Wednesday night at North Allegheny High School will be the setting for the final step towards reaching the Division II WPIAL championship. And both match-ups are replays from games earlier this season. Section rivals Baldwin and Greensburg Central Catholic face off again and Hampton will attempt to avenge it's one goal loss to Chartiers Valley in early April. Tomorrow will be the Laxburgh preview for the Division I games but here's a look at the D-II pairings:
Hampton Talbots (8-0, 11-7) v. Chartiers Valley Colts (7-1, 14-4)
A match-up championship worthy in itself, the rematch between the Talbots and Colts is a true Division II heavyweight bout. Both sides put up big offensive numbers, both have a sturdy defense and both have the potential firepower to run away with a colossal win.
The Chartiers Valley defense has been solid all season. Over 18 games the Colts' defense allowed on averaged 5.5 and surrendered double digits to a D-II team during the regular season only once. That one game was the lone loss to a D-II side for the Colts and it came against section rival Greensburg Central Catholic, 10-4. But Char Valley still has a pretty impressive resume that includes a 14-1 victory over Baldwin and wins over D-I sides Pine Richland, 11-8; at Fox Chapel, 11-4; and Trinity, 15-3.
The 9-8 win at Hampton was a big one for the Colts, at the midpoint of a six-game win streak. But the game itself could easily have gone the other way. The Talbots were up 3-2 at the end of the first and took a 7-4 lead into the half. But CV came out gunning and put up four in the third for an 8-7 lead heading into the fourth. Both defenses stepped up big and only allowed one a piece and the Colts escaped with a narrow and impressive 9-8 road win.
As for the CV attack, it averages 10.5 goals per game and has netted ten or more in eight of the last nine games. During said stretch, the Colts are 8-1. Junior Kevin Gillen has been on an absolute tear with 43 goals and 24 assists for a team-high 67 points. Junior attackman Braenden Shaak has tallied 38 goals and 14 assists and senior midfielder Matt Redmond has a team-high 44 goals.
The Hampton arsenal is a dangerous one too. Averaging almost 12 goals per game this season, the Talbots offense is anchored by Jimmy Kuczynski, Andy DeMichiei, Nicholas Dudenas and Christopher Braun. But the Hampton scoring is also scattered amongst a handful of other unselfish team players. And in doing so the Talbots surge into the playoffs with a ton of confidence, having won nine of its last ten and maintaining a flawless section record.
Defensively, Hampton averaged over seven goals against per game but allowed 10 or more goals to a D-II team only once all season. Some of those solid performances include a 16-7 win over Greensburg Central Catholic and a monster 21-1 victory over Taylor Allderdice. But the biggest win all season came in the closing days of the season and the section title was on the line at Butler. Hampton left with a 16-9 win and the North section regular season title.
The Talbots knocked off Quaker Valley 15-2 in the first round of the playoffs while Chartiers Valley survived a late comeback at home against Cathedral Prep, 11-10. The Colts are 4-0 against teams from the D-II North section and Hampton is 2-1 against the South.
Baldwin (6-2, 14-3) v. Greensburg Central Catholic (8-0, 14-4)
The first meeting between these D-II South sides was pretty one-sided. GCC came out on fire to start and Baldwin just didn't have enough to keep up and lost at home by a 15-4 final. But that was then and Baldwin currently steamrolls into the semifinals with eight wins in its last nine games.
The Highlanders started the year the same way its finishing it, a six-game string of wins. Baldwin opened up the season 6-0 before the section loss to the Centurions followed by a 14-1 beat down by Chartiers Valley. But the Highlanders bounced back nicely with wins over Cathedral Prep, 17-11, and at D-I side Fox Chapel, 11-10. Before Baldwin's six-game win streak up to now, Pittsburgh Central Catholic dealt the Highlanders a brutal 20-8 loss. Since, the defense has averaged 3.5 goals against per game.
But it's been the Baldwin offense that has been most impressive, averaging almost 12 goals per game and scoring double digits in 12 of 17 games for a 12-0 record. Senior attackman Cody Golon has been a beast with 52 goals and 35 assists for 87 points. Senior attackman Garrett Wild has also put up nice numbers with 32 goals and 24 assists and fellow senior attackman Craig Madison has found the back of the net 32 times.
Greensburg Central Catholic has plenty of goal scoring weapons as well. Senior attackman Christopher Johnston has a team-high 28 goals but is an all-around athlete who rides on clears as hard as he shoots. But the most interesting stat from the Centurions offense is five players have 13 or more assists. Ryland Smith (14 assists), Tillman (10), Matt Pezze (14), John Bursch (23 goals, 16 assists) and Phil Croker (15 goals, 14 assists).When the offense scores ten or more, the Centurions are 13-1.
The Centurions defense has been just as tough, having surrendered 10 or more goals only twice all season. And close calls were a common theme for the defense all season with narrow wins over D-I giants Bethel Park, 12-9; Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 12-9; Peters Township in overtime, 7-6; and a close call at Quaker Valley, 11-9. GCC heads into the rematch with Baldwin on a six-game win streak and averaging 13 goals per game during that stretch.
GCC beat Erie-McDowell in the opening round of the playoffs, 12-4, and Baldwin traveled to Butler and knocked off the defending D-II champions, 12-5.
Check back tomorrow for the Laxburgh Division I preview!
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