No surprise Shady Side favored in 3A
Shady Side Academy isn’t about to guarantee that it will be the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL Class 3A girls lacrosse tournament.
Then again, seeing the Bulldogs atop the bracket when they’re released certainly wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
“I think that we’re in a good spot,” Shady Side Academy coach Katy Phillips said. “I’m pretty confident that we’ll be in the top part of the bracket going into the playoffs.”
It would be a stretch to pick anyone else.
Shady Side Academy has won the past two contested titles — in 2019 and 2021 — and has not lost a game to a WPIAL team this season. The Bulldogs defeated perhaps their toughest challenger, Mt. Lebanon, 8-6, on April 9, but they are not about to relax with a regular-season win against the Blue Devils on their resume.
“We got to look at Mt. Lebanon early and that’s great, but I’m confident they continued to rework their team and they’re going to be a formidable opponent,” Phillips said. “I think there are a lot of other teams, Upper St. Clair, PineRichland, that are going to have different games than they did when we faced them in the early part of the season.”
Shady Side Academy has a formidable lineup with Florida recruit Jenny Woodings leading the charge along with senior attacker Cecelia Messner who is heading to Columbia and midfielder Dylan Green, a Wesleyan signee. But having three Division I players on the field can only get a team so far.
Even with the No. 1 seed likely headed to the campus on Fox Chapel Road, Shady Side Academy is not without
Lacrosse notebook
challengers.
Mt. Lebanon only has one loss this season and did itself a favor prepping for the postseason with victories last week against Mars and Pine-Richland. The Blue Devils also have Division I talent at both ends of the field with American University recruit Reagan Murdoch, who has already won a WPIAL Class 6A title this season with the basketball team, leading the offense and future Xavier Musketeer Sydney Saba on defense.
Upper St. Clair only came into the week with one loss itself, to Mt. Lebanon, as the team adjusted to new coach Emily Zobian. The Panthers also have Southern California recruit Haley Newton for one last run to close out her high school career with a WPIAL title.
Class 2A girls
Last season, Mars pulled off an upset of a veteran Hampton team to even make it into the WPIAL Class 2A finals. But when the Planets got there, they made the most of the opportunity with a 10-3 win against top-seeded Blackhawk to win their first title.
Even with a coaching change, with Abby Zorrilla taking over the reins from Monica Ewansik, Mars is still a formidable opponent heading into the postseason. And this time, they have extra motivation.
Mars only suffered one loss to a Class 2A team this season, but that one defeat came in a 12-11 defeat in a championship rematch against Blackhawk. There is every indication that the two teams will be the top seeds when the brackets are announced.
Blackhawk will rely on sophomore Mia Piocquidio to carry the team offensively in the tournament.
Class 3A boys
North Allegheny may have pulled off a couple of upsets to win the WPIAL Class 3A title last year, but the Tigers aren’t about to just give in and be satisfied as a one-and-done.
North Allegheny has only lost one game against a WPIAL opponent, a 9-8 game against Mt. Lebanon on April 1. Since that time the Tigers, led by Seton Hill recruit Cole Bordo, have clawed their way through their schedule and pulled out an 8-7 victory against Shady Side Academy that could land them the top spot in the tournament.
But the Bulldogs could be the toughest out for the Tigers’ repeat hopes as they have a couple of Marquette recruits in John Paul Henry and Ethan Salvia to go along with Amherst signee Thompson Lau as they look for their first title since 2014.
Class 2A boys
Mars is the five-time defending Class 2A champion, became the first team from the WPIAL ever to play in a state final and is currently the topranked team in the state in the classification.
If that wasn’t enough, the Planets’ average margin of victory is 15.64 goals — they average 18.4 per game and have allowed just 2.79 per game.
Oh, and they have four Division I recruits in the starting lineup.
But this is also a team that has something to prove this postseason and wants another crack at winning a state title. With that in mind, there is little doubt the Planets are not taking anyone for granted.
“They definitely haven’t gotten too far ahead of themselves in looking at opponents and we prepare them game to game,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said. “The players have responded well.”