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Monday, October 30, 2023 | 11:01 PM
Twenty-four state boys and girls soccer teams will find out on Tuesday whether this Halloween will be a trick to end their WPIAL championship hopes or whether they will be awarded the regional finals this weekend.
Welcome to the Semifinals on Tuesday in the final round of the tournament.
In the past, there seems to have been a trick played up to the top half of the Class 4A boys soccer teams.
All of the No. 1 Seneca Valley and No. 4 Upper St. Clair upset in the regional finals, placing No. 5 vs. 8 in the fourth round on Tuesday.
Norwin (12-5-1), fresh off its upset of top-seeded Seneca Valley, now battles No. 5 Fox Chapel (11-4-2) at Hampton at 6 p.m.
The Foxes have allowed just three goals in their last nine games, including a 2-1 win over USC.
The Knights were 3-3-1 in their last seven postseason games before stunning Seneca Valley in scoring.
Another 4A semifinal follows Hampton at 8 p.m. when No. 2 North Allegheny takes on No. 3 Butler for the third time this season.
The Tigers beat their Section 1-4A rivals, 4-1, in their first meeting before the teams tied 2-2 in their second game.
Lions and Tigers and Bulldogs, oh my!
It’s girls night on the field with six semifinals in Class 3A, 2A and A.
A night marked by costumes, the most popular mascot in the final four is the Bulldogs.
Both Shady Side Academy and Freedom share the same mascot and both will be trying to reach the WPIAL finals in their respective divisions.
In 2A, No. 7 Shady Side Academy (14-3-1) will take on No. 6 Burrell (14-4) in a battle of runners-up.
The Bulldogs finished second in Division 4 while the Bucs finished second out of Division 2.
They will play the second game of a 2A doubleheader at Gateway at 8 p.m
In the first matchup, top seed and defending champion Avonworth (16-1-2) will face South Park (15-5) in a matchup between division champions.
The Antelopes won Division 1 while the Eagles took the Division 4 crown.
The other Bulldogs come from Freedom (16-3), the No. 2 seed in Class A. They will face No. 6 Springdale (13-3) in the second game of a Class A twinbill at North Allegheny.
The Bulldogs are the defending champions and have won two of their last five regional crowns. Dynamos last won 14 years ago in 2009.
At the top of the Group A bracket, top-ranked Riverview (17-2) will take on the Cinderella of the girls soccer postseason, No. 12 South Allegheny (13-7) at 6 p.m
While the Warriors were knocking off Aquinas Academy and Chartiers-Houston in the first two rounds by a combined score of 7-0, the Gladiators were dropping stunners on No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic, 2-1 in overtime in Round 1, and No. 4 Winchester Thurston in the quarterfinals, 1-0 in the penalty shootout.
The Class 3A semifinals will be played at Dormont Stadium.
The top-ranked Mars (16-0) has allowed just one goal this season and has shutout 14 straight against No. games, including all postseason games.
The Fightin’ Planets have scored seven playoff goals while the Lions have scored eight times.
The game is at 6 pm and will be followed at 8 pm by No.
In their two regular season meetings this fall, they each played a goal in September and the Tigers defeated the Spartans, 1-0 in overtime in their second game.
Final four-on-four volleyball
The WPIAL girls volleyball semifinals will be split as 4A and 3A will be played on Wednesday while 2A and A will take on the hardcourt Center on Tuesday.
In Class 2A, top-seeded and two-time defending champion Freeport will take on No. 5 Avonworth in North Allegheny at 6 p.m.
In the second game at 7:30 pm, it’s a battle of the champions of the division where No. 2 Beaver faces No. 3 Quaker Valley.
The Bobcats won Division 1 by three games while the Quakers won Division 4 by two games over the second-place Antelopes.
In a Class A doubleheader at Peters Township, top-seeded Serra Catholic will face No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic at 7:30 p.m.
In the first game at 6 p.m., defending champion Frazier will face a Bishop Canevin team that won district gold five years in a row from 2017-2021.