This is a big week for fall sports as the WPIAL is releasing section alignments and schedules for the next two years.
Football will come Thursday, Wednesday is girls volleyball and Monday was boys and girls soccer.
“It’s always difficult trying to balance travel and competitive balance,” WPIAL executive director Vince Sortino said when it comes to realignment.
Of note in girls soccer, both Woodland Hills and Jeannette will not be part of the league for at least the next two seasons.
“They dropped their programs due to a lack of interest,” Sortino said.
The Wolverines finished in last place in Section 1-4A this past fall with an 0-10 record. They were 3-13 overall and were outscored 87-15.
The Jayhawks canceled their 2025 season in early September because of low numbers. The program had 14 girls sign up in the summer, but many changed their minds about playing and early on, there were practices in which only four girls showed up. Jeannette was 0-12 in the 2024 season.
On the flip side, Highlands is bringing its girls soccer program back to the WPIAL. The last season the Golden Rams played in the district was in 2022 when they were 0-12 in Section 2-2A and 0-16 overall.
Highlands has been placed in Section 2-2A, along with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic and Valley.
Here are the other changes in girls soccer.
• Fox Chapel and Gateway moved up to Class 4A and are in Section 1, as is Connellsville, which moves over from Section 2-4A.
• Also in Section 2-4A, Bethel Park moved up from Class 3A to join that South Hills section.
• In Class 3A, which grew from 26 to 27 teams, Knoch and Ambridge moved up from 2A and were placed into Section 1-3A. Belle Vernon also moved up and is in Section 3.
• Latrobe and Penn-Trafford moved down from 4A and are in Section 4-3A.
• Staying in Class 3A but moving sections were Blackhawk from 2 to 1, South Fayette from 3 to 2, and Elizabeth Forward from 4 to 3.
• Class 2A dropped from 27 to 25 teams. Seton LaSalle and Waynesburg Central moved up from Class A and are both in Section 1-2A.
• Oakland Catholic dropped from 3A into Section 2-2A, Riverside moved up from Class A into Section 3-2A. West Mifflin dropped and South Allegheny moved up, and both were placed in Section 4-2A.
• Deer Lakes stayed in 2A but moved from Section 4 to Section 2.
• Class A went up from 23 to 25 teams. Shady Side Academy and Steel Valley both dropped and are both in Section 4-A.
• Switching sections were Sewickley Academy from 3 to 1, and both the Ellis School and Winchester Thurston from 4 to 3.
On the boys’ side, the biggest changes were that Class 2A grew from four to five sections and Class A shrunk from four to three sections.
• In Class 2A, Knoch dropped from 3A to Section 1-2A, Ambridge dropped from 3A into Section 2-2A, while both North Catholic and South Side are up from Class A and placed in Section 2-2A.
• West Mifflin dropped from 3A to Section 3-2A. Also new to Section 3 are Avonworth and Quaker Valley coming over from Section 2 and Shady Side Academy moving from Section 1.
• Five teams moved into the new Section 4-2A. They include Elizabeth Forward, McGuffey, Seton LaSalle and South Park coming from Section 3 and Keystone Oaks from Section 2.
• Here are the teams making up the new Section 5-2A: Belle Vernon down from 3A, Ligonier Valley from Section 3 and five teams over from Section 4, including Brownsville, Derry, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough.
• There was lots of moving from section to section in boys Class A. Aquinas Academy and OLSH moved from Section 3 to Section 1-A. Bishop Canevin, Brentwood, Carlynton and Serra Catholic all moved from Section 3 to 2.
• The new look Section 3 has Greensburg Central Catholic from Section 2, and Jeannette, Riverview, St. Joseph, Springdale, Trinity Christian and Winchester Thurston from the now-defunct Section 4.
• Moving to the top two classifications, both Connellsville and Fox Chapel moved over from Section 2 to Section 1-4A, while Baldwin and Bethel Park are up from Class 3A and moved into those two spots in Section 2-4A.
• Moon moved up from 3A and was placed in the northern Section 3-4A.
• Greensburg Salem dropped from 4A and moved into Section 1-3A, while Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford and Latrobe bumped over into Section 1-3A from Section 3.
• Uniontown also moved from Section 3 into Section 2-3A.
• Hampton, Mars and Shaler slide over from Section 1 into the new-look Section 3-3A, which also includes Penn Hills, Plum and Woodland Hills moving down from Class 4A.
• South Fayette moved from Section 2 to Section 4-3A, joined by Central Valley which moved up from Class 2A.
WPIAL boys soccer alignment for 2026 and 2027 seasons
WPIAL boys soccer schedule grid for 2026 and 2027 seasons
WPIAL girls soccer alignment for 2026 and 2027 seasons
WPIAL girls soccer schedule grid for 2026 and 2027 seasons