The City League boys' soccer trophy might be one of the nastiest awards in sports.

It's not the hardware or banner part -- those look just fine -- but what awaits the City League champion in its next game.

The nasty part is the City champ opens PIAA Class AAA play against the WPIAL titlist -- always a powerhouse.

Allderdice won the City title Tuesday with a 5-0 victory against Langley. The Dragons (17-2-2) will open PIAA play next Tuesday against Bethel Park (21-1) or Peters Township (20-1-2), which will face off Saturday.

This is the only matchup of No. 1 seeds in the first round.

The PIAA said this is done to keep both Pittsburgh area teams close to home to cut down on travel. Allderdice coach Ed Powers believes its time for a change.

"It puts us against the best. Generally, we are seeing the eventual [state] champion," said Powers, who has had a tough time navigating the daunting first-round match up.

The last time the Dragons advanced beyond the second round of states was 2000.

"I don't understand it," Powers said, "especially since we prove ourselves against WPIAL teams [in the regular season]. They owe us better, but we will go out and do what we need to do."

One of the few City League teams to schedule a challenging slate of non-conference games against WPIAL powers, Allderdice opened the season with a couple of 2-2 ties against Franklin Regional and Fox Chapel Area. The Dragons won 2-1 games at Shaler Area and at Penn-Trafford.

The lone losses for Allderdice have come against Shady Side Academy and at Seton-LaSalle.

"Those games are going to help a lot [in the playoffs]," Powers said.

"I would like to reschedule that Seton-LaSalle game. We played them after we played 100 minutes against Schenley. It was tied at half, then they just overran us. We were so fatigued. But I have to schedule back-to-back games just to get them on our schedule."

One of the biggest assets for Allderdice this season has been its depth. Powers has an easy time filling out two rosters for intrasquad scrimmages.

After a couple of injuries, Nick Kraus, Sam Freedman, Steve Canton and Jackson Card stepped up big and filled in. Kraus got the start in the semifinal win over Schenley and Card has been called upon often in late-game situations for an offensive spark.

Senior goalkeeper Dan Chimes has played the bulk of the games in net, ahead of fellow senior Ben Hovne, who also has played more than enough to win a letter.

Allderdice has shut out seven opponents, including Schenley to open the City playoffs.

The scoring has been split evenly across the team. Seven players have reached double digits in goals with Max Gold and Zack Spolar leading the way with Pavel Gaydos right behind them.

Powers plans on attending the WPIAL Class AAA championship game Saturday at Elizabeth Forward with his captains to see who awaits his team.

"You have to wait and see, but I like our chances," Powers said.

"I would especially like our chances if we can get past the first round. That's a big hurdle for us. I believe we are as talented as any of the four teams [that made it to the WPIAL semifinals]."

The defense has been a key. The back row is led by three seniors -- Max Schlemmer, Eric Brantner and Cary Bonci.