A plethora of pivotal section action was suppose to go down last night but, as usual, the weather had other plans for a few games. Of the games that did play on, the results were fantastic. Peters Township took undefeated Sewickley Academy into overtime and Char Valley took total control of second place in the Division II South section. Here's last nights scores and a preview of all the Thursday games.
Section
Sewickley Academy 9, Peters Township 8 (OT)
For the second time this season, it took sudden death overtime for Sewickley Academy to remain undefeated in section play. And last night, Peters Township almost took down the lone unbeaten team in the WPIAL but fell a single goal shy of slaying the Sewickley giant.
Peters came in with a bit of confidence following its tough road win against section rival Bethel Park last week, 7-3. And the Indians did what it had to do to put itself in a position to pull off the upset. Defensively, the Indians held Sewickley to eight goals at the end of regulation, a season low for the Panthers. Offensively, its eight goals were the third-most Sewickley had surrendered all season. But in the end, Sewickley proved its worth at the summit of Division I with a well-deserved section win on the road.
The Panthers ( 4-0, 11-0) take on Ohio's Dublin Scioto (4-7) on Saturday for a huge MSLCA fixture. Peters (1-3, 8-4) will play Franklin Regional (3-1, 6-7) on Monday before returning to section play against Upper St. Clair (2-1, 5-4) on Wednesday. Last season the Indians lost on the road to FR, 10-9, and were smoked by USC, 11-1.
Mt. Lebanon 16, Bethel Park 7
The Blue Devils remained unbeaten in the South section of Division I with yet another impressive win over a section rival at home against Bethel Park, 16-7. And now Mt. Lebanon can finally focus on the most heavily anticipated regular season game of the year when it travels to undefeated section rival and long-time nemesis, Sewickley Academy.
Bethel Park (1-4, 4-8) desperately needed to upset Mt. Lebo last night if it had any intentions of playing in the postseason next month. But unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the Blue Devils did what it does best; score. Lebo has been held to under ten-goals only once this season and on average the Blue Devils find the back of the net 14.5 times per game.
As the Blue Devils (4-0, 9-3) patiently wait til Wednesday to avenge its two losses against Sewickley (4-0, 11-0) last season, Bethel will focus on a non-section showdown against D-II powerhouse Chartiers Valley (5-1, 10-3) on Friday. Bethel beat the Colts last season 10-5 and Mt. Lebo lost twice to the Panthers a year ago, 5-4 at home and 8-7 in the playoffs.
Chartiers Valley 10, Quaker Valley 5
In the battle for second in the South section of D-II, Chartiers Valley continued its hot streak and held off Quaker Valley at home for a priceless 10-5 section win. The Quakers, whose only loss came against top-dog Greensburgh Central Catholic over two weeks ago, are now tied with Baldwin for third in the section and play host to the Highlanders on Wednesday. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for QV while the Colts picked up its fourth victory in a row.
Chartiers Valley (5-1, 10-3) will look to continue its offensive tear (averaging 12 goals per game over its last four) on Friday with a non-section match-up against Bethel Park (1-4, 4-8). The Colts lost to Bethel last season at home, 10-5.
Offensively, Quaker Valley (4-2, 6-2) was held to under nine goals for just the first time all season. Heading into the clash with Char Valley, the Quakers averaged over 11 goals per game and defensively had surrendered ten-goals or more only once before. But QV has its chance to rebound on Friday when it travels to Winchester Thurston (1-2, 2-2) for a South section showdown. The Quakers stymied Winchester last year at home, 5-4.
Cathedral Prep 15, Indiana 9
Cathedral Prep's 15-9 section win over Indiana was a vital one. Not only did it end a five-game losing streak but the win elevated the Ramblers to five section victories on the year, the first D-II North side to do so. More importantly, the win almost guarantees Prep a playoff spot unless North Hills wins out or Vincentian Academy somehow goes on an unstoppable, magical and highly unlikely undefeated streak. Prep has the head-to-head advantage with wins over both teams.
The Ramblers (5-2, 5-7) next host Ohio's Toledo St. John's (1-7) on Friday before traveling to Hampton (4-0, 4-6) on Wednesday for a marque section showdown.
Indiana (1-4, 4-4) will hope to end its three-game skid on Friday when section foe Taylor Allderdice (0-4, 1-8) travels to town. This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
THURSDAY GAMES
Section
Seneca Valley (2-0, 5-5) @ Pine Richland (1-2, 5-5)
Erie McDowell (3-2, 3-7) @ Shaler (1-3, 1-8)
Non-section
Baldwin (4-2, 8-2) @ Pittsburgh Central Catholic (2-2, 5-5)
Fox Chapel (0-4, 4-8) @ Hampton (4-0, 4-6)
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