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FIVE LADY TIGERS NAMED TO WPIAL FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS

Five members of the WPIAL Champion Lady Tigers were selected to the WPIAL Class AAA Section 1 All-Star team.  Honored were seniors Brooke Baxendell, Kelly Carioto, Meghan Hoot, and Shannon Sullivan, along with junior Caroline Torie.

CONGRATULATIONS, LADY TIGERS!!!!!

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WPIAL CLASS AAA SECTION 1 ALL-STAR TEAM

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WARWICK KNOCKS LADY TIGERS FROM STATE TOURNAMENT WITH 4-0 VICTORY

Warwick was too strong for the Lady Tigers on Tuesday night at Penn State University as they defeated NA, 4-0, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.  Warwick scored a pair of goals in the first half to take a 2-0 lead to the intermission.  In the second half, the District 3 team added two more tallies to finish off the 4-0 victory.

In the first half, Warwick came out aggressively and got two quick corners.  Senior Brooke Baxendell did a good job of shutting down Warwick's opportunities.  For the next five minutes, NA regrouped and controlled play.  Warwick's speed took over.  Led by Kathryn Kirk, the right midfielder, Warwick quickly exchanged passes and up the right side and scored to take a 1-0 lead at the 16:00 minute mark.  At this point, Coach Jen Diaz changed the game plan by committing a forward to continuously marking Kirk.  Junior forward Caroline Torie, senior Meghan Hoot and junior Andrea Camut all did a good job of taking her out of the rest of the game.  Warwick broke through to score again at the 12:48 mark to take a 2-0 lead.  After an NA time out, the Lady Tiger defense, headed up by seniors Shannon Sullivan, Hillary Richard and Baxendell picked up their game and kept Warwick off the board for the remainder of the half.  Warwick took a 2-0 advantage to the intermission.

The Lady Tigers came out strong at the beginning of the second half getting the ball into the circle.  After NA got a corner and a shot at the Warwick goal that was stopped by the goalie, Warwick was able to regroup and answered with a goal at the 20:47 mark to make it a 3-0 game.  The District 3 team was able to add another goal with 16:53 left to extend the lead to 4-0.  After a time out, the Lady Tigers came back to earn two corners and some scoring chances.  The defense did a better job of containing Warwick.  The right side of Richard, Sullivan and Baxendell never gave up and continued to fight to get the ball in the circle.  In the last 10 minutes, NA accumulated several free hits going into the circle along with additional long hits.  Warwick was able to hold off the Lady Tigers down the stretch and complete the 4-0 shutout victory.  Senior goalie Natalie Martin had seven saves while NA was able to hold off Warwick on six corners primarily due to the work of Baxendell.

COACH'S NOTES:  North Allegheny had a great season and really adjusted their game for the WPIAL championship tournament and PIAA play-in game versus State College.  Unfortunately, the pressure of Warwick's speed made NA fall back on bad habits of "big ball" play and slow feet.  Every member of the North Allegheny team should be proud of the accomplishments of the season.  Every member of the team improved their skill as a player and worked hard as a teammate.  I wish every senior success in everything they pursue in their future, you were great leaders for the program!  I  hope the underclassmen see this loss as an opportunity to learn what is needed to reach the next level.  I hope they utilize the off-season to improve parts of their game so we can continue to achieve excellence for North Allegheny Field Hockey. - Coach Diaz

Despite the loss, the Lady Tigers completed a highly successful season that saw them win the section title and then go on to take the WPIAL Championship with a 4-1 victory over Fox Chapel.

(Thanks to Coach Diaz for information in this report!)

CONGRATULATIONS TO COACH DIAZ AND THE LADY TIGERS!

GAME SUMMARY
WARWICK - 4  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

PIAA CLASS AAA TOURNAMENT

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LADY TIGERS STOP STATE COLLEGE, 3-0,
IN PIAA PLAYOFFS

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

The Lady Tigers defeated State College, 3-0, at Newman Stadium on Thursday night in preliminary round action in the PIAA tournament.  Senior Brooke Baxendell scored midway through the first half to give NA a 1-0 advantage they carried to halftime.  In the second half, seniors Shannon Sullivan and Meredith Feingold added goals to give the Lady Tigers their ticket to the first round of the state playoffs.

Neither team was able to get good scoring opportunities in the early going.  Junior Andrea Camut had a chance on a pass from  Sullivan at the 3:42 mark but shot wide.  Three minutes later, the Lady Tigers forced a penalty corner but could not score.  Senior goalie Natalie Martin came out to make a save on SC forward Molly Snyder at the 8:36 mark.  NA began to pressure the State College goal ten minutes into the game.  Senior forward Meghan Hoot had her shot blocked at the 10:39 mark.  With 17:02 remaining, the Lady Tigers had another penalty corner but failed to score.  NA broke through when Baxendell tallied her team-leading fourteenth goal of the season on a pass from Sullivan to put the Lady Tigers ahead, 1-0, at the 13:34 mark.  The Lady Little Lions came back quickly but were stopped by a good defensive play at the top of the circle.  With 14:30 remaining, sophomore defender Michelle Cotter stopped another SC rush.  After a State College time out, a long shot went in the goal but was overruled because it was not touched in the circle.  Martin made another tough save with 7:19 remaining to keep NA on top.  The Lady Tigers came close to adding to the lead with 5:50 left in the half when Hoot rolled a shot past SC goalie Liz Fontaine, but the ball hit the post with no NA player in position for a rebound.  A minute later, Camut had a chance but shot wide.  With 1:34 left, a long hit by the Lady Tigers went right in front of the goal but was cleared.  In the last minute, Martin made another save on Snyder as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers took a 1-0 advantage to the intermission.

State College came out ready to play early in the second half.  Good plays by Martin and senior midfielder Kelly Carioto blocked potential scoring chances in the first minute.  Two minutes later, junior Caroline Torie made a long run down the left side but her pass to an open Alex Schenk was blocked and taken away.  At the 4:30 mark, SC's Kristi Kao made a nice run and passed through the circle but could not find an open teammate.  Less than a minute later, Sullivan came back for NA with a good run down the left side but could not get off a centering pass.  Senior defender Meredith Shozda stopped a SC rush at midfield at the 6:40 mark.  A minute later, the Lady Tigers sent a pass through the circle that was cleared.  At the 8:25 mark, Schenk had a great chance from in front of the goal but Fontaine was able to make the save.  NA continued to pressure the SC goal and kept the ball in the circle but could not score just past the ten minute mark.  The Lady Tigers forced a corner with 18:13 remaining, but Torie's attempt from the left side went wide.  The Lady Little Lions came back and forced junior goalie Steph Anderson to make a kick save to keep the one-goal lead.  With 12:20 left, Hoot shot wide of the net.  On another corner, Sullivan blasted in a shot off a stick stop to increase the NA lead to 2-0 with 9:54 remaining.  A little over a minute later, Feingold drove the ball into the net.  After waving off the goal initially and after a conference, the officials decided that Feingold had a foot into the circle and counted the goal.  The Lady Tigers took a commanding 3-0 lead with only 8:14 left in the game.  Baxendell came close to adding another goal but shot wide with 6:30 left.  Kao answered with a good run around the left side but her centering pass was not played by the Lady Little Lions with 3:45 left on the clock.  Two additional State College shots went wide in the final minutes of the game as the Lady Tigers finished off an impressive  3-0 victory.

It was a good team victory for NA.  Once again, the defense was outstanding with the midfielders stopping most of the SC breakout attempts before they got into NA territory.  Credit to Carioto, Sullivan, Feingold and senior Hillary Richard for their aggressive play.  Once the ball did get deep, the NA defense of senior Kim Hucko, junior Liz Herb and Cotter combined with the NA goalie tandem of Martin and Anderson to keep SC off the board.  The NA defense did not allow a goal at Newman Stadium all season long.  During that stretch, the Lady Tigers scored 39 goals.  For her work at midfield and for a goal and an assist, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Shannon Sullivan as the Player of the Game.

The win put the Lady Tigers into the first round of the PIAA playoffs against the fifth seed from District 3.   NA will face Warwick from Lititz, PA, at Penn State University on Tuesday night.  Game time is scheduled for 6:00 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  STATE COLLEGE - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS FOIL FOXES, 4-1, TO TAKE WPIAL TITLE

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

Scoring four second half goals for the second straight game, the Lady Tigers defeated Fox Chapel, 4-1, in the WPIAL Class AAA Championship game at Fox Chapel on Monday night.  Seniors Kelly Carioto, Meghan Hoot, Shannon Sullivan, and Brooke Baxendell all scored for the winning Lady Tigers.

Fox Chapel started strong with a pair of penalty corners in the first two and a half minutes.  The Lady Tigers were able to clear both attempts, the second coming after a scramble in the circle.  At the 4:03 mark, Sullivan had a chance off an NA corner, but her shot was blocked.  Less than a minute later, senior Hillary Richard had a chance from the top of the circle but her attempt was blocked and cleared by the FC defense.  The Foxes came back with a shot by Julie Campbell that went wide of the net at the 5:52 mark.  Later in the half, junior Caroline Torie made a long run down the left side, avoiding several Fox Chapel defenders and passed to Sullivan but her attempt was also blocked.  With 18:30 remaining, FC junior goalie Morgan Hammer had to make saves on shots by junior Andrea Camut and Sullivan to keep the game scoreless.  With 15:30 remaining, Sullivan tried to hit a wide open Hoot in the circle, but the pass was just behind the NA senior.  Off an NA corner with 13:26 left in the half, Sullivan again had her shot blocked in the circle.  A little over a minute later, Hammer had to come out and beat Hoot to the ball to avoid another NA scoring opportunity.  Fox Chapel came back and had a pair of chances just past the 10:00 mark, but the NA defense was there to clear the ball.  Sullivan had a great chance with 7:15 remaining but shot wide of the FC net.  With 6:45 left, Fox Chapel put the ball in the goal, but it was waived off after a consultation by the officials who ruled that the shot came from outside the circle and was not touched on the way in.  With less than a minute left in the half, NA had another penalty corner but could not convert.  The teams went to the intermission with a scoreless tie.  The Lady Tigers came on strong in the latter stages of the half and finished with five corners to just two for the Foxes.  Senior goalie Natalie Martin played the first half and kept FC off the board.

Neither team had scoring chances early in the second half.  NA junior goalie Steph Anderson had to come out of the net to stop a FC pass through the circle just 2:43 into the half.  The physical play picked up and NA was given a yellow card later in the half.  Beginning at the 10:00 minute mark, the Lady Tigers began to pressure the FC goal and earned three straight corners.  On the third goal, Baxendell was able to take the ball out of a scramble and roll it to Carioto in front of the net.  The Tiger senior drove it home to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 advantage at the 11:37 mark.  After a Fox Chapel time out, the Foxes' Julie Campbell had a free hit just outside the circle but could not score.  The Tigers again picked up the pressure with Carioto sending a free hit into the circle that was cleared by the FC defense.  With 12:33 remaining, Hammer made the initial save on an NA shot.  The ball rolled slowly toward the FC goal, and Hoot beat the defender to the ball and drilled it into the net to give NA a 2-0 lead.  The Lady Tigers had another corner with 10:30 left but could not convert.  Two minutes later, Baxendell sent the Tigers in on a three-on-none break, but Hammer was able to come out of the net and stop the attack.  Seconds later, Sullivan deflected a shot by senior Meredith Feingold into the goal as the lead went to 3-0 with 10:21 remaining in the game.  Fox Chapel came back to cut the margin to 3-1 when Markie Ruggeri blasted a hard shot into the goal after taking a pass just to the left of the NA net.  It took the Lady Tigers just thirty seconds to answer with Baxendell scoring on a rebound of a shot by Hoot.  The score went to 4-1 with 4:48 left in the contest.  With 1:39 left, senior Alex Schenk had a scoring opportunity but was stopped by Hammer.  Time ran out with NA controlling the ball as the Lady Tigers completed the 4-1 victory good for the WPIAL championship.

It was a great team effort by the Lady Tigers.  The defensive corps of seniors Kim Hucko and Meredith Shozda, junior Liz Herb, and sophomore Michelle Cotter continually stymied the Fox Chapel attack.  In the midfield, Carioto was superb in controlling the game.  For her efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Kelly Carioto as the Player of the Game.  The NA dominance was reflected in the final penalty corner count that showed the Lady Tigers with ten and the Foxes only three for the game.

With the win, NA wrapped up their eight title in nine year, their second straight Class AAA crown.  The Lady Tigers have qualified for the PIAA Playoffs and will meet State College in a preliminary round game on Thursday night at Newman Stadium.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:15 pm.  Game time is set for 6:30 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  FOX CHAPEL - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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CAMUT'S SECOND HALF HAT TRICK LEADS LADY TIGERS OVER PETERS TOWNSHIP, 4-0

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

After a scoreless first half, junior forward Andrea Camut scored three times in the second half and senior Shannon Sullivan added another goal as the Lady Tigers defeated Peters Township, 4-0, at Newman Stadium on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AAA tournament.  Peters Township had dominated play late in the first half before NA rallied to win.

Both teams started the game with a defensive game plan that allowed few scoring attempts.  PT's Ally Oleynik had the first good scoring chance but her shot from close range was stopped by NA senior goalie Natalie Martin at the 6;50 mark.  Less than two minutes later, Sullivan passed to a breaking senior forward Brooke Baxendell but her shot was blocked by the PT defense.  The Lady Tigers earned a penalty corner with 12:31 remaining, but Sullivan's attempt went wide left.  In the last ten minutes of the half, the Lady Indians turned up the defensive pressure and began stealing the ball.  The pressure resulted in the last five shot attempts by PT.  With 8:32 left, a shot by Jenn Doran went wide.  Oleynik was stopped by Martin from right in front of the goal with 6:45 remaining.  Oleynik came back less than a minute later to blast a shot just wide to the left of the NA goal.  Kayla Howard then rolled a shot wide to the right of the Tiger goal.  On a penalty corner with 5:09 left in the half, Baxendell blocked a PT shot.  The Lady Indians then broke in on a 2-on-1, but Martin again made the save with 2:23 remaining.  A final Peters Township attempt off a second corner was blocked and cleared by the NA defense.  The teams went to halftime still scoreless as NA was able to hold off a determined effort by Peters Township.

The second half was a completely different story.  The Lady Tigers came out ready to play and began dominating early in the half.  Sullivan had the first chance just 1:05 into the half but shot wide.  Less than two minutes later, Camut was stopped by PT goalie Chelsie DiCio.  Off a corner at the 3:46 mark, Torie was open on the left side but shot wide.  Seconds later, senior Hillary Richard had an attempt blocked.  The Lady Tigers finally broke through when Richard sent a strong pass off a long hit that Camut drove off a PT defender and the goalie into the net to give NA a 1-0 lead at the 6:30 mark.  The Lady Tigers continue to pressure PT.  At the 9:24 mark, Torie broke free along the left side but again shot wide left.  Oleynik came open on a long run, but the NA defense caught her before she could get off a scoring attempt with 19:20 remaining.  Torie returned the favor with a long run toward the Lady Indian goal but her centering pass was deflected by the PT defense.  With 18:17 left, Torie sent a perfect pass to Camut who drove a turning shot into the goal to give NA a 2-0 lead.  Senior midfielder Kelly Carioto was able to blast a long attempt off the PT goalie with Baxendell sending the rebound just wide with 14:43 on the second half clock.  Fourteen seconds later, Sullivan sent a hard shot into the net from just inside the circle as the Lady Tigers increased the margin to 3-0 with 14:29 remaining.  Later in the half, senior Meghan Hoot was open on the left side but could not deflect a pass into the goal.  The Lady Tigers got their final goal on a secondary attempt off a corner when Baxendell found Camut open in front of the goal and the NA junior completed the hat trick with 1:04 remaining.  The Lady Tigers were able to hold off PT for the remaining time to pick up the 4-0 victory and head off to the title game.

After a lackluster first half by the Lady Tigers and a good effort by Peters Township, NA played a strong game in the second half.  Statistically, NA had four penalty corners to two for Peters Township.  Good defense by senior Kim Hucko, junior Liz Herb and sophomore Michelle Cotter kept the Lady Indians bottled up in their own end.  Midfielders Carioto, senior Meredith Feingold and Richard continually forced the ball into the circle for play by the NA forwards.  Martin was tough in goal when she had to be in the first half.  For her scoring outburst in the second half, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Andrea Camut as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Lady Tigers advance to the WPIAL Class AAA championship against Fox Chapel on Monday night.  The game is scheduled to be played at Fox Chapel with game time set for 7:45 pm.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:30 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  PETERS TOWNSHIP - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

WPIAL CLASS AAA TOURNAMENT

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LADY TIGERS BLANK SHADY SIDE, 3-0,
IN PLAYOFF TUNEUP

The Lady Tigers shut out Shady Side Academy, 3-0, at Newman Stadium on Monday night in the regular season finale.  Senior Brooke Baxendell, senior Shannon Sullivan, and junior Caroline Torie scored for NA as they prepared for the playoff opener tomorrow night.

Early in the game, Shady Side earned a penalty corner but was unable to score.  The Lady Tiger defense, led by junior Liz Herb flanked by seniors Kim Hucko and Meredith Shozda communicated well to get the ball out of the NA red zone and keep the Indians off the board for the remainder of the half.  NA's midfield made up of sophomore Michelle Cotter, senior Meredith Feingold and senior Hillary Richard had superb transition while creating offensive momentum with the forwards. After twenty minutes of pressure, NA broke through when Sullivan found Baxendell open for the only goal of the half with 8:26 remaining.  NA had six shots on goal with senior goalie Natalie Martin stopping three Shady Side attempts.  NA took a 1-0 lead to the intermission.

The second half belonged to the Lady Tigers.  The forwards and midfielders kept the pressure on the Shady Side defense and goalie Caroline Washburn.  Washburn made a number of saves to deny NA's forwards,  Baxendell, Torie, junior Andrea Camut and senior Meghan Hoot had numerous scoring opportunities.  On the third corner of the half, Sullivan shot home a rebound of her own shot to give NA a 2-0 lead at the 7:47 mark.  The Lady Tigers continued to pressure the SSA goal and were awarded a penalty stroke midway through the half.  Baxendell made the attempt but was denied by Washburn.  With 5:29 remaining, Baxendell passed to Torie who finished to give NA a commanding 3-0 lead.  The second half barrage gave NA a total of 21 shots on goal and seven penalty corners for the contest.  Martin played the entire game and had four saves to preserve the shutout.

With the win, the Lady Tigers finished the regular season with an overall record of 12-2.  As the Section 1 champion, NA will host Peters Township tomorrow night at Newman Stadium in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.  The winner will play the winner of the Fox Chapel-Pine-Richland game for the WPIAL Championship on Monday night.

COACH'S NOTE:  Monday night was a great night for field hockey.  The weather was perfect and NA was host to two first place teams in western PA battling it out.  It was great to watch the game unfold because of the talent on both sides of the ball.  I was especially proud of NA not only because everyone on the field had a spectacular game, but because they all looked like they were having so much fun playing the game.

(Thanks to George Guiley and Coach Diaz for the information
 in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  SHADY SIDE ACADEMY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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PINE-RICHLAND EDGES LADY TIGERS, 1-0,
 IN SECTION FINALE

The Lady Tigers dropped a 1-0 decision to the Pine-Richland Rams on Thursday night at Pine-Richland Stadium. 

With the loss, the NA section record finished at 10-2, the overall mark against WPIAL teams at 11-2.  The Lady Tigers finished first in Section 1 and will host Peters Township on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AAA tournament.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

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BAXENDELL'S HAT TRICK LEADS LADY TIGERS TO 5-0 WIN OVER GREENSBURG SALEM

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

Senior forward Brooke Baxendell celebrated Senior Night with a three-goal hat trick to lead the Lady Tigers to a 5-0 victory over Greensburg Salem at Newman Stadium on Wednesday night.  Seniors Meghan Hoot and Kelly Carioto added goals as NA broke a one-game losing streak with the win.

The Lady Tigers started quickly, scoring on the first shot of the game.  On a three-on-one break, Baxendell drilled a shot from the right side to give NA a 1-0 lead just 3:39 into the contest.  Lorraine Turner came back for the Lions to shoot wide less than two minutes later.  It would be one of the few times that GS was able to get off a scoring attempt.   NA was able to score again on the second shot of the game as Baxendell set up Hoot with a perfect pass in front of the goal.  Hoot tallied her team leading 12th goal of the season to put the Lady Tigers on top, 2-0, at the 8:03 mark.  At the 9:30 mark, a penalty corner by the Lady Tigers was cleared by the Lions.  Two minutes later, senior Meredith Feingold had two shots blocked by the GS defense.  The Lady Tigers continued to pressure the Lions and earned another PC with 14:57 remaining in the half.  Although the ball was kept in the circle, there were no shots on goal.  With 12:30 remaining, junior Andrea Camut sent a pass through the circle that was just too far for a breaking senior Shannon Sullivan.  With 6:05 left, junior Caroline Torie shot just wide of the net.  Three minutes later, Torie's attempt was stopped by GS goalie Carolyn Bringe along with a rebound attempt by Baxendell.  With less than a minute remaining, senior Hillary Richard missed wide to left of the GS goal.  The half ended with the Lady Tigers holding a 2-0 advantage.  NA recorded seven penalty corners in the first half to none for the Lions.

Once again, the Lady Tigers came out strong at the beginning of the half.  Baxendell and Camut both had good scoring chances in the first two minutes, but Bringe made the saves.  NA was able to increase the lead to 3-0 when Baxendell scored her second goal of the goal off an assist by Feingold off a penalty corner at the 2:33 mark.  Four minutes, later Hoot had a chance but hit the side of the GS goal.  Less than two minutes later, Torie hit the right post and Hoot sent the rebound wide of the goal.  A little over a minute later, the Lady Tigers were given a penalty stroke.  Carioto drilled the attempt along the turf and into the left corner to increase the lead to 4-0 at the 17:17 mark.  Exactly a minute later, Baxendell showed persistence when she had two shots stopped by Bringe and rolled the third just over the goal line to give the Lady Tigers a commanding 5-0 lead.  At the 9:30 mark, Baxendell had yet another chance but Bringe made a good save.  With 7:25 left in the game, the Lady Tigers had a two-on-one with Sullivan setting up Camut in front of the goal, but her attempt went wide.  Camut had another opportunity in the last minute but shot wide left.  As time ran out, the Lady Tigers recorded the 5-0 victory.

It was another dominating performance by the Lady Tigers as they recorded a total of 16 penalty corners to none for the Golden Lions.  The NA defense did not allow the Lady Tiger goalie tandem of senior Natalie Turner and junior Steph Anderson to make a single save in posting the shutout.  Credit to defenders seniors Kim Hucko and Meredith Shozda, sophomore Michelle Cotter, and junior Liz Herb along with great midfield play by Carioto in stifling the GS attack.  For her three-goal effort, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Brooke Baxendell as the Player of the Game.

With the victory, NA improved their section record to 10-1, the overall mark to 11-1 against WPIAL competition.  The Lady Tigers will complete section play tonight when they travel to Pine-Richland to meet the Rams.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 5  GREENSBURG SALEM - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LATROBE ENDS NA UNBEATEN STREAK, 1-0

Latrobe scored a second half goal with 18:37 remaining as the Wildcats ended the nine-game section unbeaten streak of the Lady Tigers with a 1-0 victory at Latrobe on Tuesday afternoon. 

The first half ended in a scoreless tie with senior Natalie Martin in goal for the Lady Tigers.  In the second half, junior Steph Anderson had a save on a penalty stroke.  NA have 13 shots on goal along with 11 penalty corners, but could not score against the Wildcats.  Senior Shannon Sullivan had a strong game offensively for the Lady Tigers.  NA had defeated Latrobe, 8-0, at Newman Stadium earlier in the season.

The Lady Tigers will host Greensburg Salem next Wednesday night at Newman Stadium on Senior Night.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:45 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 8:00 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
LATROBE - 1  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS EDGE NORWIN, 1-0, FOR NINTH STRAIGHT SECTION WIN

Photo Gallery

The Lady Tigers defeated Norwin, 1-0, at Newman Stadium on Friday afternoon for their ninth straight section victory.  Senior Shannon Sullivan scored the NA goal assisted by senior Kelly Carioto.

In the first half, the Lady Tigers dominated play recording 11 shots on goal and posting five penalty corners.  NA kept the ball in the Norwin end for most of the half but could not score.  The Lady Tiger defense of sophomore Michelle Cotter, junior Liz Herb, and seniors Kim Hucko and Meredith Shozda kept the Knights from mounting any offensive threats.

After halftime, the Lady Tigers came out aggressively to try to get the all-important first goal.  The midfield showed great transitional skills with seniors Carioto, Hillary Richard and Meredith Feingold setting up the NA forwards with chances to score.  It finally paid off when a "second effort" circle play off a penalty corner resulted in the game's only goal by Sullivan with 8:07 remaining.  Norwin tried to get the equalizer but the NA defense held off the Knights for the remainder of the game and came away with the 1-0 victory.

The win improved the NA section record to 9-0, the overall mark to 10-0.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Latrobe for a 5:00 pm contest on Tuesday afternoon.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1  NORWIN - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS BEAT PENN-TRAFFORD, 2-0, TO REMAIN UNBEATEN IN SECTION PLAY

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The Lady Tigers defeated Penn-Trafford, 2-0, at Penn-Trafford on Tuesday afternoon to remain unbeaten in section play.  Senior forwards Shannon Sullivan and Brooke Baxendell scored the NA goals as the NA defense held the Warriors scoreless.

In the first half, the Lady Tigers controlled the game as they recorded 12 shots on goal while collecting eight penalty corners.  The NA midfield played well in transition getting quick, strong hits to the forwards.  Seniors Meredith Feingold, Hillary Richard and Kelly Carioto kept the pressure on P-T until NA finally broke through to score with 3:22 remaining in the half.  Sullivan got the goal on an assist from Feingold as the Lady Tigers took a 1-0 lead to the intermission.

In the second half, the Penn-Trafford defense tightened as they held NA to eight shots on goal and just two corners.  Baxendell scored with 7:22 left in the game with senior forward Alex Schenk picking up the assist to increase the lead to 2-0.  The NA defense of junior Liz Herb, sophomore Michelle Cotter, and seniors Kim Hucko and Meredith Shozda kept the Warriors out of the circle and did not allow any shots on goalies Natalie Martin and Stephanie Martin as the Tigers took home the 2-0 victory.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 8-0, the overall mark to 9-0 against WPIAL competition.  The Lady Tigers will be in action again on Friday afternoon when they host Norwin at Newman Stadium.  The game times have been changed again with the varsity game now set for 3:00 pm and the JV game for 4:30 pm.  The Middle School team will play Upper St. Clair at 6:30 pm at the Stadium.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  PENN-TRAFFORD - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS CONTINUE TO ROLL WITH 4-0
VICTORY OVER HEMPFIELD

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

The Lady Tigers defeated Hempfield, 4-0, at Newman Stadium on Thursday night for their seventh consecutive section victory without a loss.  Four different Lady Tigers scored goals while the NA defense dominated Hempfield in the shutout victory.

Early in the first half, Hempfield was able to stymie the NA attack with long clearing passes.  NA had some early chances with a shot by senior Brooke Baxendell from the right side narrowly missing the goal just 2:49 into the game.  Shannon Morley came back for Hempfield to shoot wide from long range at the 23:28 mark.  Baxendell then had several opportunities.  Junior forward Caroline Torie set up Baxendell for a good attempt at the 21:28 mark but her shot went wide.  Two minutes later, Baxendell again had an open shot but it was stopped by Hempfield goalie Alyssa Fligge.  The Lady Tigers earned their first penalty corner at the 17:17 mark but could not score.  Two minutes later off a penalty corner, Baxendell finally found the net on an assist from senior Meredith Feingold to give NA a 1-0 advantage at the 15:33 mark.  Senior MF Shannon Sullivan scored an apparent goal just minutes later but it was waived off as the score remained 1-0.  With 9:51 remaining in the half, Anna Thorniley came down on a breakaway, but NA senior goalie Natalie Martin was able to make a good kick save to keep NA on top.  The Lady Tigers turned up the pressure in the last eight minutes of the half.  Junior forward Andrea Camut missed wide after taking another good pass from Torie.  Baxendell sent another ball through the circle that the NA forwards could not convert with 6:32 left.  Sullivan was stopped at the 6:00 minute mark, and Spartan back Megan Price cleared the ball from in front of the net with 5:20 left.  NA finally converted when Sullivan scored from the left side on a pass from senior Hillary Richard to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead with 3:46 remaining.  In the last minute, Hempfield was called for an infraction at the net and the Lady Tigers were given a penalty stroke.  Senior Kelly Carioto blasted it in the goal for her first of the season.  The Lady Tigers took a 3-0 advantage to the intermission.

In the second half, NA adjusted to the long passing strategy of the Spartans and kept Hempfield bottled up for most of the half.  In the offensive end, the Lady Tigers kept getting chances but could not convert early.  After a flurry in front of the Spartan net, Torie missed just wide left 1:34 into the half.  Camut came back and missed to the right of the goal three minutes later.  Forty seconds later, Carioto drove a hard shot wide after a pass from Baxendell.  NA continued to pressure the Hempfield goal with Carioto sending another shot that was deflected wide at the 24:30 mark.  Senior Meghan Hoot had another attempt deflected wide two minutes later.  Off a penalty corner at the 17:54 mark, Carioto's hard attempt went wide to left of the Spartan net.  The Lady Tigers finally were able to convert when Hoot scored on an assist from Camut with 12:44 left on the second half clock.  NA continued to keep the ball in the Hempfield end of the field for most of the remainder of the goal but did not score again.

It was another dominant performance by the Lady Tigers.  NA forced ten penalty corners while allowing none for Hempfield.  The Tiger defense, led by junior Liz Herb, senior Kim Hucko, and sophomore Michelle Cotter continually broke up Spartan passing attempts.  The goalie tandem of senior Natalie Martin and junior Stephanie Anderson did not have too much action but were there when needed to post the shutout.  For her play in the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Brooke Baxendell as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 7-0, the overall mark to 8-0 in WPIAL play.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Penn-Trafford on Tuesday afternoon for a 4:00 pm section contest.

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GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  HEMPFIELD - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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PINE-RICHLAND FALLS TO LADY TIGERS, 2-0

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Two first half goals and a strong defense gave the Lady Tigers a 2-0 victory over Pine-Richland at Newman Stadium on Tuesday night.  Senior Meredith Feingold and Shannon Sullivan scored for NA with senior MF Kelly Carioto picking up assists on both goals. 

The Lady Tigers started strong with pressure on the Pine-Richland goal from the outset.  The pressure paid off when Feingold was able to score on a pass from Carioto off an NA penalty corner.  Senior forward Meghan Hoot had a chance with 23:20 remaining but P-R goalie Abby Beck made the save.  Halfway through the half, Carioto sent junior forward Caroline Torie down the left side but NA could not score.  The Lady Tigers continued the offensive pressure forcing a number of penalty corners.  Senior forward Alex Schenk sent a good centering pass on a corner, but the Lady Tigers could not convert.  Twenty seconds later, Sullivan blasted a shot into the goal off a Carioto pass to give NA a 2-0 advantage with 8:32 remaining in the half.   Hoot had another shot blocked off a corner, and Torie followed on yet another corner with a shot from in close that was blocked by the Ram defense.  With 5:12 remaining, Carioto drove a hard shot that Beck had to kick away.  With 2:20 remaining, a good passing play from Torie to Hoot to Schenk set up an open shot to the left of the net but the attempt went wide.  As time was running out in the half, senior forward Brooke Baxendell sent a centering pass through the circle, but again the Lady Tigers could not convert.  NA took a 2-0 lead to the intermission.  In the first half, the Lady Tigers recorded nine penalty corners to just two for the Rams.

The Lady Tiger continued to dominate play in the second half but could not score.  Hoot had a chance early in the half but her attempt went wide.  Three minutes later, Hoot had another opportunity but shot just wide.  With 23:20 remaining, junior forward Andrea Camut fired a reverse stick shot just wide of the Ram net.  NA continued the offensive pressure keeping the ball in the Pine-Richland end of the field.  With 18:30 remaining, a shot by Baxendell was deflected to Ram goalie Michella Kappeler who made the save, and Camut's rebound attempt went wide.  Minutes later, Schenk had a chance but shot wide.  With 9:01 left in the game, Baxendell again centered the ball to Camut who was stopped by the P-R defense.  At the 7:30 mark, Maggie Cuddy had the best Ram opportunity of the game, but her hard shot was kicked out by NA junior goalie Stephanie Anderson.  Neither team had a good scoring chance down the stretch with the NA defense keeping the Rams away from the Tiger goal.  The Lady Tigers earned a 2-0 victory as time ran out.

It was another dominating performance by the Lady Tigers.  NA piled up a total of 13 penalty corners to just three for the Rams.  Senior goalies Natalie Martin and Anderson shared the shutout with the NA defense led by senior Kim Hucko, junior Liz Herb and sophomore Michelle Cotter.  For her efforts both offensively and defensively, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Kelly Carioto as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 6-0, the overall mark to 7-0 in WPIAL play.  The Lady Tigers will host Hempfield tomorrow night with game time set for 8:00 pm.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:45 pm.  The NA middle school team will play Fox Chapel at 5:45 pm with the JV game scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.

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GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  PINE-RICHLAND - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS CRUSH GREENSBURG SALEM, 8-1

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The Lady Tigers outscored the Greensburg Salem Lions, 8-1, at Greensburg on Thursday afternoon to remain unbeaten against WPIAL opposition.  Four players scored a pair of goals each as NA used a big second half to put away the Lions.

The Lady Tigers put pressure on the Lion defense early in the first half but were unable to score.  GS continued to deny NA until late in the half when senior Meghan Hoot scored on an assist from senior Brooke Baxendell to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead with 8:53 remaining.  NA continued to pressure the Lion goal but could not score again in the half.  The Lady Tigers got off eleven shots on the GS goal.  NA took a 1-0 advantage to the intermission.

In the second half, the Lady Tigers opened the scoring early when senior Alex Schenk scored on an assist from senior Shannon Sullivan to make it a 2-0 lead just 1:49 into the half.  Junior Andrea Camut increased the lead to 3-0 just four minutes later on an assist from Schenk.  At the 21:23 mark, Sullivan scored on a pass from senior Hillary Richard as the margin went to 4-0.  Greensburg Salem came back to score on a penalty stroke at the 16:07 mark to cut the margin to 4-1.  NA answered quickly when Hoot tallied her second of the game on an assist by junior Caroline Torie.  Down the stretch, the Lady Tigers added three more goals.  Sullivan added her second on another Torie assist at the 8:49 mark.  Twenty-six seconds later, Schenk scored her second with senior Meredith Feingold earning the assist.  Camut finished the scoring with her second of the game with 6:35 remaining.  Senior Natalie Martin and junior Stephanie Anderson shared time in the cage with each stopping two GS shots.

With the win, the NA section record improved to 5-0, the overall mark to 6-0 on the season.  The Lady Tigers return home on Tuesday night to meet the Pine-Richland Rams.  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.  The game will also be taped by NATV for a later showing.

JV UPDATE:  The JV also downed the Lions, 6-0.

COACH'S NOTES:  I'm proud of the second half produced by this team.  I put challenges in front of them and they achieved each one of them.  The defense stepped up their game and were trying overlaps with their midfielders.  The forwards are becoming more creative in the circle and the positive communication by all members of the team was critical to our success against Greensburg Salem.  With every game played, the NA Tigers use the opportunity to improve their game and as a coach, it is fun to watch the team grow together. - Coach Jen Diaz

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 8  GREENSBURG SALEM - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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2007 WPIAL FIELD HOCKEY

The Lady Tigers will compete again Class AAA of the WPIAL along with 13 other teams.  Section plaques will be awarded to each section winner.  Ties in section record for first place will not be broken and tied teams will each receive a plaque.  The top two teams from each AAA section will enter the WPIAL Field Hockey Tournament with the winner advancing to the PIAA Tournament.  In the event of a tie, head-to-head competition will be used to break the tie.  If the tie is not broken in head-to-head, the following point system will be applied to all section games:

1.  All victories will earn two points.
2.  All ties will earn one point.
3.  The team with the greatest number of points will be the champion.

Failure to break the tie by applying the point system will result in aplying a point differential system to a plus or minus five to all section games played.

Duration of the game shall be a maximum of sixty minutes played in two equal halves.  All regular season games that end in a tie will enter a sudden victory - reduced player - tie-breaking procedure not to exceed fifteen minutes with the teams not changing goals to begin the period.  A coin toss will determine which team will  take possession of the ball.  If the score remains tied at the completion of the overtime period, the game will be recorded as a tie.

CLASS AAA - 14 TEAMS

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