Warriors secure bye; Leopards, Jayhawks, Rams earn home games

The WPIAL released its football playoff brackets on Saturday, as 11 Westmoreland County teams earned spots in the postseason, headlined by conference champions Penn-Trafford and Belle Vernon Area. In Class 6A, Hempfield Area is in as the fourth seed and will play against top-seeded Pittsburgh Central Catholic at USS Community Field in Hazelwood at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. The Spartans finished conference play in a three-way tie for second place with a mark of 4-2. In 5A, PT earned the second seed and a bye to the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 13. The Warriors, who won the Big East Conference at 6-0, will host the winner of No. 7 Thomas Jefferson and No. 10 Moon Area. Greater Latrobe, which finished third in the Big East Conference at 4-2, garnered the ninth seed, and will play No. 8 Trinity at the Trinity Middle School on Friday at 7 p.m. Kiski Area made the cut as a wild card in Class 4A, as the Cavaliers received the No. 8 seed after finishing third in the Greater Allegheny Conference with a record of 2-2. As a result, KA will play at top-seeded South Fayette on Friday at 7 p.m. In Class 3A, Belle Vernon Area received the fourth seed, setting up a home matchup against No. 13 Shady Side Academy. The Leopards won the Interstate Conference with a mark of 6-0. Moreover, Mount Pleasant Area received the No. 14 seed with a fourth-place finish from the Interstate Conference with a record of 3-3. Thus, the Vikings will play at No. 3 Hopewell on Friday at 7 p.m. Burrell, which was a wild card as the fourth-place team from the Allegheny Seven Conference at 3-3, garnered the No. 15 seed and a contest against second seed Propel Braddock Hills at Penn Hills High School on Friday at 7 p.m. In Class 2A, Ligonier Valley was selected as the No. 7 seed, creating a home matchup at Weller Field against No. 10 Riverside on Friday at 7 p.m. The Rams finished in a three-way tie for second in the Allegheny Conference with a mark of 4-2. Lastly in Class 1A, Jeannette was seeded seventh, creating a home matchup at McKee Stadium against No. 10 Monessen. The Jayhawks took second in the Eastern Conference at 5-1, while the Greyhounds finished fourth from the Black Hills Conference at 3-3, receiving a wild card bid. Greensburg Central Catholic finished third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4-2. Consequently, the Centurions will play at No. 5 Laurel on Friday at 7 p.m. The WPIAL Championships in Class 6A and 4A will be held at Pine-Richland High School on Saturday, Nov. 21, while the Class 5A, 3A, 2A, and 1A title games will be contested at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Trio of Westmoreland volleyball teams advance

After the opening week of the WPIAL girls volleyball playoffs, three Westmoreland County teams remain. Penn-Trafford, Kiski Area, and Greensburg Salem all moved closer to their championship aspirations. In the 5A bracket, the No. 4 Warriors bested No. 13 South Fayette 3-1. Thus, PT will host No. 5 Upper St. Clair tonight at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals. On the other side of the bracket, seventh seeded Kiski Area swept No. 10 Plum, setting up a quarterfinals matchup at second seeded North Catholic tonight at 7 p.m. In Class 4A, second seed Greensburg Salem earned a bye in the first round, and then bested No. 7 Knoch in straight sets. Thus, the Golden Lions will battle No. 3 Hampton at North Allegheny High School on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Knights, Panthers headline All-WPIAL boys soccer list

The Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association unveiled its All-WPIAL selections for boys soccer last Wednesday, and nearly a dozen Westmoreland County standouts earned the distinction. In Class 4A, Norwin’s trio of senior midfielder Chase Molinaro, senior forward Ryan Schoemer, and junior forward Tanner Johnson made the cut. The top-seeded Knights advanced past Upper St. Clair 2-1 via penalty kicks on Thursday, and will play No. 5 North Allegheny on Tuesday at Chartiers Valley High School. In 3A, three Franklin Regional seniors – forward Andrew Acosta, midfielder Ian Johns, and defender Thomas Bridges – garnered the honors. The No. 2 Panthers bested Mars Area 3-0 on Thursday and will play against third seed West Allegheny tonight at Thomas Jefferson High School. Also in the classification, Penn-Trafford’s duo of senior forward/midfielder Noah Haslam and junior Dom Dayton received recognition. The Warriors were upset in the first round by Chartiers Valley 8-0. Lastly in Class 2A, Belle Vernon Area midfielder Chris Showman received the accolade. The No. 10 Leopards upset Deer Lakes 2-1 in overtime on Thursday, and will face third seed North Catholic on Tuesday at Peters Township Middle School. Also, Yough’s senior forward Isaac Pacacha and junior midfielder Bryce Watkins received the honors. For Burrell, senior midfielder Vincent Guerrini also was named All-WPIAL. The Buccaneers defeated the Cougars 4-0 in the preliminary round, and Burrell subsequently suffered a 6-0 defeat against North Catholic in the first round. Additionally, junior midfielder Tyke Snyder of Mount Pleasant Area was selected. His Vikings were upset by South Park 2-1 in the first round.

SHU men’s soccer wins PK thriller

Seton Hill University men’s soccer scored a thrilling win in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Sunday, as the Griffins outlasted West Chester University 3-2 following penalty kicks. After a scoreless first half, both teams tallied twice in the second frame, as James Aubrey opened the scoring for the Griffins in the 62nd minute, and Felix Knorn put SHU back in the lead in the 71st minute after the Golden Rams pulled even. However, a marker by West Chester’s Lukas Bentsen with less than 12 minutes left ultimately forced extra time. After both overtimes went scoreless, the Griffins left no doubt in penalty kicks, winning 4-1. Seton Hill scored on all four of its chances, courtesy of Knorn, Toby Dance, Paul Eder, and Tomas Gomes. Meanwhile, Griffins goalkeeper Jannik Reiss made two saves in the PKs. As a result, the Griffins advance to the PSAC semifinals, and will play at Gannon University on Wednesday at 1 p.m.