Oct 16, 2019 4 min read

Two of the most consistent high school girls soccer programs were near the top when the WPIAL released the playoff brackets Wednesday afternoon.

Peters Township and Bentworth, both runners-up last year, will try to return to Highmark Stadium for a different result this year as No. 2 seeds.

The Indians, who lost to Seneca Valley in last year’s WPIAL Class 4A Championship, finished the regular season 12-1-1 to share the Section 2 title with Moon. Peters Township is 16-1-1 overall and will have to wait until next Thursday, after earning a first-round bye, to play the winner of the Butler-Connellsville match at a site and time to be determined.

Bentworth, which fell to Freedom in the WPIAL Class A Championship in 2018, finished its second consecutive season with a perfect Section 2-A record (12-0). The only blemish on the Bearcats 16-1 overall record is a 5-3 loss to Class 2A Waynesburg, also a playoff team.

Bentworth opens against No. 15 Mohawk (7-7, 7-8) at 6:15 p.m., Monday at Upper St. Clair.

The two teams seeking redemption in the title games join nine other local girls soccer teams to qualify for the playoffs. In Class 4A, Canon-McMillan returns to the playoffs after missing the postseason last year. In Class 3A, Belle Vernon is the fifth seed after going undefeated in Class 3A Section 2 for the second straight year. Ringgold, South Fayette and Trinity, which hosts Laurel Highlands in a preliminary-round match at 8 p.m., tonight at Hiller Field, also qualified. The lone team in Class 2A is ninth-seeded Waynesburg. Joining Bentworth in Class A are section foes McGuffey, Chartiers-Houston and Beth-Center. The Bulldogs play the first play-in match at Hiller Field tonight against Ellis School. First touch is at 6 p.m.

First-round matches are scheduled for Monday night.

All nine boys teams to qualify, outside of Canon-McMillan, will begin their postseason Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Big Macs were the only Class 4A team not to win their section but earn a first-round bye after finishing 9-2-1 in Section 2 and 12-3-1 overall.

Winners of six of its last seven matches, Canon-McMillan will be trying to get over a semifinal-round hurdle that has tripped it up over the last two seasons. The Big Macs lost 3-2 to Seneca Valley in last year’s semifinals and were shut out by North Allegheny, 9-0, in 2017.

C-M will open its playoffs in the quarterfinals against the winner of Fox Chapel-Woodland Hills next Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

One-loss Belle Vernon also is the No. 4 seed but that doesn’t come with a first-round bye in Class 3A. The Leopards, who are 11-1 in section and 16-1 overall, will try to win their sixth straight match Saturday against 13th-seeded Indiana.

Joining Belle Vernon in Class 3A is fifth-seeded South Fayette, which could play the Leopards in the quarterfinals. Trinity ended its regular season on a high note by winning eight of its last nine matches by a combined score of 59-6. The Hillers, the No. 8 seed, will host ninth-seeded Kiski. Ringgold also is in the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season. In Class 2A, 13th-seeded Waynesburg and No. 16 Beth-Center will each be considered underdogs against No. 4 Shady Side Academy and top-seeded Quaker Valley, respectively. Charleroi, the fifth seed, will try to bounce back from its only loss of the regular season in the finale with a first-round match against Burrell. The lone team in Class A is Chartiers-Houston, which qualified for the playoffs by snapping a four-match winless streak with five consecutive victories to end the regular season.

For a complete list of matches, please see the Scoreboard section on Page C2.