Once again, it’s Shady Side vs. Quaker Valley
Like many great battles, the Quaker Valley and Shady Side Academy boys soccer teams will engage in a trilogy. The WPIAL Class 2A rubber match between squads that have traded title match wins the past two years begins at 1:15 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium in Station Square.
Quaker Valley took a 2-1 decision in 2016 before the Indians returned the favor last year with a 3-2 triumph. Another thriller is certainly a possibility.
“We’re expecting a very tight scoreline,” said Quaker Valley coach Andrew Marshall. “We know that they’re going to be organized defensively. We know they’re not going to make many mistakes and that’s got to be a goal of ours.”
After dropping its first three matches of the season, Quaker Valley has marched to the title game with 18 consecutive victories.
Shady Side Academy, on the other hand, does not have as sparkling a record. The Indians sit at 11-6-1. That being said, the Indians went 14-8-1 last year and that did not stop them from getting clutch wins in big games. The Indians know how to pull together at the right time.
“We’ve had some injuries on defense this year,” said Shady Side Academy coach Eddie Ellsworth. “We were able to fill those gaps. We have an allhands-on-deck mentality. Each kid knows they have to hold onto the rope.”
The Quakers are led by Dom Reiter with 19 goals and Will Andrews with 15. Class 2A was stacked with talented teams this year, creating a gamut to run through to the title match. Quaker Valley played in the same section as North Catholic, last season’s 1A champion that moved up, and also handed Charleroi its first loss of the season in the semifinals.
“I think that we have had a variety of different tests,” said Marshall. “We’ve had to adapt in different ways. I believe it’s made us a well-rounded group. These players are phenomenal at reading the game. That’s something that has been our strength this year hopefully that something we can continue.”
Marshall added that his roster of a whopping 41 players has paid dividends in putting the best mixture of players on the field.
“This is the most talented and deepest group I’ve seen,” said Marshall. “Every day in training, that’s a group of players that could compete in the WPIAL. An unspoken strength of ours is the guys that don’t get on the field.”
Walter Navid, whose bicycle kick sealed the WPIAL title last year, is playing well again for Shady Side Academy. He has a team-best 20 goals for Shady Side Academy. Max Farner has another 17. Farner was the first player this postseason to score on Deer Lakes and its standout goalie Jesse Greyshock when the Indians escaped with a 1-0 victory in the semifinals.
Despite the familiarity of these teams in previous years, Marshall stressed that every season is unique with players rolling in and out of the program as the years go by. Hoisting the hardware at the end of the game is more of a driving force than a rivalry for the players.
“Who doesn’t want to win a trophy?” said Marshall. “That’s the incentive right there.”
Class 4A
Both Norwin and Seneca Valley have plenty of soccer titles to their names, but none of those have come from the boys team. Each of the girls programs has four titles and before long a boys squad will add to the school trophy case after they meet at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
Carter Breen of Norwin (17-21) was the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL in the regular season with 32 goals. He has 34 on the season after putting in a rebound in the semifinals to help the Knights to a 2-1 victory against Upper St. Clair.
While Norwin leans on a star player, the Raiders (16-2-1) have a more balanced scoring attack and a solid midfield and defense. Thanks to goalie WI ll Gallagher, the Raiders have nine shutouts this season.