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Soccer playoffs begin Saturday

Four area high school soccer teams learned their first postseason opponent with the release of the WPIAL playoff brackets on Wednesday, while one received a bye into the first round.

Preview capsules on the upcoming games follow.

Class AAA Boys

Seneca Valley at Bethel Park 2 p.m., Saturday

Records: Seneca Valley 9-7-1 overall (6-3-1 and third place in Section 2-AAA).Bethel Park 14-3-1 overall (10-2 and second place in 4-AAA).

Scoring: The Raiders have outscored their opponents 32-29. Freshman forward Ryan Vilella leads the way with 10 goals and five assists, followed by senior midfielders Tyler Izenas (five goals) and Richie Kocur (three goals and five assists).The Black Hawks had a 54-10 scoring advantage in the regular season.

Game Notes: The Raiders lost 2-0 at Bethel Park Oct. 5. ... The Black Hawks' two section losses were to Mt. Lebanon, the undefeated section champ, by a combined score of 6-1.

Speaking: "In the game we lost to Bethel Park, we matched up well with them in the first half. We had a section game the very next day and maybe we looked ahead a bit. But we're pleased with our draw." — SV coach George WilliamsClass AA Boys

Indiana at Mars 7:45 p.m., Monday

Records: Indiana 12-6 overall (8-4 and third place in Section 1-AA).Mars 17-1 overall (12-0 and first place in 2-AA).

Scoring: The Indians enjoyed a 51-19 scoring edge during the season.Mars has outscored its opponents 101-14.

Game Notes: The two teams have faced three common opponents — Highlands, Kittanning and Gateway. Against those teams, Indiana was 2-1 with an 8-5 edge in goals. Mars went 5-0, outscoring those teams 41-3.

Speaking: "We've played both Robbie Sigurdson and Garrett Gabriel in goal this season, but we're hoping to settle on one for the playoffs." — Mars coach Chris Knauff

KnochatCenter 4 p.m., Saturday

Records: Knoch 9-7-1 overall (8-4 and third place in Section 2-AA).Center 13-4 overall (11-3 and first place in 4-AA).

Scoring: The Knights have a 49-29 edge in goals. Top scorers include senior forward Kevin Wood (14 goals, 13 assists), sophomore midfielder Kory Wood (nine goals, 10 assists) and Klaus Ondrizek (nine goals, five assists).The Trojans are plus-54 (75-21).

Game Notes: While the Knights fell to Mars on Tuesday, the team has not lost consecutive games since starting the season 0-3. ... Center enters the playoffs on a six-game winning streak.

Speaking: "We know (Center) plays in a competitive section. They battled it out with Beaver all year and they're used to making the playoffs." — Knoch coach Doug WoodClass AAA Girls Mars at Upper St. Clair 2 p.m., Saturday

Records: Mars 14-3-1 overall (10-3-1 and second place in Section 2-AAA).Upper St. Clair 9-6-2 overall (9-3 and third place in 5-AAA).

Scoring: The Planets are plus-41 (54-13). The team is led by senior forward Lexie Mastro (13 goals) and junior midfielder Dana Wonderley (10 goals).The Panthers outscored the opposition 56-21.

Game Notes: The Planets' three losses came to the other two teams from their section that made the playoffs in Seneca Valley (2) and North Allegheny (1). ... Mars is riding a seven-game winning streak, while USC enters postseason play having gone 1-2-2 in its last five games.

Speaking: "A lot of USC's girls play on Century United, a club team that we're familiar with. Their losses are almost all one-goal losses to really good teams. They're pretty solid." — Mars coach Blair Gerlach• Seneca Valley, which won Section 2-AAA with a 14-0 record (17-0-1 overall), will play the winner of Saturday's play-in game between Montour (9-6-3) and Thomas Jefferson (11-5-2), at 7 p.m. Tuesday at NexTier Stadium.

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