Belle Vernon, Frazier face tough tasks in semifinals
Belle Vernon’s boys soccer team and Frazier’s girls volleyball team will each be seeking a spot in their respective district finals on Tuesday.
Both will be facing a tough hurdle to reach that goal.
The 10th-seeded Leopards face No. 3 North Catholic at Peters Township Middle School at 8 p.m. in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.
The third-seeded Lady Commodores take on No. 2 Fort Cherry at 7:30 p.m. at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena, also in a Class 2A semifinal match.
Belle Vernon (16-1-2) has already slain one dragon, however, taking down second-seeded Deer Lakes on its home field, 2-1 in overtime on Chris Showman’s goal. Morgan Bunch made 11 saves for the Leopards.
That came after Belle Vernon traveled to seventh-seeded Beaver in the first round and upended the Bobcats, 4-2.
North Catholic (17-1-2) didn’t allow a goal against its first two opponents, winning by scores of 6-0 over No. 14 Burrell in the first round and 3-0 over No. 6 Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals.
North Catholic is the highest seed remaining. The other semifinal pits No. 9 Quaker Valley against No. 13 Ambridge.
The winner will advance to the final at F.N.B. Stadium with the date and time to be determined.
The survivor between Frazier (16-3) and Fort Cherry (17-1) will play either top-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart or No. 4 Shenango on Saturday, also at AHN Arena with the time to be determined.
The Lady Rangers defeated the Lady Commodores during the regular season, 3-0, in a non-section match.
Fort Cherry’s path to the final included 3-0 sweeps of No. 15 Carmichaels in the first round and No. 10 Riverview in the quarterfinals.
Frazier romped over No. 14 Washington in the first round, 3-0, before battling past No. 6 Beth-Center in a hard-fought 3-1 match, both on its home floor. Allie Monack led the Lady Commodores with 21 kills and 14 assists against the Lady Bulldogs.
Frazier withstood an early onslaught from B-C, losing the first set before rallying late in the second set to prevent falling into a 2-0 hole.
Lady Commodores coach Mandy Hartman was pleased to see her team stay composed throughout the match.
“This is a game of highs and lows and you can’t (mentally) get too high and you can’t get too low,” Hartman said. “You’ve got to stay nice and even.”