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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY

2003 GAME SUMMARIES

NA WINS ONE, TIES TWO AT NORTHWESTERN TOURNAMENT

The Lady Tigers traveled to Chicago and the Northwestern Tournament over 
the weekend and came home undefeated with one win and two ties. In the 
tournament, NA played three teams from the Chicago area. NA tied Lake 
Forest, 2-2, New Trier, 1-1, and Oak Park, 1-0, in the round robin 
competition. 

In the first game, NA took on the defending Illinois State Champions, Lake 
Forest. After Lake Forest took the lead, 1-0, the Lady Tigers came back 
to score on a short corner. Junior Lauren Ertzberger scored with the 
assist going to junior Maddie Nestor. The teams went to the intermission 
tied at 1-1.

In the second half, Lake Forest took a 2-1 lead when they scored on a 
short corner with 14:59 remaining. With ten minutes left, NA came back to 
tie the game on another short corner. Nestor got the goal on the assist 
from junior stick stop Sandy Fulkerson. Neither team could score again. 
According to Coach Sue Phillips, "it was possibly our best game so far 
this season."

In the second game on Saturday morning, the Lady Tiger played New Trier. 
NA had the statistical edge in the game, but neither team could score. 
The Lady Tigers had six shots on goal against three, and three short 
corners to one. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

In the final game, the opponent was Oak Park, from the northwestern 
section of Chicago. In a physical game, NA was able to take a one-goal 
lead and hold on for the victory. Senior Jess Nellis was able to score 
off a right side corner cross from senior Amanda Howard in the circle. 
The defense was able to hold off an Oak Park threat in the last six 
minutes of the game, allowing only three shots on goal.

It was a good weekend for the Lady Tigers. Against top competition, NA 
had 22 shots on goal against only 11 by the three opponents combined. 
"Our team played very strong this weekend, and we hope to continue the 
winning streak through the season," said Coach Phillips. The Lady Tigers 
will travel to Fox Chapel this afternoon for a 4:00 pm section contest.

(Thanks to Coach Phillips for the information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARIES
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2 LAKE FOREST - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING (NA ONLY)
FIRST HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Lauren Ertzberger (Maddie Nestor)
SECOND HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Nestor (Sandy Fulkerson)

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0 NEW TRIER - 0

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1 OAK PARK - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
FIRST HALF
NO SCORING
SECOND HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Jess Nellis (Amanda Howard)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LADY TIGERS ROUT UPPER ST. CLAIR, 8-0

To listen to a replay of the game, click here!

Senior forward Erika Ruddy had a goal and two assists to lead the Lady 
Tigers to an easy 8-0 victory over Upper St. Clair in a section game at 
Newman Stadium on Monday night. Senior Jessie Nellis and juniors Lauren 
Ertzberger and Laura Peery had two goals each as NA scored six second half 
goals to ensure the victory.

The Lady Tigers dominated the game from the start, keeping the Panthers 
bottled up in their own territory. NA has at least three good chances to 
score in the early going. Junior Abby Clark just missed at the 27:19 
mark, junior Jean Walton was stopped from right in front on the goal at 
the 19:50 mark, and Clark's shot with 17:33 remaining went wide.
Junior Carly Riggin finally got NA on the board as she scored an 
unassisted goal with 15:18 left to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead. Just 
a little over five minutes later, Riggin scored her second goal, off a 
penalty corner, to make it 2-0. NA kept the pressure on but could not 
score as the teams went to the intermission with the Lady Tigers holding 
the 2-0 advantage.

The Lady Tigers broke the game open early in the second half. Junior 
Lauren Ertzberger poked in a rebound with 24:48 left and senior Jessie 
Nellis followed with a goal less than two minutes later. Ruddy was able 
to make it 5-0 at the 17:41 mark as she scored on a rebound. The goals 
kept coming as junior Laura Peery scored the first of her two goals after 
stealing the ball at midfield and making a long run. Nellis's second goal 
made it 7-0 and the rout was on. Peery scored the final goal with a 
diving effort to put Ruddy's pass in the net.

The Lady Tiger defense kept Upper St. Clair off balance throughout the 
game. Senior goalie Crystal Ptacek played the first half while junior 
Meghan Coleman was in the net for the second half.

The win was the third straight against no losses in WPIAL competition. 
For her efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Erica Ruddy 
as the Player of the Game. The Lady Tigers will be back in action over 
the weekend when they travel to Chicago to participate in the Northwestern 
Tournament.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 8 UPPER ST. CLAIR - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
FIRST HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Carly Riggin      15:18
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Riggin (Erika Ruddy)    10:09
SECOND HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Lauren Ertzberger    24:48
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Jessie Nellis     22:57
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Erika Ruddy     17:41
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Laura Peery     13:51
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Nellis     11:15
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Perry (Ruddy)     11:02

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
STRONG SECOND HALF BOOSTS LADY TIGERS OVER WOODLAND HILLS, 3-1
Coach Sue Phillips' Lady Tigers were back in action in the WPIAL on 
Thursday afternoon as they traveled to Woodland Hills and came back with a 
3-1 victory. In the first half, senior Erika Ruddy gave the Lady Tigers a 
1-0 lead on an assist by junior Carley Riggin. Woodland Hills came back 
to tie the score, and the teams went to the intermission tied at 1-1.

In the second half, NA took control of the game. Senior Amanda Howard 
tallied the go ahead goal, assisted by junior Jean Walton, and NA took a 
2-1 advantage. Later in the half, junior Maddie Nestor set up junior 
Lauren Ertzberger for the all-important insurance goal as the Lady Tigers 
went ahead, 3-1. 

The Tiger defense was able to hold off the Wolverines for the remainder of 
the game, and NA was able to win the section contest. Senior Crystal 
Ptacek played in the Lady Tiger goal for the first half, while junior 
Meghan Coleman took over in the second half. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3 WOODLAND HILLS - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
FIRST HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Erika Ruddy (Carley Riggin)
WOODLAND HILLS
SECOND HALF
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Amanda Howard (Jean Walton)
NORTH ALLEGHENY     Lauren Ertzberger (Maddie Nestor)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LADY TIGERS RETURN FROM GATEWAY CLASSIC

Over the past weekend, the Lady Tigers participated in the Gateway Field 
Hockey Classic in St. Louis, Missouri. The Gateway Classic in its sixth 
year of competition. Thirty-three schools from nine states participated 
this year with all games being played at the Anheuser Busch Sports Centre 
in St. Louis. NA played three games, all against St. Louis area teams. 

On Saturday, NA defeated the Visitation (MO) Vivettes, 2-0. Senior 
forward Erika Ruddy scored the first goal, assisted by junior MF Lauren 
Ertzberger, as NA took a 1-0 lead. Ertzberger tallied the second goal, 
with junior Katie Schwartz picking up the assist. Also on Saturday, the 
"Chicks with Sticks" tied the St. Joseph Academy Angels, 1-1. Ruddy 
scored the NA goal with Schwartz earning the assist. 

On Sunday, the Lady Tigers dropped at 1-0 decision to the John Burroughs 
(MO) Bombers. Beth Argetsingers's second half goal was the difference in 
the contest. Burroughs has been the Missouri State Champions nine of the 
past twelve years.

According to head coach Sue Phillips, "It was a great tournament with a 
lot of competition and the team would like to return next year". The Lady 
Tigers will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Woodland 
Hills to meet the Wolverines in a 4:00 pm contest. 

2003 PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
Arrowhead (WI)     NORTH ALLEGHENY (PA)
Brentwood (MO)     Parkway North (MO)
Casady (OK)     Riverview Gardens (MO)
Cor Jesu (MO)     Pembroke Hill (MO)
Edwardsville (IL)     St. Joseph Academy (MO)
Ft. Worth Country Day (TX)     Talawanda (OH)
Greenhill School (TX)     Webster Groves (MO)
John Burroughs (MO)     Upper Arlington I (OH)
Heritage Hall (OK)     Upper Arlington II (OH)
Kirkwood (MO)     Villa Duchesne (MO)
Ladue (MO)     University City (MO)
Lafayette (MO)    Ursuline (MO)
Louisville Collegiate I (KY)     USM I (WI)
Louisville Collegiate II (KY)     USM II (WI)
Lutheran South (MO)     Visitation (MO)
Marquette (MO)     Whitfield (MO)
MICDS (MO)     Clayton (MO)
Nerinx Hall (MO)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LADY TIGERS WIN OPENER AT WINCHESTER THURSTON, 4-1

Coach Sue Phillips' Lady Tigers traveled to Winchester Thurston on 
Thursday afternoon and defeated the Bears, 4-1, in the season opener. The 
Lady Tigers will travel to St. Louis, Missouri, over the weekend to play 
in the St. Louis Invitational. NA will play a pair of games on Saturday, 
and another on Sunday before returning home. On Monday, the "Chicks with 
Sticks" will host Vincentian at Newman Stadium with game time set for 7:30 
pm.

In 2002, the Lady Tigers were undefeated in section play as they won the 
WPIAL championship. Overall, NA posted a record of 18-1-4, in qualifying 
for the PIAA playoffs. Twin Valley ended the Tigers' season with a 3-0 
victory in the playoffs.

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org