A-K Valley soccer playoff preview capsules for games of Oct. 27, 2022

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 | 5:33 PM

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Thursday’s games

Boys

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

12-West Mifflin (12-6-1) at 4-Deer Lakes (17-2)

6:30 p.m., Lancers Stadium, West Deer

Winner plays: Winner of 1-South Park (18-0)/8-McGuffey (13-5-1) in semifinals Monday (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Fynn McCracken, GK, West Mifflin; Nate Litrun, D, Deer Lakes

Corner kicks: Senior forward Nick Kosuda sent West Mifflin to the quarterfinals with a goal from nearly 30 yards in a first-round win over Belle Vernon on Monday. Kosuda, who has 16 goals this season, was selected to the Section 1 all-section team along with teammates Aiden Marks and keeper McCracken, a two-time honoree. The senior captain posted six shutouts this season. … Nate Litrun scored on an assist from Zane Spence to send the Lancers past Hopewell, 1-0, in the first round Monday. Litrun was an honorable mention all-section selection in Section 2. Deer Lakes’ Ryan Hanes was named the section’s player of the year, and Aaron Smith was named coach of the year. Lancers Nick Braun, Joey Kushon and Peyton Kushon joined Hanes on the all-section team. The Lancers won the 2020 WPIAL Class 2A championship.

Girls

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

11-Montour (10-5-2) at 3-Plum (15-1)

6:30 p.m. Thursday, at Mustangs Stadium, Plum Borough

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Oakland Catholic (9-6-1)/2-Moon (17-0) in semifinals Tuesday (site/time TBD)

Players To Watch: Ava Weleski, M, Plum; Riley Hall, M, Montour

Corner kicks: Plum and Montour played during the regular season with the Mustangs winning 2-0. … Plum is in the WPIAL playoffs for an Alle-Kiski Valley record 11th straight season. The Mustangs are 12-5 in the postseason from 2019 through Monday’s 9-0 first-round victory over No. 14 Kiski Area. Plum scored nine goals in a game for the third time this season. The Mustangs are averaging 4.9 goals a game through 16 games. Plum led Kiski Area 4-0 at halftime before adding five goals in the second half. Senior Pitt commit Kaitlyn Killinger tallied a hat trick and added a pair of assists, Wesleski scored a pair of goals and senior Cam Rogers, junior Alexis Rodda, and sophomore Mia Nardo also tallied goals. Senior Nina Kite assisted on a pair of goals. … Montour didn’t settle for being the underdog Monday and eliminated No. 6 Hampton, 2-1. Hall, a junior, and senior defender/midfielder Eliana Davin scored the goals in the victory. The Spartans have won four games in a row. Montour finished third in the Section 4 standings behind undefeated and No. 2 Moon (17-0) and No. 8 South Fayette (11-6-1). The Spartans took Moon to the limit Sept. 12 before losing 1-0. Montour won the Class 2A championship in 2014. Last year, as the No. 5 seed, the Spartans fell to Mars, 1-0, in the semifinals but rebounded to beat South Fayette, 2-0, in the consolation final to punch their tickets to states.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Montour, Plum, West Mifflin