After the top-seeded Moon girls soccer team (17-0-1) moved up to 35th in the nation in the ESPN Rise weekly rankings, the Tigers extended their shutout streak to eight games and rolled to a 4-0 victory over visiting Franklin Regional in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
Moon scored two early first half goals on corner kicks as senior midfielder Caroline Keefer converted on a header that beat Franklin Regional goalkeeper Katie Katilius under the crossbar at 3:53 and Antonia Grese slammed home another at 14:21. Both goals were set up on corner kicks from junior Jordan Belsky. The Tigers extended the lead to 3-0 at 22:17 when junior Alexis Thomas converted on a penalty kick and Grese closed it out on her second goal with 11:13 remaining in the game.
Trailing by one early in the first half, Franklin Regional had one outstanding chance to end Moon's shutout streak when the ball came to junior Allie Bonnell, who was wide open at the right corner of the net. But as Tigers goalkeeper Mara Hricik moved to cover the post, Bonnell fired a shot wide of the net and the streak remained intact.
Moon has only allowed one goal in 18 games this season. The Tigers will play Norwin in the quarterfinals on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
Springdale 5, Quigley 0 -- Brittany Loveland and Julie Bentley each scored two goals and Cayley Perrett added the fifth in a Class AA first-round victory.against visiting Quigley. Springdale (15-1-2) advances to meet Sewickley Academy (15-3-1) in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday at Mars.
City League
Allderdice 6, Brashear 0 - - Aileen Lerch and Eliza Pugh each scored two goals and Katie Gross and Amelia Fisher added one each to lead Allderdice to a semifinal victory in the girls soccer playoffs at Cupples Stadium. Goalkeeper Lachae Irish-Blakeman made five saves. Allderdice, which has not lost to a City League opponent this season, improved to 12-3-2.
Schenley 3, Langley 0 -- Jonquil Schaller scored twice and Leeza Marie Tokarski once to lead Schenley (10-4-4) into the championship game against Allderdice at 5 p.m. Nov. 4 at Cupples.
Boys soccer
Peters Township 3, Penn-Trafford 0 -- Peters Township (14-2-1) extended its winning streak to six in a row and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class AAA playoffs where it will meet Bethel Park.
Southmoreland 2, Keystone Oaks 0 -- To say that the Southmoreland boys soccer team was ready to compete from the opening whistle of Tuesday's WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff game against Keystone Oaks would be a dramatic understatement.
The Scotties needed 19 seconds to get the opening goal by Andrew Sikora, and another four minutes for an insurance goal by Ryan Bears on their way to a 2-0 victory at Mt. Lebanon High School.
"It was great, just phenomenal," Southmoreland coach Marvin Stoner said.
With the victory, the Scotties move on to the quarterfinals Saturday against top-seeded Mars at a time and location to be determined.
The victory was Southmoreland's third in a row and extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-1).
Southmoreland has compiled an overall record of 14-3-1, with one of those losses a 4-0 defeat in the season opener against Mars.
But despite losing early in the season to their upcoming playoff opponent, Stoner and the Scotties are confident heading into Saturday's game.
"We're a changed team from when we played them before," Stoner said, enthusiastically. "I think we have a great chance."
Keystone Oaks managed five shots on goal, but Southmoreland keeper Jeremy Hixson was in perfect position on each one. His toughest save came late in the first half when he was able to get his fingers on a high shot and deflect it over the goal. Then in the second half, he thwarted a direct kick by Keystone Oaks senior midfielder Anthony Virgara.
It was the third consecutive shutout for Hixson and the fifth for Southmoreland.
The victory was Southmoreland's third in a row and extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-1). Overall, Southmoreland is 14-3-1 and will play top-seeded Mars Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Southmoreland started the season 3-3, including a 4-0 loss to Mars in the season opener. Despite that score, Southmoreland coach Marvin Stoner remains optimistic.
"We're a changed team from when we played them before," Stoner said, enthusiastically. "I think we have a great chance."
Stoner was brimming with confidence, especially after seeing his team burst out to an early lead, then shut down the Keystone Oaks attack.
"We wanted to be good right from the start," Stoner said. "We wanted to come out hard and play strong."
