Victoria Sgard made her season debut for the Sewickley Academy girls tennis team Sept. 1 against Ambridge and won in straight sets.
Sgard, a senior, sparked the Panthers to a 5-0 victory.
Senior Lucy Taylor, Sgard and sophomore Sutton Rea were the top three singles players for Sewickley last season.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the tradition of Sewickley Academy’s girls tennis team,” Taylor said.
Taylor and Rea qualified for the WPIAL Class 2A singles tournament as the No. 6 and No. 12 seeds a year ago.
Both advanced to the semifinal round where Taylor defeated Rea to qualify for the championship match. Taylor placed second in the section; Rea finished in third place by winning the consolation match.
The Panthers were represented in the section doubles tournament in 2025 by Sgard and senior Clara Lukasiak as the third seed and seniors Isabela Zuluaga and Sophie Crichton as the fifth seed. Sgard and Lukasiak were semifinalists.
Sewickley landed the No. 3 seed for the WPIAL team tournament last year.
Tough to beat
The only way to beat the Sewickley Academy girls soccer team in 2025 was via a shutout.
And that happened only three times; the Panthers finished 20-3 overall in Class A.
“The season was a great success,” coach Gary Weber said. “We accomplished our goals of repeating as section champs and reaching the WPIAL finals. We wanted to qualify for the state playoffs, as well.”
Top competition
Quaker Valley and Shady Side Academy have combined to win five WPIAL championships in boys soccer over the past decade.
The Quakers won gold in 2016, 2019 and 2021 while the Bulldogs own back-to-back district titles in 2017 and 2018.
QV had a wild ride as the No. 2 seed in WPIAL postseason in 2025, defeating No. 15 Highlands, 5-1, and No. 10 Shady Side Academy, 2-1, in double overtime in the first two rounds.
Finn Thompson scored the game-winning goal against SSA.
Stat worthy
Here are some remarkable statistics from the Quaker Valley boys soccer team’s 2025 season: QV allowed only nine goals in 16 section games, attaining a 94-9 scoring advantage, and gave up just 17 goals in 22 games involving WPIAL teams.
The Quakers held a 107-17 overall scoring advantage for the season.
Players to watch
Four seniors at Eden Christian Academy were named in the preseason as the girls soccer team’s top players in 2026.
They are defenders Allie Emswiler and Maris Milliken, along with midfielders Violet McKinney and Alex Nacey.
Senior goalkeeper Ethan Geffel was cited as a top player on Eden’s boys soccer team.
Offering assistance
Jessica Boyer is the goalie coach for the Quaker Valley girls soccer team this season.
Other assistants consist of Todd Strelec, Keira Currier and Nikita Venkatasamy.
Did you know?
Did you know that Sewickley Academy boys golf coach Chuck Scally Jr. attended Palm Beach State College in Belle Glade, Fla.?