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LH draws 10th seed; Bentworth, Charleroi at No. 4

By Rob Burchianti rburchianti@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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Laurel Highlands coach Jerry Rogers was checking the numbers and trying to anticipate where his Mustangs soccer team might be slotted when the WPIAL released its playoff pairings on Wednesday.

When they were revealed on Wednesday afternoon, LH, a team with a 15-3 overall record and an 11-3 mark in Section 3-AAA, found out it was given the No. 10 seed in Class AAA and sent on the road to No. 7 Moon for a 2 p.m. first-round game on Saturday.

“The other day I went through the standings and looked at the section records and the overall records and all that and I actually believe we should’ve been about a No. 8 seed,” Rogers said. “We were 16th last year and I didn’t have any argument with that but this year, No. 10, I don’t know, I think we should’ve been a little higher than that.”

That spot in the pairings was significant because the top eight seeds were given home games in the first round in Class AAA.

Moon is 15-2 overall and was 12-2 in finishing second behind top-seeded West Allegheny in Section 2-AAA.

Belle Vernon (13-4), which tied for second place with Laurel Highlands in Section 3-AAA, was given the No. 9 seed in Class AAA and must travel to No. 8 Mars (12-4-2), the third-place team with a 10-4 record in Section 1-AAA.

Charleroi in Class AA and Bentworth in Class A were the highest seeded local teams with each drawing a No. 4 seed, but only the Cougars will get a home game. Class A matches are all at neutral sites.

The Section 4-A champion Bearcats (13-1-1 overall, 9-0-1 in the section) meet No. 13 Beaver County Christian in a 6 p.m. match at South Park on Tuesday. BCC was third in Section 1-A with a 5-5 mark overall and in section play.

Charleroi (13-2), the Section 3-AA champion with a perfect 12-0 section mark, hosts No. 13 Keystone Oaks (10-6), the fourth-place team out of Section 1-AA with a 6-6 section mark, in a 6:30 p.m. game on Monday.

The Cougars feature the WPIAL’s leading goal scorer in Eben McIntyre who has 66 goals this season.

The postseason also includes three other area teams, all in Class AA, with two of them squaring off against one another.

Fifth-seeded Elizabeth Forward (10-4 overall, 9-3, second, in Section 1-AA) hosts Mount Pleasant (6-6-2 overall, 6-3-2, third, in Section 3-AA) in a first-round game, 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

Another match-up of local teams could loom as the Charleroi-Keystone Oaks winner will meet the EF-Mount Pleasant winner in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Oct. 28.

Yough (6-10, 6-5, fourth, in Section 3-AA) drew the 16th seed and will travel to No. 1 South Park for a 6:30 p.m. game on Monday. The unbeaten Eagles are 18-0 overall and were 12-0 in winning Section 1-AA.

Quarterfinal games are slated for Saturday, Oct. 30 in Class A, Thursday, Oct. 28 in Class AA and Wednesday, Oct. 27 in Class AAA.

Laurel Highlands, which is in the postseason for the sixth season in a row and for the ninth time in the last 10 years, is led by Matt Lucas with 25 goals and 18 assists.

The Mustangs have a multitude of other offensive weapons which can make a defense think twice about focusing on shutting down just Lucas.

“We have five guys that can score regularly, so that’s a pleasure,” said Rogers, who has compiled a 63-36-3 overall record in his eight seasons as head coach.

Nico Johns (18 goals, six assists), Harry Radcliffe (13 goals, 15 assists), Manny Olivares (12 goals, three assists) and Joey Lemansky (five goals, 18 assists) are all offensive threats.

Rogers commended his defense also.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Rogers said. “Guys like Carson Seaman, he has the potential to score goals, too, but he’s rock-solid on defense. Caleb Yanosky, Ben Diamond and Ian Hamilton are all good back there.”

Thatcher Wilson has performed well as LH’s goalkeeper to back up the defense.

“He’s a young kid, only a sophomore, but, boy, he’s really stepped up,” Rogers said. “The kid has made some phenomenal saves this year.”

Rogers was more than satisfied with a regular season that produced one the program’s best ever single-season records.

“I’m really pleased with how the year has turned out,” Rogers said. “We lost a lot of kids last year but this year’s group really stepped up.”

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