A state championship event is coming to Southwestern Pennsylvania for the rest of the decade.
The PIAA board of directors approved Wednesday sites for the fall sports championships, bringing the state soccer finals to the Pittsburgh area.
The PIAA boys and girls soccer finals will be played at Highmark Stadium across the river from downtown Pittsburgh.
The facility is home to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and has also hosted the WPIAL boys and girls soccer finals for the last 12 seasons.
“It’s a great soccer venue with an amazing backdrop of our beautiful city,” WPIAL executive director Vince Sortino said. “What a great opportunity for the teams in our district to have an opportunity to play for a PIAA soccer championship right in our own backyard.”
The PIAA soccer championships were played at Hersheypark Stadium from 1998 through 2021. They then moved to Cumberland Valley High School from 2022-24 and last year were played at Northeastern York High School in Manchester.
Here are the sites for the seven fall state championships through the 2029 season.
Football – Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg
Soccer – Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh
Girls volleyball – Saint Francis University in Loretto
Boys and girls golf – Penn State Golf Courses in State College
Girls tennis (team, singles and doubles) – Hershey Racquet Club
Cross country – Big Spring School District in Newville
Field hockey – Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg
Three other changes agreed on by the board starting in the 2026-2027 school year:
• There will be no more overtime in regular season soccer games. If matches in the regular season are tied at the end of regulation, they go in the books as a tie. In regular season tournaments, the event can use penalty kicks to determine a winner if they choose. Overtime and penalty kicks will still be used in district and state playoff matches.
• Tennis coaches will be permitted to “coach on the fly” instead of waiting for the end of a set.
• Students who attend vocational technical, magnet and alternative schools can participate in athletics in their home district if the vo-tech, magnet or alternative school does not sponsor that sport.