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Seton-La Salle, South Fayette, Canon-Mac advance in boys’ soccer

By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read
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Luke Maher (No. 10) from Canon-McMillan drives to the goal during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ playoff action against Bethel Park. He was credited with the go-ahead goal in the Big Macs’ 2-1 victory over the Hawks.

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Jonah Moore (No. 5) of Canon-McMillan battles David Conely (No. 17) from Bethel Park for the soccer ball during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ playoff action. After Conely scored the first goal in the first half, Moore had the equalizer before Luke Maher scored the go-ahead goal with 30:36 to play in the game.

When it came to the WPIAL boys’ soccer playoffs, it paid to be a section champion as three of those local winners advanced to the quarterfinals set for Oct. 29 at sites and times to be determined.

In Class A, Seton-La Salle edged Aquinas Academy, 2-1, and advanced to face Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the Elite Eight round of action at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at West Allegheny.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 14-5-0 overall. They were the Section 3-A champions with a 10-2 record. They also were 2-1 winners over the Chargers during the regular season.

“Since we played OLSH earlier in the season, we know them fairly well,” said SLS head coach Ryan Kelly. “Hopefully that bodes well for us Thursday.”

What boded well for the Rebels in the first round of play was persistence on offense and stiffness on defense.

Sixteen minutes into the game, Chris Stack, off an assist from Leo Wilson, lifted the Rebels into the lead, 1-0. At the 24-minute mark, Aquinas scored an own goal to knot the contest. However, with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Brandon Benedetti scored the game-winning goal. Ryan Kendrick assisted.

“We didn’t finish enough chances to put the game away early,” explained Kelly, “but our defense was strong when it needed to be in order to keep us in the game. “Our better players stepped up and made sure we advanced to the quarterfinals,” he added.

SLS’s rival, Bishop Canevin also advanced in the Class A tournament. The Crusaders edged Serra, 2-1, at Ringgold. With the win, they improved to 10-6-1 overall. They were runners-up to SLS in Section 3A with an 8-3-1 record.

Lions blank SSA

In Class AA, South Fayette defeated Shady Side Academy, 3-0. Jordan Smith, Jeremy Zura and Zach Lutz registered the goals for the Lions, who advanced to play McGuffey, a 2-1 upset winner against No. 5 Beaver, in the quarterfinals. Smith notched two assists.

Experience proved the difference for the Lions, who are seeded No. 4 in the tournament after claiming the Section 5 title with an 11-1 slate. South Fayette is 15-3-0 overall.

The Lions, who boast Mitch Ford as the section Player of the Year, have been WPIAL semifinalists for the past three seasons. They were runners-up last fall and were one-goal away from playing in the state championship, falling in overtime in the PIAA semifinals.

“This is our 10th playoff win in the last three years,” South Fayette head coach Rob Eldridge said. “There’s no substitute for experience. Some of our younger classes are engaged in the process and are seeing that we don’t get to these games without hard work 10 months out of the year.”

In Class AAA, Canon-McMillan was the only area club to advance. The Big Macs edged Bethel Park, 2-1, while their Section 5 rivals, Upper St. Clair and Peters Township, were eliminated in the first round. The Panthers dropped a 1-0 decision to Central Catholic and the Indians succumbed to Section 4 champion, Taylor Allderdice in overtime, 2-1.

The Big Macs, who were the Section 5 champions with an 8-2 mark, used goals by Luke Maher and Jonah Moore to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit to spar the victory over the Hawks, who finished 8-8 overall.

“Our goals are usually pretty clean, but it’s playoff soccer,” explained C-M skipper Larry Fingers. “You take whatever goes in. We’ll take the 2-1 win no matter how we get it.”

With 30:36 to play, Maher’s gamewinner deflected off a BP player and fell into the net. Moore scored the equalizer in the fourth minute of the second half.

With 31:37 to play in the first half, David Conely lifted the Hawks into the lead, 1-0.

“The last thing we wanted to do was concede first because they’re very good and very tenacious,” said Fingers. “We felt we’d have a handful if we conceded first. We had to chase the game.”

Now, however, the Big Macs are chasing Penn-Trafford (15-2-1) for a berth in the WPIAL semifinals. The Warriors, who were Section 1 champions with a 10-1-1 record, beat North Hills, 1-0.

Meanwhile, Peters Township and USC wrapped up their seasons at 11-5-2 and 10-7-1 overall respectively. Both were WPIAL finalists last year with the Indians winning the title and going on to capture a PIAA championship.

Taylor Allderdice thwarted the Indians, 2-1, in overtime at Cupples Stadium. Noah Swaby scored the game-winning goal while Mohammed Traurer had the other tally for the Dragons, who improved to 12-2-3. Bennett Faloni had the goal for the Indians.

USC ended its season with a 1-0 loss to Central Catholic. With the loss, the Panthers finished 10-7-1 overall. They were runners-up to Canon-McMillan in Section 5.

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