WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship breakdown: South Park vs. Quaker Valley

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 | 5:23 PM

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WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship

1-South Park (21-0) vs. 2-Quaker Valley (17-3)

6 p.m. Thursday, Highmark Stadium

Tickets: $10 (general admission)

Coaches: Jon Cantwell, South Park; J.J. Veshio, Quaker Valley

Players to watch: Kaiden Fischer, South Park; Nick Allan, Quaker Valley

WPIAL titles: South Park 3 (2005, 06, ‘14); Quaker Valley 10 (1985, ‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘96, ‘99, 2012, ‘16, ‘19, ‘21)

Playoff path: South Park defeated No. 16 Yough, 2-0; No. 8 Keystone Oaks, 3-1, and No. 4 Avonworth, 4-2. Quaker Valley beat No. 15 Jeannette, 9-1; No. 10 Elizabeth Forward, 7-0, and No. 6 Shady Side Academy, 4-3.

Corner kicks: The Eagles, who fell in the semifinals last season, earned the No. 1 seed after outscoring opponents 79-6 in the regular season. They won the Section 1 title at 14-0. Cam Loveland, Kaiden Fischer, Aiden Batista and Ryan Wesolowski scored in the semifinals. Fischer, a senior midfielder, was named to the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association all-state team for the second time earlier this week. Cantwell was tabbed the WPSCA Class 2A coach of the year. Junior defender Ryan Ellis, Fischer, Loveland, a senior midfielder, and senior forward Jack Ozimek were picked to the All-WPIAL team. Ozimek led the Eagles with 22 goals in the regular season, and Fischer added 17. The Eagles have posed 13 shutouts this season. … Quaker Valley, which won WPIAL and PIAA championships in 2021, can tie Springdale for the second most WPIAL boys soccer titles at 11. South Fayette’s 18 championships lead the league. The Quakers tied for the Section 4 title with Avonworth at 11-1. The Quakers outscored opponents 109-13 and average 5.4 goals per game. They have tallied 20 goals in the postseason so far. Jack Karwoski had two goals and two assists in the semifinals. Kiril Grin had 14 goals to lead the Quakers in the regular season, and Allan had 13. Allan, a senior midfielder, was joined on the All-WPIAL team by senior defender Matteo Castellini and senior forward Bennett Haas.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Quaker Valley, South Park