Vikings clinch Section 5-2A boys soccer title
Mount Pleasant needed a victory over Brownsville on Tuesday night at Redstone Field in Republic.
The Vikings’ opportunity to win the Section 5-2A Championships in boys soccer outright was on the line, as Mount Pleasant entered the match in second place behind Belle Vernon (10-1-1) by one point at 10-1-0 in the standings. A draw would have shared the crown with the Leopards, but the Vikings earned a 7-0 victory to earn three points and earn the section title with a record of 11-1-0 and 33 points. Belle Vernon finished second in the section with 31 points and Southmoreland (7-4-1) was third with 22 points. Yough (6-4-2) was fourth with 20 points.
Mount Pleasant was 17-1-0 this season with its lone loss being a 2-0 setback to the Leopards on Sept. 10 at James Weir Stadium in Belle Vernon. The Vikings avenged the loss on Oct. 6 with a 2-1 triumph at Viking Stadium.
The Leopards’ 1-1 draw with the Cougars on Oct. 1 at James Weir Stadium opened the door for Mount Pleasant to win the section.
Tyke Snyder was responsible for six goals in the Vikings’ win against the Falcons on Tuesday with a hat trick and three assists.
Gavin Rummel recorded a brace, and Lukas Showman and Tyler Barron scored one goal apiece. Barron and Showman each had an assist.
Grayson Gardner and Alex Chappell combined for the clean sheet.
Mount Pleasant put 16 shots on target, but Brownsville keeper Camden Kline made nine saves.
The Falcons’ Landyn Bachinski and Brandon Escamilla each had two shot attempts, and teammate Dustin Evans worked for a shot on target.
Brownsville finished its season at 1-11-0 in section play and 3-14-0 overall, but head coach Jason Wellington has a young team with a core group of sophomores who have developed chemistry over the years coming up from the youth leagues to high school.
BELLE VERNON 4, BALDWIN 1 — The Leopards scored three second-half goals to down the Highlanders in non-section play at Baldwin High School Stadium.
Belle Vernon’s Gavin Metzger scored twice and teammate Jordan Jerome added a goal in the final 40 minutes of play. The Leopards’ Chris Showman, Dom Pireaux and Tyler Perozzi each had an assist.
Jesse Sobczak scored for the visitors in the first half.
Morgan Bunch made eight saves on nine shots on target for the win in goal.
Belle Vernon finished its regular season with a record of 14-1-2. The Leopards will appear in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs as the second-place team out of Section 5 after compiling a record of 10-1-1 in league play.
BRENTWOOD 13, BETH-CENTER 4 — The Bulldogs’ Parker Amos recorded a brace, but the Spartans were too much in a Section 2-1A triumph at Herb E. Troy Memorial Field in Brentwood.
Amos, a senior, finished his high school career with over 100 goals, which set a program record at Beth-Center as the first boys soccer player to reach the century mark.
Jacob Gossett and Ryder Roule also scored for the Bulldogs (2-10-2, 2-13-2).
The Spartans (6-5-3, 9-5-3) needed a win, and a loss or draw by Serra Catholic (7-6-1, 10-6-1) to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs in Class 1A, but the Eagles didn’t cooperate in defeating California to earn the fourth and final spot in the postseason out of Section 2.
In other local matches, Connellsville blanked Greensburg Salem, 2-0, Southmoreland topped Yough, 3-0, and Charleroi beat Waynesburg Central, 4-1.
GIRLS SOCCER
BELLE VERNON 1, RINGGOLD 0 — Raegan Sobczak scored in the second half and the Leopards’ backline held the Rams off the scoreboard in a non-section match at Joe Montana Stadium in Monongahela.
Ali Watson set up Sobczak for the lone goal of the contest.
Skylar Salay made one save, as Belle Vernon (11-2-4) was able to maintain possession and limit Ringgold’s opportunities to score.
In other matches in the area on Tuesday night, Connellsville (3-9-3) played Greensburg Salem (2-12-2) to a 2-2 draw in non-section play and Southmoreland (6-6-0, 8-8-0) earned a 7-0 triumph over Ligonier Valley (1-11-0, 2-13-0) in Section 4-2A action.