Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for Monday, Nov. 1, 2021

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, October 31, 2021 | 6:02 PM

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Monday’s WPIAL soccer playoff games

Boys

Class 3A

Semifinals

3-Franklin Regional (15-3) vs. 2-Hampton (17-1)

8 p.m. at Pete Antimarino Stadium, Gateway, Monroeville

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Plum (17-2-1)/1-West Allegheny (20-0) in WPIAL championship at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Highmark Stadium

Notes: With a frenzied comeback, Franklin Regional raced past No. 6 Kiski Area, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. Kiski Area took an early 2-0 lead but could not slow the Panthers’ high-powered offense. Colton Hudson had two goals and an assist, Anthony DiFalco had a goal and assisted another, and Joe Bayne, Dylan Tomb and Billy Christafano added goals in the win. Coach Thomas Louisy said the Panthers need to tighten some screws defensively to continue moving forward in the postseason. DiFalco has 30 goals this season and 117 in his career. Kiski Area finished second to Hampton in Section 4. The Panthers are seeking a fourth straight appearance in the WPIAL championship. These teams have not played since the 2018 WPIAL quarterfinals at Norwin, when Franklin Regional won 2-1 en route to its first of back-to-back championships. … Hampton has been one of the most sound defensive teams in the WPIAL this season, posting 12 shutouts in 18 games, including back-to-back clean sheets in the playoffs (Penn Hills, 8-0; Moon, 1-0). The Talbots’ only loss came against Class 4A playoff quarterfinalist North Allegheny. Hampton has three WPIAL titles, including back-to-back wins in 2010 and ’11. Senior forward Holden Pritts scored the lone goal, in the first half, in the win over Moon. Hampton has allowed just eight goals all season. The Talbots took eventual champion Mars to two overtimes in last year’s quarterfinals. They reached the semifinals two years ago but lost to West Allegheny, 1-0. The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs while the loser moves into a consolation game against the other semifinal loser to play for a state berth.

Girls

Class A

Semifinals

5-Freedom (14-4) vs. 1-Greensburg Central Catholic (14-1)

6 p.m. at West Mifflin Titan Stadium, West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of 3-Steel Valley (16-3)/2-Springdale (18-1) in WPIAL championship at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at Highmark Stadium

Notes: Freedom, which thought it was better than a No. 5 seed, has been itching for another shot at GCC, a team it has lost to three straight times, including a wild 8-6 final earlier this season. The Bulldogs also fell twice to GCC in the 2019 postseason, 4-3 in the WPIAL semifinals and 1-0 in the PIAA quarterfinals. Freedom won the WPIAL title in 2018, its first year dropping to Class A. Standout Renae Mohrbacher had a first-half hat trick in a 9-0 blowout of Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Mohrbacher, one of several scoring threats, has 165 career goals. Other players to watch include Julia Mohrbacher, Olivia Evans and Finley Paxton. The Bulldogs have scored 98 goals (5.4 per game). … Defending champion GCC needed overtime to overtake Riverside, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. Freshman Riley Kerr had the game-winner on an assist from Tatum Gretz. Sara Felder leads GCC with 31 goals, while Gretz, a Villanova commit and 100-plus career goal scorer, has 26. When GCC beat Freedom, 8-6, in the second game of the season, Felder had a hat trick, Gretz had two goals and two assists, and Kerr scored twice. The Centurions have 124 goals (8.3 gpg). Since 2010, GCC has reached the WPIAL semifinals 12 straight times and has six district titles and two PIAA championships. The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs while the loser moves into a consolation game against the other semifinal loser to play for a state berth.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Freedom, Greensburg C.C., Hampton