
The five PIAA girls' and boys' soccer championships will be played tomorrow in Hershey, and WPIAL teams have a chance to bring home four trophies.
Of all the championship games -- three boys' games and two girls' -- four will feature a team representing the western side of the state.
The Philadelphia suburbs have a reputation for playing quality soccer, but the WPIAL has made a name for itself in recent years, too.
"It's a special opportunity, and we definitely want to take advantage of it," South Park girls' coach Shelly Thropp said. "The other side of the state is obviously pretty good in soccer, so we know we'll have to have a pretty good game over there because there sure is a lot of talent in the east."
Thropp's Eagles are one of two WPIAL teams that will be making their second consecutive PIAA title-game appearance. South Park will play for the Class AA girls' championship and the Peters Township boys are looking to repeat as champions of Class AAA.
Also, Seton-LaSalle won the Class A boys' title two years ago and is back this season, meaning only the Peters Township girls' team will be totally unfamiliar with the atmosphere at Hersheypark Stadium.
The day begins with the Class A boys' championship at 10 a.m., followed by the Class AA girls at noon, the Class AA boys at 2 p.m. and the Class AAA girls at 5 p.m. The Class AAA boys' game is the nightcap at 7 p.m.
District 3's Susquehanock and District 1 champion Pottsgrove will meet in the only match not to include a WPIAL team, the Class AA boys' title game.
Here is a preview of the other four matches:
This game is a rematch of last season's title game, in which Peters Township defeated Downingtown West, 2-1, in overtime.
It might be a tall task for the Indians' defense to limit the Whippets (25-1) to only one goal again as the District 1 champions have scored 14 goals in three PIAA playoff games. Downingtown West has 10 of 11 starters back from last season.
"They're immensely talented, one of the most talented teams I've seen in high school soccer," Peters Township coach Bob Dyer said. "It will definitely be a very large challenge for us to win this game, but it's only one game. It's not a best-of-seven series. We look forward to the opportunity to play this team."
The Indians have allowed only one goal since the WPIAL semifinals, a span that includes a 2-0 victory in the WPIAL title game and three PIAA tournament contests.
This is the Indians' fifth appearance in the title game. Dyer has been a part of all three previous Peters Township PIAA championships -- as a player in 1988 and '89 and as coach last season -- so he said he takes representing the level of soccer played in Western Pennsylvania seriously.
"Absolutely," Dyer said. "It's very important to us that we represent our district, this side of the state and even our section. We think that Section 5 of the WPIAL is the toughest section for soccer in the state and whoever comes out of it is ready for playoff soccer."
Seton-LaSalle is the lone unbeaten boys' or girls' team left in the entire PIAA, regardless of classification. The WPIAL champion Rebels (24-0) will attempt to cap their perfect season against District 3 champion Camp Hill (24-2-1).
"Honestly, I haven't really thought that much about [being undefeated]," Seton-LaSalle coach Aaron Panczyk said. "I try to keep a humble perspective. I think if the kids see me being cocky or arrogant, it will filter down to them.
"They've been doing a really good job being grownups. For being 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds, they're staying humble and realizing the biggest prize is still ahead of us. But it is pretty spectacular we are 24-0 right now."
David DelGreco has 60 goals this season to lead a potent Rebels offense that has scored 23 goals in six postseason games and, incredibly, has scored at least three goals in all but three of its 24 games this season.
A handful of players remain from the Seton-LaSalle team that won the WPIAL's first PIAA Class A boys' championship in 2006.
Peters Township soccer could be in for quite a few hours because the final two games of the day both feature Indians teams.
Before the boys play for the Class AAA title, the Peters Township girls (21-2-2) will play Conestoga (22-2-2) for the Class AAA girls' championship.
The WPIAL runner-up Indians feature Ali Forbrich, who scored her 35th goal in a 3-0 semifinal win against Hampton after tying for sixth in the WPIAL during the regular season with 29 goals. Also, Shelli Spamer tallied her 17th and 18th goals of the season Tuesday.
Backstopped by goalkeeper Megan Junker, the Indians have allowed only 15 goals this season.
District 1 Conestoga is the defending PIAA champion, having defeated Penn-Trafford in the final last season. The District 1 (suburban Philadelphia) and WPIAL champions have met in the PIAA final every season since two classifications were formed for girls' soccer in 1996. Only once in that time -- Pine-Richland in 2005 -- has the WPIAL won, however.
"A lot of the District 1 success has come from some very large school districts out there," Peters Township coach Pat Vereb said. "But if you look at the past four or five years, with Pine-Richland winning once and the rest of the scores have been a lot closer than they were in the late '90s and early 2000s era."
South Park is a defending PIAA Class AA champion, but this season the Eagles want to go home the PIAA champion.
The Eagles played to a scoreless tie with powerhouse Villa Joseph Marie through two overtimes last year, and the teams were awarded co-championships under PIAA rules. This season, South Park (21-3-1) will play Montoursville (23-2), a District 4 team from the Williamsport area, in the championship match.
"It's a pretty special opportunity to be able to get to go to Hershey once -- let alone two times in a row," Thropp said. "The girls recognize it's special. It's something that doesn't come along very often."
The Eagles have one of the finest one-two scoring punches in the WPIAL in Nicole Doria (30 goals) and Lauren Yobbi (21) and a stellar goalkeeper in Sydney Judkins.
"Having the experience of being to a state championship already, you know what to expect," Thropp said. "Being there last year will make it a little more comforting. It's not as nerve-wrecking because you know what to expect."