-Freeport (13-2) 2 p.m. Saturday in quarterfinals (site TBD)

Players to watch: Drina Johns, MF, West Mifflin; Rylin Bugosh, F, Mt. Pleasant

Corner kicks: West Mifflin won six of its final eight games to close out the regular season. Five of the Titans’ wins have come on the road. Johns and Emily Beck are key scoring options for the Titans, who have not played a Westmoreland County team this season. … Mt. Pleasant won its first section title since 2016 and made a case for the No. 1 seed as the Lady Vikings won their first 14 games. Take away a 6-0 loss to powerhouse Moon, and Mt. Pleasant has allowed just five goals in 16 games. Bugosh, Morgan Gesinski, Riley Gesinski and others power a young offense that had 108 goals.

10-Southmoreland (11-3-1) at 7-Freeport (13-2)

8 p.m. at Freeport Athletic Complex, Freeport

Winner plays: Winner of 15-West Mifflin (7-6-1)/1-Mt. Pleasant (16-1) 2 p.m. Saturday in quarterfinals (site TBD)

Players to watch: Kendall Fabery, MF, Southmoreland; Aleah Parison, MF, Freeport

Corner kicks: Southmoreland was a semifinal team last year, and the Scotties remain a contender led by Cleveland State commit Fabery, Gabby Fabery, and others. The team rallied after losing leading scorer Olivia Cernuto to a season-ending leg injury Sept. 12. The Scotties are 4-1-1 in October. A surprising, 1-0 loss to Woodland Hills likely hurt their stock. … Freeport started the season 9-0 before a 1-0 loss to Burrell, a playoff team they also beat 2-0. The Yellowjackets have been part of eight one-goal games, including a 3-2 loss to Knoch in the Section 2 finale. Freeport lost to South Park, 1-0, in the first round last year.

11-Yough (10-6-1) at 6-Shady Side Academy (9-5)

6 p.m. Gene Deal Fields, Shady Side Academy Athletic Complex, Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 14-Woodland Hills (8-6)/3-South Park (12-5) 2 p.m. Saturday in quarterfinals (site TBD)

Players to watch: McKenzie Pritts, MF, Yough; Cayah Leavy, GK, Shady Side Academy

Corner kicks: Yough might have the smallest roster of any playoff team in the state. The Cougars roll out just 12 players after starting the season with 13. But they have made it work and have stayed healthy. Pritts, a Robert Morris commit, has 29 goals this season and 100 for her career. Also watch Kendalyn Umbel, a strong complementary player to Pritts. Yough lost to North Catholic, 4-0, in the quarterfinals last year, two years after facing the Trojanettes in the WPIAL championship. … Shady Side Academy, a perennial title contender in Class A, has overcome injuries to key players to return to the postseason. Caroline Liptak, Maila Davis and Natalia McMahon were injured in the spring. The latter two are gone for the season. The Bulldogs lost only 3-2 to South Park. They beat Knoch, another playoff team and section winner, 3-1.

Boys

Class A

First round

16-Bishop Canevin (2-12-1) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (14-2)

6:30 p.m. at Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon

Winner plays: Winner of 9-Freedom (12-4)/8-Charleroi (14-2) 2 p.m. Saturday in quarterfinals (site TBD)

Players to watch: Geno DeFrank, MF, Bishop Canevin; Carlo Denis, F, GCC

Corner kicks: Despite a two-win regular season, Bishop Canevin is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. DeFrank and Evan Seitz had goals in a 2-1 senior night win over Brentwood. The Crusaders have been shut out eight times. … High-powered Greensburg Central Catholic is seeking a fifth straight trip to the WPIAL finals. The Centurions won titles in 2019 and ‘20. GCC is averaging nearly nine goals a game. It put up nine or more goals eight times. Denis, a Grove City commit, has 49 goals to lead the WPIAL. Teammate Kyler Miler has 36.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland, Yough