Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) announced its playoff brackets in four classifications for the 2023 WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Soccer Championships, with the championship games to be held at Highmark Stadium on dates to be announced.
A total of 56 teams from the 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A classifications qualified for the WPIAL Boys’ Soccer Championships. The first round begins on Saturday, Oct. 21 with Class 1A and Class 3A, followed by Monday, Oct. 23 with Class 2A, and Saturday, Oct. 28 for Class 4A. Teams qualify for the postseason by finishing inside the top four of their respective sections following the regular season.
Seneca Valley (13-0-3, 11-0-3) and Upper St. Clair (14-1-2, 11-1-2) respectively captured Section I and Section II titles in Class 4A. In Class 3A, Hampton (13-2-1, 11-0-1) won Section I, Moon (14-3-1, 12-1-1) took home Section II, Bethel Park (15-1-1, 13-0-1) collected the Section III plaque, and Plum (17-1-0, 14-0-0) earned the Section IV plaque.
South Park (18-0-0, 14-0-0) was an undefeated Section I champion in Class 2A, while Deer Lakes (14-2-0) garnered the Section II crown. Belle Vernon (14-2-0, 13-1-0) earned Section III plaudits, and Avonworth (14-2-1, 11-1-0) and Quaker Valley (14-3-0, 11-1-0) were co-champions of Section IV. In Class 1A, Sewickley Academy (12-1-1, 10-1-1) and Charleroi (16-0-0, 10-0-0) were sole champions of Section I and Section II, respectively, while there were shared titles in Section III between Springdale (13-3-0, 10-2-0) and Burrell (12-3-0, 10-2-0), and in Section IV with Seton LaSalle (12-2-1, 9-1-0) and Serra Catholic (12-4-0, 9-1-0).
The top two teams in Class 4A, and the top three teams in Class 1A, Class 2A, and Class 3A qualify for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Soccer Championships, which will begin with first round matches on Tuesday, Nov. 7 and conclude at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg on Nov. 17-18.
Three reigning WPIAL champions return to defend their crowns. In Class 3A, Moon was a 3-0 winner over Ambridge, Deer Lakes defeated Beaver in overtime, 1-0, in Class 2A, and Winchester Thurston went back-to-back in Class 1A with a 3-2 triumph over Charleroi. Pine-Richland was last year’s Class 4A winner, thanks to a 1-0 victory over Seneca Valley.
CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Start Date: Saturday, Oct. 28
Championship Date & Location: TBA at Highmark Stadium
Amount of Qualifiers: 8
Top Four Seeds: #1 Seneca Valley (13-0-3, 11-0-3), #2 North Allegheny (13-1-3, 10-1-3), #3 Butler (13-2-3, 10-2-2), #4 Upper St. Clair (14-1-2, 11-1-2)
Qualifying Teams: Butler, Canon-McMillan, Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, Norwin, Peters Township, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair
2022 Final: Pine-Richland 1, Seneca Valley 0
CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Start Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Championship Date & Location: TBA at Highmark Stadium
Amount of Qualifiers: 16
Top Four Seeds: #1 Plum (17-1-0, 14-0-0), #2 Hampton (13-2-1, 11-0-1), #3 Moon (14-3-1, 12-1-1), #4 Bethel Park (15-1-1, 13-0-1)
Qualifying Teams: Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Greater Latrobe, Hampton, Indiana, Mars, Moon, Montour, North Catholic, Plum, Ringgold, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity
2022 Final: Moon 3, Ambridge 0
CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Start Date: Monday, Oct. 23
Championship Date & Location: TBA at Highmark Stadium
Amount of Qualifiers: 16
Top Four Seeds: #1 South Park (18-0-0, 14-0-0), #2 Quaker Valley (14-3-0, 11-1-0), #3 Deer Lakes (14-2-0, 13-1-0), #4 Avonworth (14-2-1, 11-1-0)
Qualifying Teams: Avonworth, Beaver, Belle Vernon, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Elizabeth Forward, Hopewell, Jeannette, Keystone Oaks, Knoch, McGuffey, Mt. Pleasant, Quaker Valley, Shady Side Academy, South Park, Yough
2022 Final: Deer Lakes 1, Beaver 0 (OT)
CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Start Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Championship Date & Location: TBA at Highmark Stadium
Amount of Qualifiers: 16
Top Four Seeds: #1 Charleroi (16-0-0, 10-0-0), #2 Sewickley Academy (12-2-1, 10-1-1), #3 Burrell (12-3-0, 10-2-0), #4 Seton LaSalle (12-2-1, 9-1-0)
Qualifying Teams: Beaver County Christian, Bethlehem-Center, Bentworth, Bishop Canevin, Burrell, Carlynton, Charleroi, Eden Christian Academy, Greensburg Central Catholic, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Serra Catholic, Seton LaSalle, Sewickley Academy, Springdale, Trinity Christian, Winchester Thurston
2022 Final: Winchester Thurston 3, Charleroi 2
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