Oct 22, 2023 4 min read

High school soccer

Charleroi defended its top seed in Class A with a 1-0 victory over Beaver County Christian on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs at Myron Pottios Stadium.

The Cougars (17-0-0) had their chances throughout the match but couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net until Dylan Klinger scored late in the second half. Landon Barcus assisted on the tally.

Nate Mazon made four saves for the clean sheet.

Charleroi will play Eden Christian (13-3-2) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.

n Bentworth downed Our Lady of Sacred Heart, 2-1, in overtime Saturday afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL Class A boys soccer playoffs at South Fayette.

The Bearcats’ John Scott assisted the game winner in overtime. Ryan Moessner had the assist.

Following a scoreless first half, Andrew Vipperman opened the scoring for Bentworth (15-2-0). Scott added the assist.

The Bearcats play Sewickley Academy (13-2-1) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.

n Mike Plasko recorded a hat trick plus-one in South Fayette’s 4-0 victory over Latrobe on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer playoffs at South Fayette.

Plasko scored the only goal the Lions (10-4-3) would need in the 12th minute of the first half as he headed in a corner kick that was sent in by teammate Adam Thompson.

Plasko added his second tally in the 18th minute and his third in the 27th minute. Ryan Bradley’s cross set-up Plasko’s third goal. Plasko’s fourth tally came in the second half.

South Fayette plays top-seeded Plum (18-1-0) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. The site and time have yet to be determined.

n Trinity gave second-seeded Hampton all it could handle but suffered a 1-0 overtime setback on Saturday in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer playoffs at Hampton.

Ryan Torboli made several top-notch saves to keep the Hillers (10-6-1) in the match.

n In other action WPIAL boys playoff action on Saturday, Ringgold was defeated by Moon, 4-0, in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs and Seton-LaSalle blanked Beth-Center, 6-0, in the first round of the Class A tournament.

High school football

Belle Vernon scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and cruised to a 49-7 victory at Southmoreland on Friday in Class 3A Interstate Conference football play.

The win sets up Belle Vernon (4-0, 7-1) to host Elizabeth Forward (4-0, 9-0) in the regular-season finale that will determine the conference champion.

Jake Gedekoh got the Leopards started with runs of 16 and 1 yard for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter after Preston Rathway made two of his seven PATs.

Quinton Martin scored on a 62-yard run and Tanner Moody’s 29-yard interception return for a touchdown increased Belle Vernon’s halftime advantage to 28-0.

Curtis Wade got into the action for the visitors on a 26-yard run for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead.

Kole Doppelheuer closed the scoring for the Leopards on runs of 35 and 21 yards.

High school cross country

Peters Township girls cross country placed second in the Tri-State Invitational on Thursday at White Oak Park.

Sydney Shock led the way for Peters Township with a time of 18:58.70. Grace Senneway was second for her team in 19:20 and Meagan McKenna was the third runner to cross the finish line for PT in 19:23.56.

Reagan Fisher (20:07.33) and Alaina Abbato (20:45.32) rounded out the top five for Peters Township.