DUBOIS, Pa. (EYT) – The Punxsutawney girls’ volleyball team along with the Brockway boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, the DuBois Central Catholic girls’ soccer team and the DuBois’ girls’ soccer team begin their quests for PIAA titles Tuesday night at various locations around Western Pennsylvania.
(Photo of DCC’s Riley Meyers.)
In Class 3A girls’ volleyball, Punxsutawney coming off its 3-0 upset of DuBois in the District 9 title match Saturday will take on WPIAL champion West Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.
The Lady Chucks are led by Leah Miller, who had 11 kills and four blocks against DuBois, as well as Chelsea Snyder, Hanna Ebel, Midori Bridges, the setter, Mia Lindgenfelter and Grace Neal.
West Allegheny, which was the top seed in the WPIAL Tournament, knocked off Hampton, 3-1, to win the WPIAL title.
The Lady Indians were led in the WPIAL title match by Allison Koester (17 kills) and Morgan Ziolkowski (14 kills).
The winner will move into the quarterfinals Saturday against the winner of the match between District 10 champion Fort LeBoeuf and WPIAL third-place finisher Knoch.
A pair of local Class 1A girls’ soccer teams will be in action.
Staying close to home is District 9 champion Brockway, who will take on Vincentian Academy, the third-place finisher out of the WPIAL, at 7 p.m. at the turf field behind DuBois High School.
The Lady Rovers under first-year head coach Jessica Leadbetter won the school’s first D9 title with a 2-0 victory over DCC. Key players for Brockway include Leah Lindemuth, Chanell Britten, Adriana Azzato and Lauren Duttry as well as freshman keeper Mackenzie Overbeck.
Vincentian lost 5-0 to eventual runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL semifinals before beating Bentworth, 4-2, in the consolation match to earn a PIAA playoff berth.
The Royals are led by sophomore forward Elizabeth Gorman. Additional key players include keeper Ella Kozel, midfielders Sammy Potter and Rachel Phillips, defender Kailee Koryak and forward Lauren Donnelly.
The winner will play in the quarterfinals Saturday against the winner of the Greensburg Central Catholic/Windber match. Windber is the District 5 champion.
DCC, which entered the District 9 title match unbeaten and as the top seed, before being upset by Brockway, will now look to pull an upset of its own when it takes on WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy, who upset top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic, 1-0, in the title game.
DCC is strong throughout led by keeper Riley Assalone as well as defender Riley Meyers, a Clarion University commit. Also key for the Lady Cardinals are Caitlin Drahushak, Anne Latuska and Jordy Frank.
For Shady Side Eliza Cochran scored the championship goal on a 40-yard free kick.
The key offensive players for the Indians include Krystyna Rytel, who has scored eight postseason goals including four in an 8-0 first-round win over Bishop Canevin and has 27 on the season and Elizabeth Harper, who has added tyree postseason tallies and 28 on the year to go with 108 in her career.
The winner will take on the match between District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle and District 10 champion Wilmington in the quarterfinals Saturday.
In girls’ 3A soccer action, District 9 champion DuBois will face WPIAL champion Moon at 6 p.m. at Seneca Valley High School.
The Lady Beavers have been off for over a week since knocking off St. Marys, 3-0, in the D9 championship match Oct. 31 behind goals from Reese Sayers, Brianna Nelson and Jessica Smith.
Moon beat Montour, 1-0, to win the WPIAL title Friday. The Tigers are led by a pair of D1 recruits, junior Delaney Snyder, who is already committed to Miami (Ohio) and senior Emma Thomas, who is going to Dayton. Snyder assisted on the WPIAL championship winner, which came late in regulation off the foot off Emily Orr. Snyder has over 36 goals on the season, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The winner will move into the quarterfinals Saturday where it will face the winner of the match between District 3 champion Manheim Central and District one runner-up Penncrest.
Over in boys’ Class 1A soccer, District 9 runner-up Brockway takes on WPIAL champion Sewickley Academy at 7:30 p.m. at Fox Chapel High School.
The Rovers, who were beaten by Port Allegany in the D9 title match, are paced by Jarrett and Anthony Esposito, the sons of head coach Rich Esposito, as well as Carter Adams and Zane Puhala.
Sewickley Academy needed overtime to claim its seventh WPIAL title with a 1-0 win over Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic thanks to a golden goal from Ian Deihle in the 94th minute.
Addition key players for SA are Mike Napoleone, who had the lone goal in a quarterfinal win over Bentworth, and also scored one of the goals in a 3-1 victory over Freedom in the semifinals. Also scoring in that game for the Panthers were Alex Gordon and Tommy Lasorda.
The winner will move into the quarterfinals Saturday and face the winner of the match between District 5 champion Windber and District 6 champion Bishop McCort.
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