Times' 2024 girls soccer preview: Meet the Beaver Valley teams

The WPIAL soccer season kicked off this past weekend with many teams beginning their season over the past several days.

With section play set to begin soon, it is time to take a look at the schools in the Beaver Valley that will be competing against one another this season.

Last season, Freedom Area and Moon Area were the two teams out of the Beaver Valley to secure WPIAL and PIAA state titles and both teams are looking to win their third straight WPIAL title and fourth straight PIAA title, respectively.

When looking at the classifications, three teams will compete in Class 3A, five teams will compete in 2A and four teams will play in Class A this season.

Now let's take a look at each of the Beaver Valley teams that will look to compete for a WPIAL crown this season.

Class 3A

Blackhawk

The Cougars missed the playoffs by just three points from a season ago as the team posted a record of 8-9-0 overall and a 5-7-0 record in section play. Blackhawk is once again matched up in a tough section IV as it will compete against the likes of Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley, Montour, Moon Area, Trinity and West Allegheny in the new classification cycle.

Moon Area

The Tigers have had a dominant run over the past decade and will look to go for a PIAA four-peat this season after defeating Abington Heights in the PIAA Class 3A state finals a season ago. Last season, Moon Area finished at the top of its section finishing with a 19-2-2 overall record and a 9-1-2 record in WPIAL Class 3A section IV play. As Bill Pfeifer enters his 22nd season as the Tigers head coach, he will do so with a young roster hungry to continue the team’s dominance over the past several years. This season Moon Area will return several players including junior Kendall Dydak, Anna Palm, Ally D’Alesio, Ava Esttright, Riley LaFayette and Lilly Snyder. The Tigers will look to continue their dominance with this young roster after their team from a season ago recorded 19 shutouts and gave up just four total goals last year.

West Allegheny

West Allegheny put together a strong season last year and returns a slew of offensive starters who will look to make an immediate impact to begin the season. Last season, the team punched its ticket to the playoffs after posting a record of 10-8-0 overall and a 6-6-0 record in section play. The team returns leading goal soccer Chloe Hart, who netted 15 goals and seven assists, keeper Ally Frueh, defender Casie Yonker, defender Ella Douglas, defender Olivia Deluca, midfielder Ella Smith and midfielder Kylie Holtz.

More: Ten things to watch for in the Beaver Valley during the 2024 fall sports season

Class 2A

Ambridge

The Bridgers bring back a young but experienced roster from a season ago after the team finished near the bottom of the Class 2A Section I standings. With eight returning starters, Ambridge looks to take big strides in 2024 as the team returns leading goal scorer Norah Marchionda who netted nine goals last season, Emily Wissner, Megan Conover, Hayden Grant, Abby Smith, Madison Kozak, Mikalah Wetzal and Hannah Thear. With the returning class that it has, Ambridge will look to make a push to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs this season.

Beaver Area

The Bobcats return a strong roster filled with experience and playing time under fifth-year head coach Nick Crivelli. Last season, the team was led by the trio of Sydney Chontos, Lilia Battalini and Ana Hahn, who all tallied 11 goals in 2023. Along with her work as a goal scorer, Chontos also led the team in assists last season. The team also returns Lyra Kuhlman who logged the most minutes out of any Beaver Area player last season and defender Antonella Brkich who enters her junior season. With the offensive starters returning who all have goal-scoring experience, the Bobcats are poised for a postseason run in 2024.

Central Valley

The Warriors look to rebound from a season ago when their team missed out on the playoffs by just four points finishing with a 5-12-1 record overall and a 5-7-0 record in section play. Entering this season, while the team lost four key pieces from a year ago, the team does return several key starters including junior Aubrey Grater who led the team in scoring, Chloe Haney, Reese Held, Ava Palladino-McMullen, Avery Cairns, Gianna Gasperine and Julia Henderson. As head coach Drew Bollmann enters his fourth season with the program he looks to use an experienced roster with a strong freshman class that will look to bolster the team’s attack this year.

Hopewell

The Vikings look to improve upon a one-win season a year ago after finishing at the bottom of their section. Hopewell is once again in a tough section with teams who have had vast postseason experience including the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Avonworth, Beaver Area and Quaker Valley.

Quaker Valley

The Quakers return a young roster for the 2024 season as the team returns senior forward/midfielder Anna Hanley, keeper Clara Herman, forward Annabel Miko and senior midfielder Mia Modrovich. Last season, Quaker Valley punched its ticket to the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs and upset eighth-seeded Southmoreland before falling to the eventual WPIAL Champion Avonworth Antelopes 4-3.

Class 1A

Freedom Area

Even though the Bulldogs lost several key pieces from its back-to-back WPIAL Championship team , Freedom Area still is the team to beat in Class A this season and will look for its third straight WPIAL title after defeating Riverview 1-0 at Highmark Stadium last year. This season the team returns junior Mackenzie Mohrbacher, who was a key piece on the team last season, along with seniors Olivia Henderson, Riley Tokar and Lily Houy.

OLSH

Last season the Chargers put together an impressive showing finishing second in section IV posting a 10-5-0 record overall and an 8-2-0 record in section play making it to the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals falling to eventual WPIAL champion Freedom Area. Even though the team lost several seniors in Faith Gartley and Alexa Taylor, OLSH still brings back a slew of juniors in a small senior class that will look to make an impact this season.

Riverside

Last season the Panthers punched its ticket to the WPIAL Class A playoffs after posting a 4-9-0 overall record and a 4-6-0 record in section play. Although Riverside fell in the first round, the team will once again look to make it back to the postseason after finding success last year.

South Side

The Rams struggled last season as it mustered just one win throughout the season last year. South Side Area will once again have a tough test in its section. OLSH joins Section I along with Freedom Area, Eden Christian Academy and Riverside, who all punched a ticket to the playoffs a season ago.

Sewickley Academy

The Panthers were a playoff team a year ago and will look to continue their success in 2024. Last season in 2023, the Panthers finished in third in Class A Section III after posting an overall record of 7-8-0 while also positing a 6-4-0 record in section play. Sewickley Academy and Riverside will each battle for the last playoff spot in the new Section I after OLSH was moved into the section after the new classification cycle.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Times' 2024 girls soccer preview: Meet the Beaver Valley teams