North Allegheny Sports Network - Varsity Girls' Lacrosse Game Summaries

The Tigers completed the first round of regular season section play undefeated at 5-0 after thumping Shaler Area by a whopping eleven goal margin at 16-5. Senior captain Whitney Wilson again led the way for the varsity squad scoring six goals and an assist in the victory.

The Tigers started quickly by scoring four goals in the opening 3 minutes of play, a philosophy that the Tigers practice consistently to get a jump on teams. Wilson started the scoring followed by Strealy Clark and Alexa Jennings before ringing up her second of the night just 2:22 into the game to get the four goal jump. Shaler’s Leah Walker then put their only first half goal past Ang Smarto at 5:34 of the first half. Junior captain Chelsea Cameron then popped in a couple of goals followed by Wilson’s third of the half, Clark’s second and Jennings’ second. NA held a 9-1 halftime lead.

North Allegheny played a very solid first half with the ball staying in the offensive end for most of the 25 minute period. The Tigers ran their motion offense and controlled the ball. They took advantage of smart cuts from set plays and opened up the critical scoring area. The defense played tough on the fan and held the Titans out of their end by playing great body positioned defense. The Tigers did not receive a foul until the final three minutes of play in the first half.

The second half saw the Titans come out with the upper hand as second home Cory Scanlon raced through the Tiger defense within the first 10 seconds of the half to score her first of three goals. The Tigers would not hold back as Clark hit the back of the net with another goal followed by two from Wilson as they went up by ten goals and allowed the clock to run freely.

Cameron then scored once again before Shaler’s Scanlon grabbed another followed by Becca Knoll to stop the clock again. Wilson then popped in her final goal to keep the clock moving to the final 2 minutes. NA’s Megan Litterini, playing strong defense lately, then blew a free position goal past the Titan’s Maddie Neely in goal. Shaler’s Scanlon completed her hat trick with 1:45 remaining.

The Tigers then pulled out a sweet move from Emily Rosenzweig, feeding an intentional ground ball pass to Megan Litterini who pushed it on to Strealy Clark into a wide open goal crease as she popped one into the back end of the cage. Final score NA-16 and Shaler Area 5.

Litterini and Elise Moore also added assists for NA. Goalie Angela Smarto stopped 7 of 12 Shaler shots while NA scored on 16 of 28 of their shots. Nicole Spellman had a fine game at defensive wing controlling 3 draws, 5 groundballs, and intercepting a Shaler pass.

The win puts NA in sole possession of first place in Section 1 having played every school in the section at least once. They also take their seven game win streak to Worthington, Ohio. There they will play state ranked #8 Thomas Worthington under the lights on Friday at 7:00. On the following day, the Tigers are guests in the Hannigan Galipault Tournament hosted by Thomas Worthington. In the tournament they will face some stiff competition by playing state ranked #5 Upper Arlington at 9 am and then #2 Sycamore at 11 am. Details of the tournament schedule can be found at http://sticksup.com/2006_hannigan_galipault_tourname.htm.

It will be some of the toughest competition that the team has played. “It will be a good test for the streak that we have going”, says Coach Datz, “Hopefully, a couple of good wins and a strong showing will bring up our competitive spirit as we make a definitive push to be section champs and put ourselves into great position for a run at our first playoff experience.”

The Tigers return to home action against West Virginia’s University High School on Monday at 7 pm.

On Tuesday night, the North Allegheny Tigers returned to action at Martorelli Stadium, defeating the North Hills Indians 10-6. The short trip down the road enhanced the Tiger record to 6 wins and 2 losses. This was also the 6th straight win for their streak.

Scoring was shared by seven different players for NA as they outshot North Hills 25-22. Six of the seven scored a goal in the first half. Senior Whitney Wilson started off by scoring at 4:55 into the first half. Junior Dana Spellman then had a free position score 1:22 later. The Tigers then played a smart transition game as North Hills got some close range chances on Junior goalkeeper Angela Smarto, who held the indians scoreless on their 7 first half shots. Senior Elise Moore tallied a goal followed in succession by Junior Connor Willard, Junior Emily Murphy, and Junior Megan Litterini on another free position shot. Score at the half stood at 6-0.

During halftime, the Indians gathered for a raucous cheer and drew first blood with a swift goal at 4:45 of the second half. Wilson then scored again for the Tigers, starting off the NA scoring as she did in the first half. North Hills then racked up three consecutive goals to pull them within three goals of the lead. Junior Chelsea Cameron followed by trading goals with North Hills as she spread out her hat trick around 2 North Hills goals. Final score stayed at 10-6.

Smarto finished with 16 saves from the Indians 22 shots on goal. Willard, Moore, and Cameron also added an assist each. Litterini played another strong game intercepting 2 passes in the defensive transition along with 2 draw controls.

The Tigers will host Shaler tonight at Newman Stadium with game time scheduled for 7:30 pm.

The North Allegheny Tigers continued their winning ways on Wednesday night by a decisive 12-2 victory over Vincentian Academy. Game time was an early 5:00 and the scoring started shortly thereafter. Whitney Wilson gunned her first of five goals on the night just 2:03 into the game. The Tigers continued to dominate the Royals both offensively and defensively throughout the first half of play. Five different scorers netted seven first half goals while the defense held Vincentian to just three shots on junior goalie Ang Smarto. Smarto was able to stop all three Vincentian shots in the first half. Scoring in the first half was done by Wilson (2), Strealy Clark (2), Alexa Jennings, Elise Moore, and Emily Murphy.

The second half saw three more goals by Wilson, one by Clark, and another by Moore. In the second half, Vincentian was able to infiltrate the North Allegheny defense and put two goals through the defense and Ang Smarto. Smarto stopped five shots to give her a .800 save percentage for the evening. Megan Litterini, Clark, and Wilson all contributed an assist to round out the night.

The Tigers compete again on Tuesday, after the school break, at Section 1 rival, North Hills. Another early start for the Tigers as game time is slated for 4:00 pm.

JV: The Junior Varsity Tigers had a tremendous outing in a last minute comeback tie against the Royals. Final score of the JV contest was 5-5.

Vincentian outscored the Tigers 3-1 in the first half. Freshman Emma Luitgaarden had NA’s lone goal. The game was then delayed at halftime for 45 minutes because of lightning.

When play resumed, Vincentian racked up another goal in an attempt to deflate the JV’s chances. But NA played a steady game and the defense of sophomore Amber Wetzel, freshman Piper Foight, junior Shannon Wilcox, and freshman Jess Schwab held Vincentian out of their end as the Tigers clawed back. Freshman Maddie Saldana threw a quickstick shot past the Vincentian goalkeeper from a swift pass by Emma Luitgaarden. Freshman Lauren Bates then added another Tiger goal to get the home crowd back into the game at 4-3.

Vincentian then tallied their fifth goal of the night past freshman goalie Alli Schwer. But the goal did not deter the Tiger team as their bench encouraged them on to get those goals back. Emma Luitgaarden would not be denied as she notched her second goal of the game with 1:28 left in stop time. Then, with just 25 seconds left, Lauren Bates ran down the field and hit nothing but the back of the net with her second goal and tied the game.

The game ended at 5-5 as there is no overtime process in Junior Varsity lacrosse. The JV team will travel to North Hills with the Varsity squad. Game-time is set at the conclusion of the Varsity contest.

The Lady Tigers defeated Seneca Valley, 9-7, at Newman Stadium on Tuesday night to take over first place in Section 1. NA was led by senior Whitney Wilson and junior Strealy Clark who each posted a three-goal hat trick. Senior Elise Moore added a pair of tallies while junior Chelsea Cameron scored the other NA goal. Erin Bernhard scored three goals to pace Seneca.

Seneca Valley started quickly and took a 3-0 lead just 3:48 into the contest. Michelle Quail raced through the NA defense to score the game's first goal with just 14 seconds elapsed. Bernhard added two quick goals as the Lady Tigers found themselves behind, 3-0, with 21:12 remaining in the half. NA rallied, however, to quickly get back in the game. Clark scored on a free position shot at the 19:00 minute mark, and Wilson tallied her first goal a minute and 20 seconds later to cut the lead to 3-2. Moore made a great individual effort coming from behind the net to tie the game at the 15:39 mark. Less than two minutes later, Cameron put in a pass from junior Alexa Jennings to give NA their first lead of the game, 4-3, with 13:43 left.

After a Seneca Valley timeout, the Lady Tigers continued to press the attack. Wilson scored her second of the game to give NA a 5-3 lead with 8:49 remaining. Clark scored on another free position shot, going high over the shoulder of Seneca goalie Brittany Fusco to make it a 6-3 game. With 1:11 remaining, Moore drilled a shot from 12 yards out to give the Lady Tigers a 7-3 advantage at the intermission.

Neither team scored early in the second half. Lady Tiger Head Coach Harry Datz inserted a number of second team players into the lineup early in the half. The Raiders finally broke through at the 19:20 mark when Kylie Gallagher connected on a free shot to cut the lead to 7-4. After a goal by Wilson was disallowed, the Tiger senior came right back to score one that did count for her third goal of the game. The NA lead went back to four goals at 8-4. Seneca Valley did not give up, however, and stormed back to score the next three goals. Gallagher put in her second from the right side, and Bernhard got her third on a free shot to cut the NA lead to 8-6. A minute later, NA senior goalie Ang Smarto made a big save to keep the lead at two. Ashley Argyros was able to score with 7:31 left to cut the lead to one at 8-7.

The Lady Tigers played an intelligent game down the stretch, holding the ball until they either drew penalties or got shots from close in. Finally, Clark was able to take advantage of a quick start after a penalty to put away an insurance goal at the 1:11 mark to secure the victory for NA.

It was a good effort by the Lady Tigers both offensively and defensively. Smarto was tough in goal, making key saves throughout the contest. For her efforts on the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Whitney Wilson as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 3-0, the overall mark to 4-2. The Lady Tigers now are alone in first place in section play. NA will host Vincentian tonight at Newman Stadium with game time set for 6:30 pm.

The Tigers traveled to Butler for their second section contest last night where they defeated the Golden Tornado by a score of 5-4.

It was the Tigers' first game on a grass field and there were some adjustments to the new surface. The tall grass field provided an extra effort to run through and proved difficult to scoop up ground balls. Junior Goaltender Angela Smarto commented that the bounce shots taken on her "...just went everywhere!"

Also challenging the Tigers was the return of 9 players from school trips to Boston and New York. The Tigers were very rusty from the start, having not worked together as a complete squad in 5 days. Senior Captain Whitney Wilson opened up the game with her 14th goal of the season. After Butler took a 2-1 lead at 6:26 of the first half, Coach Datz brought the girls in for a time out to re-focus them on winning the small battles of the game and controlling the tempo of the ball. The timeout proved effective as Butler did not score again until late in the second half. Junior Captain Chelsea Cameron tied the game and then finished off the second half scoring with her tenth and eleventh goals of the year. The Tiger's held a 3-2 lead at the half.

During halftime, Coach Datz realized his team could not maintain their 9.75 goals per game average and compensated by building from a strong defense and minimizing the Butler shots on goal. The Tigers' offense also shored things up by taking care and control of the ball during the second half. Senior Captain Elise Moore came out gunning in the first minute of the second half, ripping a shot past the Butler goalie to give the Tiger defense a small cushion to work with. Moore would later notch her eighth goal of the year with what proved to be the game winning fifth goal. Butler finally cracked the North Allegheny defense in the final two minutes with two goals with 1:16 and 4 seconds remaining in the game.

Ang Smarto finished the game with 9 saves from 13 Golden Tornado shots on goal. Defensive Wing Emily Rosenzweig and Cover Point Nicole Orlosky proved confident in forcing Butler turnovers and managing to scoop a few ground balls in the grass. The game also marked the return of Junior Strealy Clark from illness. Clark is challenging for the career points lead in only her Junior year.

The section win tied the Tigers for first place in Section 1 with Seneca Valley. NA will meet the Raiders tonight in a battle for the section lead. A win will give NA sole possession of first place. The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 pm. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm at Newman Stadium.

In their first section game of the season, the Tigers beat Pine Richland by a definitive 14-5 margin. The victory was sought after very highly among the players and coaches. Last season saw the Rams come back and take a victory away from the 2005 Tigers in the final seconds, so this victory tasted sweet.

After an extended track meet and scoreboard technicalities, the Tigers stayed focused on the task of winning the game. They jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Chelsea Cameron before Pine Richland's Hilary Strollo scored. That would be the lone goal for the Rams in the first half as North Allegheny took a 6-1 halftime lead. Scoring was done by all three Tiger captains, Whitney Wilson, Elise Moore, and Cameron with 2 each. The defense of Morgan Snow, Sara Carothers, and Nicole Orlosky played strong by applying pressure to the PR attack and forcing errors and turnovers. They only allowed 3 shots on goaltender Ang Smarto in the first half.

The second half managed to keep scoring for NA amongst the captains as Wilson put another 4 goals behind PR goalie Brie Donovan. Cameron and Moore also served up another 2 goals apiece. The Rams were able to penetrate the defense a little more, scoring on 4 of 8 second half shots. Ang Smarto kept pace with her season long .482 save percentage. In her 4 second half saves were two critical stops on free position shots.

It was a critical victory against one of the leagues top teams in recent years. The Rams and Tigers meet again at Pine Richland on Tuesday, April 25.

The win evened the overall NA record at 2-2 on the season. The Lady Tigers will travel to Butler on Monday to meet the Golden Tornado in a 4:00 pm section game.

Friday night under the lights saw the North Allegheny Tigers score a shut out victory against first year team Knoch by a 16-0 margin. Scoring for the Tigers in the first half were Chelsea Cameron with 3, Whitney Wilson with 2, Alexa Jennings with 2, Elise Moore with 1, Connor Willard with 1, and Dana Spellman with 1.

In the second half, the Tigers worked on their settled offense and some new plays introduced by Coach Harry Datz. Goals were scored by Wilson, Christy Sisko, Megan Litterini, Cameron, and 2 by Morgan Snow.

Goaltender Angela Smarto completed the game stopping 100% of all Knoch shots. Dana Spellman and Elise Moore also tallied 2 assists.

With the win, NA improved their record to 1-2. The Lady Tigers will host Pine-Richland tonight at Newman Stadium with game time now set for 8:15 pm. The JV contest will begin at 7:15 pm.

The Lady Tigers traveled to Peters Township on Thursday night and dropped a 15-3 decision to last year's runnerup. It was a tough night for the Tigers in a non section match up in a game that was dominated by a very strong Indians offense .

The score at the half was 9-1 as Whitney Wilson had NA's lone goal. After an initial rushing attack by North Allegheny, Peters scored on 5 of 6 shots before NA registered a shot. The Tigers then held the Indians in check for the next 10 minutes Wilson scored her fourth goal of the young season. Peters then rallied for four more goals to take a dominating halftime lead.

The second half saw Juniors Alexa Jennings and Chelsea Cameron notch a goal each in the final 15-3 defeat. For the game, Junior goaltender Ang Smarto stopped 10 of 25 shots. The Tigers got just 8 shots off on a Peters Township duo of goalies.

The Tigers take on first year team Knoch at home tonight. Game time is set at 7:30.

JV: The JV team lost their decision against Peters, also. The score of the game was 8-3. The JV Tigers are starting to find their way as a team with encouraging play. Freshmen scorers were Lauren Bates with two tallies and Emma Luitgaarden with one. Freshman goalie Allie Schwer stopped 8 of 16 shots.

The JV Tigers take on first year team Knoch at home tonight. Gametime is set at 6:00.

Last night, the Tigers lost a hard fought decision against Fox Chapel. The Tigers outplayed the Foxes in every category but found a wall in the Fox Chapel goalie, Gia Thomas. Thomas let in only 6 goals from 22 North Allegheny shots as the Tigers dropped their first contest of the 2006 season, 9-6. Tigers junior goaltender Ang Smarto tried hard to match Thomas, stopping 10 of 19 Fox Chapel shots.

The Tigers were playing very short handed due to illnesses that have run throughout both the JV and Varsity squads during the first three weeks of the season. With that thought in mind they played a ball controlled game both offensively and defensively.

Both teams refused to get into a run and gun game by keeping the game crisp and played in the air. The Tigers only had 5 groundball pickups as there were not many opportunities for the ball to even touch the ground. They reverted to their big stick defense by intercepting 4 passes that changed the direction of play.

Offensively, seniors Whitney Wilson and Elise Moore led the attack by settling play and taking opportune shots. Wilson held the scoring advantage with a hat trick, including NA's opening and closing goals. Moore was able to tie the game at 2 with 1:42 remaining in the first half. The Tigers defense let in a late goal to give the Foxes the halftime lead by 3-2. Junior twins, Dana and Nicole Spellman tallied second half goals in the Tigers defeat. Nicole Spellman also added a quick stick assist to her sister's goal midway through the second half. While the Tigers controlled the pace of the game during most of its' duration, Fox Chapel took advantage of a stall technique in the last 2 minutes of the game. They were able to move the ball around the attack fan and keep it away from the Tigers defense.

It was a very complete game from a limited squad of girls. The Tigers showed great resilience to defeat and played with a lot of heart. They hope to take the same effort into their next game on Thursday at Peters Township. Peters Township was the 2005 WPIAL Runner-Up during a season that saw NA beat them at home in overtime. Game time is set for 7:30.

No JV stats to report in their loss to Fox Chapel. Freshmen Lauren Bates and Katie Rossier scored for the Tigers.

After 10 grueling practices in Western Pennsylvania's ever changing weather, the North Allegheny Girls' Lacrosse is proud to announce their 2006 roster and captains. The Tigers will again be led by Head Coach Harry Datz and newly appointed Assistant Coach Mandy Wetzel. Captain for the Varsity Squad is senior Whitney Wilson with Alternate Captains junior Chelsea Cameron and senior Elise Moore.

The Lady Tigers have two home scrimmages against Latrobe and Hampton, then open the season at home on Friday, March 24, against Bethel Park.

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