Pittsburgh, Pa. –The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held its championship games for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Field Hockey Championships last Saturday at Cameron Stadium on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College. Championship streaks were extended in Class 2A and Class 3A, as Penn-Trafford and Pine-Richland won their respective classifications, while Shady Side Academy earned the title at Class 1A.
 
Pine-Richland is now a six-time WPIAL field hockey champion, having won all those trophies at Class 3A over the last seven seasons. The Rams moved out of a three-way tie for sixth place all-time in WPIAL field hockey championships, as it previously shared the spot with Avonworth and Fox Chapel at five apiece.
 
Penn-Trafford has now won eight consecutive WPIAL field hockey championships at Class 2A, continuing a streak dating back to 2016. The Warriors have nine titles overall – with their first coming at 3A in 2011 – and are tied for fourth all-time with The Ellis School.
 
Shady Side Academy is the newest member of the 20-title club in WPIAL field hockey, joining league-leader North Allegheny (22) in that department. The Bulldogs have won five of the eight Class 1A championships, and now own titles from 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023.
 
The champion in each classification has qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Field Hockey Championships, which begin on Tuesday, Nov. 7 with first-round games at home sites and conclude with the championship games on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.
 
CLASS 3A RECAP
Top-seeded Pine-Richland extended its streak of WPIAL titles to five, as the Rams defeated second-seeded Peters Township in overtime, 1-0, in the Class 3A championship game.
 
Junior midfielder Georgia Rottinghaus scored the game’s lone goal for Pine-Richland (19-0-0, 12-0-0 Section I) less than a minute into the extra frame.
 
The Rams reached the final with a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded North Allegheny, while Peters Township (13-5-2, 8-2-2 Section I) defeated third-seeded Mt. Lebanon, 1-0.
 
Pine-Richland hosts District III third-place Penn Manor to begin the PIAA Championships.
 
CLASS 2A RECAP
Top-seeded Penn-Trafford continued its dominance of WPIAL Class 2A field hockey, defeating second-seeded Fox Chapel, 4-0, in the championship game.
 
Penn-Trafford (18-2-0, 8-0-0 Section I) received a pair of braces to come away with the win – two goals from senior midfielder Ava Hershberger and two from sophomore Liz Welsh.
 
The Warriors were 2-0 winners against fourth-seeded Greater Latrobe in the semifinals, while Fox Chapel (12-7-0, 6-2-0 Section I) topped third-seeded Upper St. Clair, 3-0.
 
Penn-Trafford begins the PIAA Championships by hosting District III fourth-place Manheim Central.
 
CLASS 1A RECAP
The Class 1A championship game needed two overtimes, but top-seeded Shady Side Academy outlasted second-seeded Aquinas Academy, 3-2, to claim the gold.
 
Shady Side Academy (10-5-0, 5-1-0 Section I) and Aquinas Academy (7-4-1, 5-1-0 Section I) shared the section title, with the former claiming the top seed thanks to goal differential. It was the Crusaders who would strike first however, as senior forward Alexa Queen scored in the first quarter to make it 1-0.
 
Senior forward Alexa Karet set up a pair of Bulldog goals over the second and third frames to make it 2-1, with classmates Marley Grandizio and Megan McSorely being on the receiving end of those. With six seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore midfielder Elliot Keverline found the back of the net to force extra time.
 
Karet scored the game-winner with a minute remaining in the second overtime, giving Shady Side Academy its 20th WPIAL field hockey title.
 
The Bulldogs defeated fourth-seeded The Ellis School, 8-0, in the semifinals, while Aquinas Academy was a 1-0 victor against third-seeded Winchester Thurston.
 
Shady Side Academy welcomes District III fourth-place Boiling Springs for a PIAA Championships first-round game.

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