Franklin Regional ends Plum’s 26-game unbeaten streak
The Plum boys soccer team came into its rematch with Franklin Regional riding a 26-game regular season unbeaten streak.
It seems only fitting the last team that beat the Mustangs in the regular season would be the one that ended their run.
Sam Dawson set up Danny Christafano with less than a minute remaining in the first half for the lone goal of the match to lead Class 3A No. 5 Franklin Regional (8-3-0, 8-10) to a 1-0 win over No. 1 Plum (10-1-1, 8-1-0). With the victory, the Panthers tied the Mustangs atop Section 4.
Plum’s most recent regular season loss had been a 3-2 defeat at Franklin Regional on Sept. 7, 2021. The Mustangs were 24-0-2 in the streak.
It was only the third goal the Mustangs have allowed all season.
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• Butler ( 7- 3- 2, 3- 3- 2) needed a win to open the second half of its section season. It may not have been an actual victory, but the Golden Tornado will be glad to have it after they scored late in the second half to pull out a 2-2 tie with two-time defending WPIAL champion and Class 4A No. 1 Seneca Valley (10-01). The Raiders came into the match riding an 18-game winning streak against WPIAL teams. They are still unbeaten (40-0-2) in their past 42 against District 7 foes.
• West Allegheny needed a win to keep its flagging postseason hopes alive but couldn’t steal one from Ambridge despite having a onegoal lead in the second half. Instead, Anthony Powell had a hat trick and Will Gruca and Brayden Reves each chipped in a goal as the Bridgers (8-40, 5-4-0) ousted the Indians, (3-8-0, 3-6-0), 5-4, in a key Class 3A Section 2 tilt.
• Senior midfielder Christopher Brancato scored the only goal of the match in the second half to help Class 3A No. 2 Moon (10-0-1, 9-0-0) remain undefeated with a 1-0 win over Chartiers Valley (3-81, 2-6-1) in Section 2.
• Burrell (11-2-0, 6-2-0) continues to close in on a postseason berth and could end up with a home game in the Class 1A tournament. The Bucs, behind goals from Jayson Ireland, Cam Wagner and Connor Kariotis pulled out a 3-1 victory over Springdale (74-0, 5-3-0) to move into sole possession of second place in Section 3.
• Greensburg Central Catholic and Bentworth played a one-goal game in their first meeting, but the Class 1A No. 2 Centurions weren’t having any of that in the second go-round. This time, Kyler Miller tallied four goals and two assists as Greensburg blasted the Bearcats, 10-3, in a Section 2 matchup.
• Zach Reed had a hat trick and Nick Cherry posted the shutout as Seton-LaSalle (7-3-0, 6-0-0) ended a twogame, non- section losing streak with a 5-0 victory over Bishop Canevin (0-10-1, 0-51). The Rebels have not allowed a goal against a Section 4 foe.
• Deer Lakes (11-1-0, 9-00) got in its last game before its Section 2 first-place showdown with Shady Side Academy (8-1-0, 8-1-0) as Ryan Hanes scored a pair of goals to lead the Class 2A No. 3 Lancers to a 7-2 win over Jeannette (4-6-0, 2-6-0). Deer Lakes won the first meeting with the Bulldogs, 1-0, on Sept. 6. It plays Shady Side Thursday.