Welcome to the
NORTH ALLEGHENY SPORTS NETWORK

The Official Source of North Allegheny Sports

BUTLER NIPS TIGERS, 3-2

by John Fulton

The North Allegheny Boys Varsity soccer team traveled to Butler for a section contest against the No. 5 ranked team in the WPIAL.

The Golden Tornados started strong by hitting the post at 2:00; however, Danny Crawford responded with a shot wide of the net at 2:30.  Justin Facer served a through ball to David Gettemy, who missed wide at 18:00.  The momentum shifted when Butler opened the scoring at 20:20 to take a 1 – 0 lead.  NA regained form and had the better of play throughout the remainder of the first half when Pete Schweers dropped a direct kick into the box to Andrew McIlvried, who headed the ball wide.  McIlvried’s persistence would pay dividends a few minutes later when he served a ball to Raphael Bretz, who drove the ball into the net at 30:00 to tie the game at 1 – 1.  Mike Brunner came up big with a save in the box at 38:20.  NA almost took the lead going into halftime, when Bretz drilled a shot just wide of the outstretched hands of the Butler goalie.

Butler opened the scoring in the 2^nd half with a penalty kick at 7:00 to take a 2 – l lead.  Three minutes later, the Tornados added another goal.  Several attempts by Gettemy and Timmy Zahren early in the 2^nd half were denied by the Butler goalie.  At 37:30, Bretz corner kick knocked in by Adam Sharpnack to cut the lead to 3 – 2.  NA continued to pressure, but was unable to come up with the tying goal.

For his role in both of the NA goals, Raphael Bretz was selected as the NA Player of the Game.

GAME SUMMARY
BUTLER - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2

 INDIVIDUAL SCORING

JV UPDATE:

NA 2 - Butler 0

NA controlled the tempo in the first half, taking a 1-0 lead into halftime after Dane Bralich centering pass set up Brandon Groom for the goal.  NA continued to press in the second half, resulting in a hand ball in the box.  The resulting penalty kick was driven home by Israel Escheveria.

NA 7 - Baldwin 0

Goals by Israel Escheveria (3) and Dane Bralich (2) lead the scoring assault.  Zach Jergan and Demtri Chiocchi rounded out the scoring with one goal each.

NA 1 - Pine-Richland 0

NA dealt the Pine-Richland JV's their first defeat of the season.  Andy Soergel powered home a goal during the first half, and NA's strong defensive play in the second half sealed the victory.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TIGERS WIN, TIE OVER WEEKEND

The Tigers had a good Friday night and Saturday afternoon with a section win and non-section tie.  On Friday night, the Tigers knocked off #6 ranked Pine-Richland, 1-0, at Pine-Richland.  The win boosted NA into a fourth-place tie with a 1-2 section record.  On Saturday afternoon, the Tigers tied Baldwin, 1-1, at Newman Stadium. 

With the win and tie, the overall NA record improved to 3-3-1 on the season.  The Tigers will travel to Butler tomorrow night to meet the #3 ranked Tornado.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

NA-PINE-RICHLAND SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1  PINE-RICHLAND - 0

by John Fulton

On a rare Friday night game, the North Allegheny Boys Varsity soccer team traveled to Pine Richland for a double OT, section win against one of the top teams in the WPIAL.

The Tigers dominated the first half of play by playing possession soccer.  Dividends almost paid off at 2:30 when Danny Crawford blasted a strike off the cross-bar.  North Allegheny continued to pressure the Ram defense as Kenny Nakajima hustled to keep the ball alive in the corner.  JP Fulton made a fantastic run along the left side through a number of Pine Richland defenders and dropped the ball to Crawford, who missed wide of the net that resulted in a corner kick.  At 16:00 Mike Brunner came up big by clearing an attempt by the Rams from the 20 yard line.  At 20:00, Fulton served a cross to Nakajima who placed a shot on goal.  Opportunity continued to knock when Crawford rang the cross bar again at 23:00 from the 30 yard line.  David Gettemy was in the box for the rebound; however, his header knocked off the cross bar.  A yellow card issued to NA resulted in a direct kick for the Rams immediately outside the 18.  Brunner came up with a save to deny Pine Richland.  At 37:30 Raphael Bretz made a turn from the 25 yard line for a strike on goal, but the attempt went wide.  The half ended in a 0 – 0 tie.

The second half was played with more parity as both teams possessed the ball equally.  At 3:00 Fulton struck the ball over the cross bar for the first scoring attempt of the half.  Seven minutes later, Fulton knocked away a direct kick from the 18 to keep the Rams off the scoreboard.  Pine Richland continued to press when Brian White cleared an attempt along the right side with a slide tackle.  With 4 minutes remaining in regular time, Evan Cullen sent a ball into the box from the 35 yard line, but a save by the Ram goalie kept the game scoreless at the end of regulation.

In the 1^st of two overtimes, Timmy Zahren served a big strike on goal, but was denied by the Pine Richland keeper.  His persistence would ultimately pay off for the Tigers in the 2^nd OT.  At 9:30 Brunner was forced to make a save in the air to halt the Ram’s attempt on goal.  At the end of the 1^st OT, the game remained tied 0 – 0.

In the 2^nd OT, the Tigers had the better of play by moving and possessing the ball.  With 3:00 remaining, Crawford switched the ball to Fulton, who carried the ball along the left side and cut towards the Rams goal.  Fulton put the ball on net forcing the Ram keeper to make a diving save. Zahren was well positioned in front of the net to knock the rebound home for the winning goal.

For their play throughout the game and their buildup to the winning goal; Danny Crawford, JP Fulton, and Timmy Zahren were selected as the NA Players of the Game.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1  PINE-RICHLAND - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TIGERS DROP SECTION OPENER TO SENECA VALLEY

The Tigers fell to 0-2 in section play with a tough 1-0 loss to Shaler on Tuesday night.  The Titans' Ross Carhart scored just 53 seconds into the contest and the Shaler defense made it hold up for the victory.  In the first section game, the Tigers dropped a 3-2 decision to Seneca Valley at Newman Stadium last Saturday night.  NA had built a 2-1 lead only to see the Raiders rally for the victory.

NA will travel to Pine-Richland on Friday night to meet the Rams in a 7:30 pm section contest.

GAME SUMMARY
SHALER - 1  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

GAME SUMMARY
SENECA VALLEY - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2

by Mark White

The North Allegheny Boys Varsity soccer team hosted Seneca Valley last Saturday in their first section match.

North Allegheny came out very strong and had an early opportunity by Raphael Bretz that just missed the net.  Minutes later, and just 4:40 into the game, Justin Facer scored on a free kick that deflected off one of the Seneca Valley defenders into the net.  The Tigers continued to place pressure on the Raiders with Danny Crawford crossing the ball to David Gettemy whose header just missed going into the net. At 15:30, Tommy Petrus had an excellent scoring opportunity when Crawford made a nice crossing pass but Petrus’ shot hit the cross bar. The near misses by the Tigers would come back to haunt them as the Raiders tied the game at 20:00 on one of their first shots on goal of the game.

North Allegheny quickly applied more pressure with Even Cullen passing to Bretz who crossed it to Crawford who put a shot on net but was denied by the Seneca Valley goalie.  At 23:00 Lathom Louco pressured the Raider defense and the result was a corner kick for the Tigers.  The corner kick was served by Bretz and headed by Petrus just wide of the net.  After continued pressure by the North Allegheny offense, David Gettemy scored at 26:40 on a through ball that got behind the Raider defense. The Raiders attempted to respond but were shut down by defenders Peter Schweers, Brian White and Goalkeeper Mike Brunner.  The 1^st half ended with the Tigers leading 2 –1.

For the first 10 minutes of the second half, neither team could establish much momentum. Ken Nakajima made a nice run at 10:50 followed by crosses by Crawford and J.P Fulton. However, the Tigers could not get the ball in the net. Additional pressure by Facer, Gettemy, Petrus, and Louco resulted in shots on goal but the Seneca goalkeeper kept his team in the game. The Raiders counter attacked at 29:03 but Adam Sharpnack played strong defensively to frustrate the Raider offense. At 31:06 Nakajima made another run and launched a shot on goal but once again was turned aside by the goalkeeper. At 31:40 Nakajima made a nice pass to Andrew McIlvried who worked hard in the Raider end and got a corner kick.  Fulton served up the corner kick perfectly but Nakajima’s header went just wide of the goal. Disaster struck in the last five minutes of the game as the Raider’s after being dominated for the entire game scored goals at 34:48 and 39:07.  The Tigers had once last chance on a corner kick at 39:40 but could not get a shot on goal. The final score of the game was Seneca Valley 3 North Allegheny 2.

For his play, Justin Facer was selected as the NA player of the game.

GAME SUMMARY
SENECA VALLEY - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TIGERS DOWN LEBO, 4-0, IN NON-SECTION CONTEST

by John Fulton

The North Allegheny Boys Varsity soccer team traveled to Mt. Lebanon last Thursday to challenge the Blue Devils, a perennial WPIAL power. 

Justin Facer opened with the first scoring opportunity only 3 minutes into the game by driving a shot over the cross bar.  The Tigers continued to place pressure on the Blue Devils and made the home team pay after Brian White served the ball from the 30 to David Gettemy, who headed home the first goal of the evening after 5 minutes of play.

Mount Lebanon countered with an attempt on goal that was cleared by White at 12:30.  The Tigers quickly organized an attack, which resulted in a direct kick.  Pete Schweers served the ball from the 35-yard line to Tommy Petrus in the box, who headed the ball for the second goal of the half.  Midway through the first half, the momentum changed and GK Mike Brunner and Adam Shapnack were forced to make several clearances to keep the home team off the board.   

Just 3:50 into the second half, the Blue Devils mounted pressured on the NA defense.  Brunner continued to step up big with another big save on goal.  Justin Facer drove a shot wide left of the net at 7:30.  The Tigers continued to push when Andrew McIlvreid crossed the ball to Tommy Petrus, who volleyed wide.  At 19:30 Raphael Bretz dropped a short ball off a corner kick to Facer.  Sharpnack received the cross from Facer and redirected the ball into the net for the second score of the game.  Several minutes later Sharpnack sent a through ball to Kenny Nakajima, who received the ball at the 30-yard line and pushed the ball past the Mt. Lebanon goalie for the third goal.  The Tigers pressure continued to pressure when Bretz drove a hard shot outside the box into the top left corner for goal number four.

For his play, Adam Sharpnack was selected as the Man of the Match.

 GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  MT. LEBANON - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

FIRST HALF GOAL HOLDS UP AS HOWLAND (OH)
TOPS TIGERS, 1-0

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

A breakaway goal by junior Eric Albani was enough for the visiting Howland, Ohio, Tigers to defeat NA, 1-0, at Newman Stadium on Tuesday night.  The NA Tigers dominated ball possession for most of the evening but could not finish.

The Tigers began to apply pressure on Howland GK Dan Miller early in the first half.  Junior defender Pete Schweers sent a long shot from 20 yards that Miller collected on a hop just 2:25 into the contest.  Junior forward Kenny Nakajima had a good chance in front of the Howland net but his shot was blocked by Howland defender William Henderson a little over five minutes later.  The best NA scoring opportunity came with 25:35 remaining in the half when senior forward David Gettemy was stopped by Miller from point blank range with senior MF Tommy Petrus sending the rebound just over the crossbar.  The Tigers had two more scoring opportunities with 22 minutes left  After Miller made an initial save, junior MF Tyler Migliozzi saw his rebound attempt stopped by Howland defender Hector Gutierrez right in front of the goal.  Howland had their first offensive opportunity at the midway point of the half when junior Ryan Guerin sent a long attempt through the goal area.  It was an NA mistake, however, that led to the Howland goal.  A turnover in Tiger territory allowed Albani to break free and beat NA senior GK Mike Brunner who had come out to cut the angle.  It was the first Howland shot of the game and it gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage with 18:32 remaining in the half.  The NA Tigers continued to pressure the Howland goal with Miller stopped junior forward Andrew McIlvried with 9:39 on the first half clock.  Seconds later, Gettemy had another chance but Miller was there again.  With 5:54 left, Gettemy's long shot went wide, and Howland took a 1-0 lead to the intermission.

In the second half, Howland played defense almost exclusively making very few penetrations into NA territory.  Gettemy came close again just 2:23 into the half but his shot went wide right.  Three minutes later, junior Adam Sharpnack had a chance just inside the 18 but his attempt was stopped by Miller.  Junior MF J.P. Fulton drove a hard shot from 20 yards out that Miller made a diving save of at the ten minute mark.  Howland made one of their incursions into the NA defensive zone when senior Joseph Preszioso broke free at midfield.  A good defensive play by junior Justin Kailer stopped the attempt.  The Tigers then resumed the offensive pressure junior forward Rafael Bretz send a hard direct kick just wide with 17:30 remaining.  With 12:41 left, Miller was able to collect a bouncing ball in the box to again stop the NA attempt at equalizing.  NA had another corner kick with 3:20 remaining but could not get off a good shot.  Miller made is final save with 10 seconds on the clock, and the Howland Tigers took a 1-0 victory back to Ohio.

It was a good performance by the Tigers who controlled the ball and dominated play.  NA finished with a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks for the game but could not find the net.  For his defensive efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior defender Brian White as the Player of the Game.

With the loss, the NA overall record fell to 1-1 in the early season.  The Tigers will travel to Mt. Lebanon tomorrow night to meet the Blue Devils in a non-section contest.  Game time is scheduled for 7:45 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
HOWLAND - 1  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TIGERS EDGE HAMPTON, 2-1, IN OPENER

by John Fulton

The North Allegheny Boys Varsity soccer team opened their fall 2007 campaign on Saturday afternoon against Hampton High School, the No. 2 ranked preseason team in AA. 

The first scoring opportunity came just 3:10 minutes into the game when senior MF Tommy Petrus sent a through ball to senior forward Kenny Nakajima in the box.  The Hampton goalie came up with a big save to thwart the opportunity.  Hampton began to mount pressure on the North Allegheny defense.  At 9:10, the Talbots were awarded a corner kick, which was cleared by senior defender Brian White.  Hampton continued to pressure the NA side when senior GK Mike Brunner made a diving save to keep the Talbots off the board.  A driving run by Petrus along the left side set up a corner kick by junior forward Andrew McIlvried; the header attempt by Petrus sent the ball just wide left of the net.  At 31:30, a service by senior defender Latham Louco down the left side of the field set up a direct kick by senior MF Justin Facer 10 yards outside of the 18.  Facer dropped the ball into the box, where a misplay by the Hampton goalie allowed McIlvried an opportunity to drive the ball into the back of the net for the first score of the game. 

Momentum continued to mount when junior MF Danny Crawford crossed the ball to senior F David Gettemy, whose shot went wide left of the net.  At 33:00, junior defender Pete Schweers cleared an attempt by the Talbots along the right side.  Hampton continued to press the NA defense when Brunner made back-to-back diving saves to stall the attack.  With less than 1 minute to play, NA had another scoring opportunity when junior MF JP Fulton served a 30-yard attempt that hit the top of the crossbar to end the first half. 

Hampton came out strong in the second half.  A cross at 4:30 went wide of the net.  Louco cleared a ball to ease the Talbot attack.  At 15:30, NA turned the tide when Facer carried the ball from behind the half-way line to Petrus, who pushed the ball to Crawford, who made a run along the left side before crossing the ball to Nakajima, who headed home the second goal of the day.  With less than 15 minutes to play, Hampton began to pressure the NA defense again.  Junior defender Justin Kailer cleared the left side to prevent a run by the Hampton forward.  At 31:00, Bruner was called on again to make a nice save to keep the Talbots off the board; however, at 26:30 Hampton was able to cut the score to 2-1 off a direct kick that slipped by Brunner.

Hampton continued to place pressure on the NA defense but was unable to get the equalizer.  The Tigers opened the season with their first win 2-1 against a very spirited Hampton team.  The Tigers return to play on Tuesday, September 4 when they host Howland High School of Ohio.  For his play in goal, Mike Brunner was selected as the Man of the Match.

JV UPDATE: The JV team played to a 1-1 tie in the earlier game of the day with a goal by Greg Borza.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  HAMPTON - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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