Elizabeth Forward, Charleroi finally get to play
Elizabeth Forward and Charleroi had to cancel their annual regular-season meeting on Sept. 25 because of a scheduling conflict.
Instead of taking on the Cougars in a non-section match, the Warriors made up a section game with Steel Valley.
As it turns out, the two regional rivals couldn’t avoid each other forever.
Instead of a meaningless midseason tilt, No. 5 Elizabeth Forward (12-4-0) and No. 4 Charleroi (14-2-1) will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals.
“It would have been nice to have played that game and we would have gotten a feel for how they play,” Elizabeth
Forward coach Doug Finke said. “But we’ve been familiar with them.”
Because Elizabeth Forward and Charleroi played last year, though, the Warriors got an up-close look at Charleroi senior striker and Pitt recruit Eben McIntyre. During the regular season, he led the WPIAL with 69 goals and accounted for the team’s only goal in a 1-0 victory against Keystone Oaks in the playoff opener.
“We have to deny him finding the ball, so that’s shutting everyone else down and limiting their service to him,” Finke said. “If we limit the number of balls at his feet, it’s going to be hard for him to score.”
Elizabeth Forward has a pretty good scorer of its own in senior Ethan Bowser, who is coming off a three-goal, two-assist game in a 6-1 opening round victory against Mount Pleasant.
“He is, head and shoulders, one of the best players in this area,” Finke said. “He’s not talked about very much, but he is a complete player.”
While Bowser has controlled the attack, the back four of seniors Nick Snyder, Isaac Hrehor, Geno Penascino and Adam Stefl have kept the front of net reasonably clean for first-year starting goalkeeper, senior Logan Cherepko.
Elizabeth Forward has allowed only 17 goals all season and posted five shutouts.
“That group has only allowed about 12 goals because we’ve had situations where we let some other players in,” Finke said. “But this has been a team effort and someone’s going to step up.”
More Class 2A
Shady Side Academy went into the WPIAL playoffs riding a rare two-game losing streak. But the Bulldogs shrugged off those losses to Deer Lakes and Fox Chapel with a 6-1 victory against Freedom in the opening round of the tournament.
Now, though, things will get a little tougher as No. 3 Shady Side Academy (11-2-0) will take on a sixth-seeded Ambridge (11-5-0) squad that also had a relatively easy time in the first round with a 5-1 win against Leechburg. The Bulldogs defeated Leechburg, 4-0 and 2-1, in their two Section 2 meetings.
“We’re playing pretty well,” Shady Side Academy
coach Ed Ellsworth said. “We still have some areas we’re trying to grow into and you never stop growing during a championship run.”
Shady Side Academy has its share of talented players, but will have to find a way to contain junior Will Gruca.
“Will is an unbelievable player and has our full attention, but we know they didn’t get to where they are having one player,” Ellsworth said. “They’re a well-coached team, led by a very talented player in Gruca.”
Class 1A
Greensburg Central Catholic and Springdale know each other about as well as any two teams that don’t play in the same section.
Well, at least not since 2003 anyway.
Despite that, the two teams have seen enough of each other in the past two seasons to make it feel like they are still in their old Class 1A Section 2 days.
Last season, Greensburg Central Catholic knocked off Springdale, 2-0, in the WPIAL semifinals. In 2019, the Dynamos were dealt a pair of postseason blows by the Centurions, one in the WPIAL semifinals and the other in the PIAA quarterfinals.
This time around, the two will meet in the quarterfinals as top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic (13-3-0) will vie with No. 8 Springdale (11-41) on Saturday.
In the opening round, Carlo Denis scored three goals and freshman Jack Vacanti added two goals and a pair of helpers in an 8-0 win against Chartiers Houston. The Dynamos had it a little tougher as Chris Mitchell scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory against No. 9 Seton LaSalle.
There was only one upset in the first round as No. 11 Riverside knocked off No. 6 Trinity Christian, 2-1. But the Cougars should get a tougher battle against No. 3 Sewickley Academy, which lost its two Section 1 meetings by a combined score of 12-3.
Class 4A
Landon Mohney barely made it into the postseason, but the Butler striker has already made an impact.
He scored three goals and helped 10th-seeded Butler (145-0) knock off No. 7 Central Catholic, 4-0, in the opening round.
On Saturday, though, he and his Golden Tornado teammates will get a challenge as they travel to Peters Township to play the No. 2 Indians at a time to be determined.
All four of the top seeds got a bye into the quarterfinals.
While Butler will have to play a team it hasn’t seen before, North Allegheny (14-5-0) will take the pitch at Norwin against a Knights team that handed it a 4-2 loss on Oct. 19 in its last regular-season match before the playoffs. The Tigers got two goals from Evan Anderson in a 3-0 victory against Upper St. Clair in the opening round.