Boys Soccer Class 4A First Round Preview
On Wednesday, the WPIAL released the 13-team bracket for the boys Class 4A soccer playoffs. Today, seeds 4 through 13 will face-off in the first round. The top three seeds will receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Those teams include No. 1 Seneca Valley, No. 2 Norwin, and No. 3 Upper St. Clair. All three teams were crowned as section champions at the end of the regular season.
In the first round, all higher seeds are hosting unless otherwise noted.
No. 4 Canon-McMillan Big Macs (14-2) vs. Fox Chapel Foxes (11-6-1), 8 p.m.
Canon-McMillan was a game behind Upper St. Clair for the Section 2 title and if it weren’t for five teams making the playoffs in the Section 1, the Big Macs would’ve received a first round bye. The Big Macs made an appearance in the Class 4A WPIAL semifinals last year but lost to North Allegheny and lost the consolation game to go to the state playoffs. The Big Macs enter the playoffs on a six-game win streak, with three of those wins coming of the shutout variety…Fox Chapel was the last team to make the playoffs, finishing in a tie with North Allegheny for the last playoff spot. The Foxes were waiting on pins and needles at the end of the season, but NA and Butler tying in the last regular season game allowed the Foxes to extend their season. Fox Chapel has made the playoffs every year dating all the way back until at least 2000. Fox Chapel has gone 6-1-1 down the stretch entering the playoffs. This is the first meeting of the year between these two teams.
No. 5 Pine-Richland Rams (10-4-3) vs. No. 12 Plum Mustangs (11-7), 8 p.m.
Pine-Richland was one of the five playoff teams from Section 1 that all recorded double-digit wins in the regular season. The Rams were a Class 4A semifinal team from a year ago before losing to Peters Township, 4-1. They won the consolation game to advance to the PIAA first round before losing to WPIAL champion North Allegheny, 5-0. The Rams have won three out of four games to end the regular season…Plum was the last team in Section 3 to qualify for the playoffs, narrowly finishing two points ahead of Penn-Trafford. The Mustangs are making their third straight playoff appearance, losing in the first round the prior two years. Plum has won four of five games entering the playoffs. This is the first meeting of the year between these two teams.
No. 6 Butler Golden Tornado (10-4-2) vs. No. 11 Latrobe Wildcats (11-6-1), 7 p.m.
Butler was in a win or tie scenario in its last game of the season in order to make the playoffs, and they were able to do the latter. The Golden Tornado tied North Allegheny to qualify for the playoffs, finishing in third place in Section 1. The Golden Tornado won their first round game a year ago against Penn-Trafford, 2-0. Butler finished the regular season going 3-1-1 in its final five games…Latrobe finished tied for third place in Section 3, but owned the tiebreaker against Plum to get the higher seed. The Wildcats are making their first playoff appearance since 2014. Latrobe finished the regular season 5-0-1 in its final six games. This is the first meeting of the year between these two teams.
No. 7 Peters Township Indians (10-7) vs. No. 10 North Allegheny Tigers (10-5-1), 8 p.m.
This game is easily the most anticipated matchup of the first round as it pits the two teams that faced off in the Class 4A WPIAL Championship Game at Highmark Stadium last year. North Allegheny won that contest, 2-1, but Peters Township returned the favor with a 3-1 win in the PIAA quarterfinals. The Indians advanced to the state semifinals last year. Both teams graduated double-digit numbers in seniors last year, putting them in this position. The Indians finished in third place in Section 2, going 5-2 in their final seven games of the regular season. The Tigers finished tied for fourth in Section 1, going 3-2-1 in their final six games of the regular season. This is the first meeting of the year between these two teams.
No. 8 Connellsville Falcons (14-4) vs. Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils (6-11-1), 8 p.m.
With a second place finish in Section 3, Connellsville earned the right to host its first boys soccer playoff game in school history. Last year, the Falcons took top-seed North Allegheny to overtime before losing 1-0 in the WPIAL first round. Connellsville won nine of their last 10 games entering the playoffs…Mt. Lebanon is the lone team in the field to enter the playoffs with a losing record, but they were able to secure the final playoff spot in Section 2. The Blue Devils also lost in the first round last year, falling to Franklin Regional, 2-1. Mt. Lebanon enters tonight’s game on a four-game losing streak. This is the first meeting of the year between these two teams.
For a complete look at the Class 4A bracket, click here.