Once again this week, the MSA Sports Network will recap the WPIAL boys and girls soccer postseason matches as well as WPIAL girls volleyball playoff matches that were broadcast that evening on the MSA Sports Network. We continue with reports from Semifinals action in boys and girls soccer from Wednesday, November 4th.

Thanks to Justin McKim, Lee Mohn and Mike Azadian for their help on this recaps.

WPIAL BOYS SOCCER CLASS AAA SEMIFINALS:

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 4 - Norwin Knights 3 in Overtime
A classic soccer match was played on Wednesday night between Norwin and Mount Lebanon. These two teams fought to the bitter end with Mount Lebanon winning 4-3 in overtime. Every time Mount Lebanon would score Norwin had the answer. It started in the 20th minute for Mount Lebanon. Connor Wohlforth would give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. Norwin answered in the 47th minuted with a goal by Eric Vunovic. Connor Wohlforth scored his second of the match in the 59th minute but Eric Vunovic answered in the 66th minute to tie it at 2. Mount Lebanon scored what seemed to be the winning goal with 1 minute and 5 seconds left on a goal by Zack Batteer. It was only a matter of time for Batteer. He had numerous chances all night. But Norwin bounced right back with 40 seconds left on a deflection by Chad Brown. The referees conferred but allowed the goal. In overtime Zach Batteer scored with 6:49 left on a beautiful pass from Nate Sharbaugh to win it. Mount Lebanon will now have a rematch on Saturday night with Upper St. Clair for the AAA championship.

Upper St Clair Panthers 2 - Bethel Park Black Hawks 1
AT Chartiers Valley High School, the Upper St Clair Panthers came out flying on offense for the second game in a row and took an ealry lead. Just 4:21 into the first half the Panthers took a 1-0 lead. Jimmy Belak floated a pass from the left wing side thru one teammate only to be blasted on goal by Carsten Lachelle. Bethel Park keeper Andrew Chongaway somehow was able to get in front of it but it came straight out 10 yards to USC's Aashay Kumar and he put it low corner left to give the Panthers the precious first goal. The Panthers would dominate the rest of the half on defense as the Black Hawks would only get 2 shots on goal. Into the 2nd half it was even as Bethel produced a little offense but USC keeper Scott Matthews made a big save off a header to keep the 1-0 USC lead. At 28:43 Bethel Park finally broke thru as Evan Vescovi pounced on a loose ball that came from a crowd in front of the net to tie it at 1-1. However 1:11 seconds later USC would score the eventual game winner as Alex Poneleit took a perfect pass from Lachelle and put a header shot on net that Chongaway got a hand on, but the ball rolled into the net before he could stop it and it was 2-1. The Panthers shut down the Hawks the rest of the way as Matthews would stop 5 of the 6 shots he faced on the night. Upper St Clair improves to 18-2-1 and will face Mount Lebanon in the AAA final on Saturday November 7th at Elizabeth Forward High School at 7:00pm.


WPIAL GIRLS SOCCER CLASS AAA SEMIFINALS:

Seneca Valley Raiders 2 - Canon-McMillan Big Macs 1
In Girls AAA soccer semi finals the Raiders of Seneca Valley defeat the Big Macs of Canon-McMillan 2-1 in a very competitive game. The game was an even match thru the first seven minutes as both teams pushed the ball thru midfield and worked their offense. The next 20 minutes Seneca Valley took over and dominated play in the offensive zone of the Big Macs. However Canon-Mac would score first on one of the prettiest plays you would ever see. Courtney Gladden had a corner kick from the right corner. She sent a perfect soft low liner toward the net. No one moved until at the last second Taylor Schram scored her 50th goal of the year on a header. She darted to the front of the net untouched and sent the Big Macs to a 1-0 lead. The Big Macs Keeper was also a huge story in this game. Ashley Hull made 4 saves in the first half playing an agressive style cutting off passes and stopping possible scoring attempts. In the second half Hull was magnificiant as she faced 10 shots and kept it 1-0 until with less than 14:00 to go Kathleen Riley made it 1-1. Kathryn Kelly had a throw in, she tossed it to Amanda Kasperski who went right foot to left and found Riley 10 yards out and she eased it past Hull to tie it up. Seneca would press on offense but would not score and it would go to over time. In the first OT no one scored so it went to a second OT. The Raiders would win it at 2:52 as Misha Demchuck scored off a pass from Kasperski and the Raiders will play in the final for the second time in three years. The Raiders would out shoot the Big Macs 17-2 in the game, but barley squeek by as Hull was fantastic in net. Seneca Valley improves their record to 20-0-1 and will face Peters Township at 5:45 PM on Saturday November 7th at Elizabeth Forward High School. Canon Mac ends their cinderella run thru the WPIAL playoffs and falls to 16-6.

Peters Township Indians 2 - Norwin Knights 1
For the second time this season, Peters Township defeated Norwin in a Class AAA girls’ soccer match. Only this time, there was a little more on the line as the Indians advance to the WPIAL finals on Saturday where they will face Seneca Valley. Sparked by goals from juniors Hannah Caso and Danielle Hume, Peters Township beat the Knights, 2-1, Wednesday night at North Allegheny High School. The loss for Norwin ends an exciting run to the semifinals that was highlighted by its upset victory in the quarterfinals against Moon. Caso’s goal from the left side just 3 minutes, 14 seconds into the match gave Peters Township (18-1-2) a 1-0 lead it would take into halftime and never relinquish. Then, just less than two minutes into the second half, Hume found the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage. Norwin’s Ariel Shasko, a senior midfielder, scored on a header 25 seconds later. The Knights had chances to tie the contest, but Indians’ senior goalkeeper Megan Junker prevented any late heroics by Norwin (16-4-1).