Local coaches content with brackets
Ben Bamford / MVI Sports
Izzy Laurita and Belle Vernon will host Oakland Catholic in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs 6:30 p.m. Monday at James Weir Stadium.
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
The girls soccer playoff field is set and eight local teams have qualified for the postseason.
But one will not be able to participate.
In the COVID-19-affected season, higher seeds will host games instead of them being hosted at neutral sites. Neutral sites will be used in the semifinals.
Most local teams are seeded around the same area, right in the middle of their respective packs and classifications.
In Class 3A, Thomas Jefferson (13-2-1) is seeded seventh after finishing second in Section 3 behind unbeaten Plum.
The Jaguars will face No. 10 Kiski (8-6-2), who was third behind Franklin Regional and Hampton in Section 1. The teams will meet at Jaguars Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Belle Vernon Area was awarded the No. 8 seed after finishing second in Section 2.
The Leopards (13-2) will see a familiar opponent in No. 9 Oakland Catholic. The two teams met in the WPIAL quarterfinals last season with BVA coming away with a 1-0 win.
This year, they’ll meet on the gold turf at James Weir Stadium Monday at 6:30 p.m.
BVA head coach Tracy Lovett said she feels her team is under-seeded and could have been ranked as high as fifth.
“Really, I think eight was a little low,” Lovett said. “I was expecting somewhere at five, six or seven. I know (the WPIAL) takes a lot into consideration and we’re going to take what we’re given.”
The bright side to the eighth seed is the Leopards are obviously familiar with the Eagles. And they’re familiar with their next scheduled opponent if they win, likely No. 1 seed Mars, who they lost to in the WPIAL semis last year, 2-0.
“I know Oakland Catholic has Hannah Henn, who’s a great player. We did a good job keeping her away from the ball last season. I’m thinking we’ll see similar game play.”
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