File photo courtesy Ed Thompson
WPIAL (PIAA District 7) soccer playoffs resume Wednesday with Boys Class 1A/3A teams in action.
Here’s our thread for Class 1A, as four matches will be played starting at 6 p.m. Be sure to follow this thread for updates / scores to be posted through the evening.
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WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 1A Quarterfinal Round Schedule
6 p.m.
Springdale vs Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Moon
Greensburg Central Catholic vs Beaver County Christian at Peters Township MS
6:30 p.m.
Eden Christian vs Winchester Thurston at Penn Hills
8 p.m.
Trinity Christian vs Bentworth at Peters Township MS
Match Day Notes (Boys Class 1A)
The big question heading into the Boys Class 1A tournament this year was — can anyone knock off Bentworth?
The Bearcats (16-0, 8-0 in section) steamrolled through the regular season, looking for back-to-back WPIAL titles with a roster that’s filled with postseason experience from last year, when they defeated fellow Mon Valley/Washington County side, Charleroi, in the WPIAL Final and also made it to the PIAA Semifinal Round. Among the upperclassman leading the way for Bentworth include brothers Adam Moessner and Ryan Moessner along with Andrew Vipperman. The Bearcats have outscored their opponents by a whopping 1117-4 margin this season.
Thus far, they’ve started off the playoffs on Saturday without much of a challenge, beating California, 11-0. Now, the road should start to get tougher, as they’ll face a Trinity Christian side that came out on the front foot, then didn’t have much difficulty putting away Beth-Center, 3-0, in their first round win, scoring scored twice within the first five minutes of the match.
Meanwhile, in the other matches, Springdale will take on Dynamos edged Sewickley Academy in the first round, 2-1, while the Chargers jolted Freedom in overtime, 1-0.
Another section champion is No. 4 Beaver County Christian (14-3), who managed to shut down Riverview, 2-0 on Saturday, will now take on upset minded No. 12 Greensburg Central Catholic, as the Centurions upset No. 5 Aquinas Academy, 2-1, on the strength of Jackson Vacanti’s golden goal in extra time.
No. 2 Winchester Thurston (13-2-1) Head Coach Adam Brownold told PSN in August, his team will go “where ever the bus will take us”. Well, it looks like Winchester Thurston will be hoping to make it to Highmark Stadium by way of Eastern suburbs, as they defeated Serra Catholic, 9-0, at UPMC’s Graham Field, and now will host Eden Christian at Penn Hills Middle School, a soccer-specific pitch that should be used for more WPIAL playoff matches. Winchester Thurston have not lost since their early season foray playing against teams from higher classifications, closing out the season with back-to-back shutout wins against their closest competitors in section, Trinity Christian and Springdale to firmly secure another Section title. With a team that includes upperclassmen who were part of back-to-back WPIAL title teams in 2021 and 2022, the Bears are led by Riverhounds Academy product Michael Miller, who you usually can’t miss on the field, as one of the tallest players in the WPIAL, who can be a dangerous presence in air on set pieces and when covering ground from box-to-box, has shown his versatility playing in high school competition both as a midfielder and defender. Eden Christian have knocked on the door in recent years, coming very close to the WPIAL Final in 2021, only to be turned away in dramatic fashion by Greensburg Central Catholic. The Warriors (9-6-2) needed to go to extra time, to defeat Carlynton, 2-1, in a hard-fought battle on Saturday.
Class 1A Boys Leading Scorers
Carlos Duran, Brentwood — 24
Luke Kost, Trinity Christian — 24
Adam Moessner, Bentworth — 24
Parker Amos, Beth-Center — 22
Nekoda Bundy, Beth-Center — 22
Luke Schellhase, Trinity Christian — 21
Jackson Vacanti, Greensburg C.C. — 21
Michael Miller, Winchester Thurston — 20
Marco Anselmino, Aquinas Academy — 15
Mateo Carrasco, Carlynton — 15
Nathan Dubas, Springdale — 15
Nick Fessler, Freedom — 14
Chris O’Toole, Riverview — 14
Grant Brewer, Greensburg C.C. — 13
Brayden Graham, Serra Catholic — 13
Luca Peluso, Sewickley Academy — 11
Zach Stephens, Beaver County Christian — 11
Finn Wentz, Sewickley Academy — 11
Malik White, Winchester Thurston — 11
Patrick Wylly, Springdale — 11
Brendan Cole, Waynesburg — 10
Colton Gent, Springdale — 10
Gabe Gess, Derry — 10
Robert McMahan, Beaver County Christian — 10
Evan Mingle, Brentwood — 10
Boys Class 1A Bracket
First Round Results (10/19/2024)
FINAL: Springdale 2, Sewickley Academy 1
FINAL: Winchester Thurston 9, Serra Catholic 0
FINAL: Beaver County Christian 2, Riverview 0
FINAL: Bentworth 11, California 0
FINAL: Trinity Christian 3, Bethlehem-Center 0
FINAL: Greensburg Central Catholic 2, Aquinas Academy 0 ET (2)
FINAL: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 1, Freedom 0 ET
FINAL: Carlynton vs Eden Christian Academy 2, Carlynton 1 ET
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