5 local teams hit the road for PIAA playoffs
The PIAA playoffs get underway on Tuesday and the Pioneer Athletic Conference will be represented well represented across the state of Pennsylvania.
In field hockey, District 1 Class 3A champ Owen J. Roberts will be joined by runnerup Perkiomen Valley and thirdplace finisher Methacton in the opening round of the state playoffs on Tuesday.
Spring-Ford’s boys soccer team, the third-place finisher in Class 4A, will be the area’s lone soccer program to advance to states.
In girls volleyball, District 1-3A runner-up Pope John Paul II and District 1-4A third-place finisher Upper Merion will both kick off states on Tuesday.
A brief look at the opening round of states, which gets underway on Tuesday:
Field Hockey
PERKIOMEN VALLEY VS. EASTON AT METHACTON, 4 P.M. >> Aside from brushes with Owen J. Roberts in the PAC and District 1-3A championship games, Perkiomen Valley (22-2 overall) has put together a flawless run this fall.
The Vikings will look to get back on track in their first visit to states since 2007, where they open up with District 11 runnerup Easton (20-3).
Easton enters Tuesday’s game with three losses to their credit all season, all three of which came against Emmaus, including a 1-0 loss last Wednesday in the District 11-3A championship as the Green Hornets picked up their 30th straight district title.
OWEN J. ROBERTS VS. HERSHEY AT METHACTON, 6 P.M. >> Three days after claiming their first district title since 2011, Owen J. Roberts (22-2 overall) heads into states as the area’s hottest team.
OJR has won 13 straight games with 11 shutouts during that run. Since their last loss — Perkiomen Valley on Sept. 27 — the Wildcats have outscored their opposition 57-3.
Owen J. Roberts opened up the PIAA playoffs last season with a 10-1 win over Cardinal O’Hara, the first and only win at states so far in program history.
The Wildcats will open up this season’s run against District 3’s fourth-place finisher in Hershey (18-5 overall), which was ousted in the district semifinals by eventual champ Penn Manor. METHACTON VS. DELAWARE VALLEY AT WALLENPAUPACK, 6 P.M. >> Methacton (15-8 overall) shocked its way through the District 1-3A playoffs with upset wins over Haverford and Downingtown West, then capped their run with a win over top-seeded Central Bucks East in the thirdplace game.
As a result, the Warriors will face District 2 champion Delaware Valley (13-7 overall).
Methacton is making its first appearance at states since 2015 and will be seeking its first state playoff win since 1996.
Boys soccer
SPRING-FORD VS. FREEDOM AT J. BIRNEY CRUM STADIUM, 7 P.M. >> Making their first ever run at states, SpringFord (18-3-3 overall) will get a handful against District 11-4A champ Freedom.
Spring-Ford opened up the district playoffs with 2-1 wins over West Chester East and Radnor before falling to Central Bucks West 1-0 in the semifinal round. The Rams got back on track with a 2-1 win over Unionville in the thirdplace game.
Just a few days after claiming their first District 11 championship since 1990 at Crum Stadium, Freedom will face the Rams at perhaps an all-time high for the program. The Patriots beat 15-time champion Emmaus 1-0 in double overtime last Thursday.
Girls volleyball
POPE JOHN PAUL II VS. CARDINAL O’HARA AT BISHOP MCDEVITT, 4 P.M. >> Per usual, Pope John Paul II (14-6 overall) has put together an impressive run this fall.
Yet this time, they have no first-place hardware to show for it.
Coming off a straight-set loss to Villa Maria in the District 1-3A championship, the Golden Panthers will face District 12 champ Cardinal O’Hara.
PJP opened up states last season with a win over O’Hara that was extended to five sets before being ousted by West York in the quarterfinals. UPPER MERION VS. EXETER AT WYOMISSING, 7 P.M. >> Upper Merion (22-1 overall) was rolling before suffering a straight-set loss against Garnet Valley during the semifinal round of the District 1-4A playoffs.
Now, the Vikings will look to get back on track, starting with District 3 runner-up Exeter at states.
It will be a repeat of last year’s opening round game between the two, which Exeter won in five sets before being ousted by Parkland.