Bentworth aims for rare WPIAL soccer four-peat
Belle Vernon seeks 1st title
Last year the Bentworth boys soccer team joined some elite company when it won a third WPIAL title in a row.
If the Bearcats can win a fourth straight on Saturday when they face Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 5:45 p.m. Saturday in the Class A championship at F.N.B Stadium in Pittsburgh, then they will be the first team in 37 years to accomplish the feat.
Belle Vernon, meanwhile, is aiming for its first title when it meets Quaker Valley in the Class 2A final at 11 a.m.
Only three teams have won four or more WPIAL boys soccer titles in a row and the last one to do so was Peters Township from 1986-89.
Springdale won four titles in a row from 1968-71 and South Fayette had a streak of 10 consecutive championships from 1943-52.
To join them, the Bearcats (18-1) will have to beat OLSH (15-4) for a third straight year in the finals.
After the Bearcats started their run as champions with a 3-2 win in overtime over Charleroi, OLSH has been Bentworth’s foil for the last two years.
In 2024, the game went scoreless through regulation and two overtimes before the Bearcats won 5-4 in penalties.
Last year Ryan Moessner scored twice, and Adam Moessner had a goal in a 3-1 win. The Bearcats also defeated the Chargers in the state semifinals en route to their first state championship.
Ryan graduated, but the Bearcats have pretty much everyone else back from last year’s team.
They entered the playoffs as the top seed, but ran into some adversity right away. Freedom had a 2-0 lead in the quarterfinals and looked poised to upset the Bearcats, but they dug deep and found a way back.
An own goal made it 2-1, then Moessner scored on a great individual effort to tie the game at 2-2. In overtime, Moessner scored off a pass from Caden Hackinson to give the Bearcats a 3-2 victory.
Moessner also had the lone goal in Bentworth’s 1-0 win over Springdale in the semifinals, which was assisted by Hackinson.
OLSH’s path back to the final was a 5-2 win over Riverview and a 2-1 victory against Winchester Thurston in the semifinals. Isaac Tarbuk had the game-winning goal against Winchester Thurston.
Quaker Valley vs. Belle Vernon
After only having one loss in the regular season, Belle Vernon may have felt like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, because it did not get any respect.
The Leopards (17-1-2) were seeded 10th, but that hasn’t deterred them from going on a run of upsets to the finals.
They beat No. 7 Beaver, 4-2, in the first round, stunned defending champion No. 2 Deer Lakes, 2-1 in overtime, in the quarterfinals and blanked No. 3 North Catholic, 2-0 in the semifinals.
The Leopards have had a bunch of goal scorers in the playoffs.
Chris Showman had the game-winner against Deer Lakes. Landon Bell and Dom Pireaux scored against North Catholic. Jordan Jerome and Jesse Sobczak had two goals each against Beaver.
Morgan Bunch has been strong in net recording 28 saves.
Like Belle Vernon, Quaker Valley (13-5-2) has pulled some upsets to get to the final as the No. 9 seed.
The Quakers beat No. 8 Freeport 2-0 in the first round before taking down No. 1 Avonworth, 1-0, in double overtime in the quarterfinals. They defeated No. 13 Ambridge in the semifinals, 3-2 in double overtime with freshman Isaiah Graham scoring the game winning goal.
Though the Quakers were a lower seed this year, this is a program with rich tradition. They’ve won 10 district titles, which is tied with Mt. Lebanon and Springdale for the second most in WPIAL history. Their last title was in 2021.