North Allegheny Sports Network - 2008 Varsity Boys' Soccer

Three Tiger team members were named to the PG 2008 Soccer All-Area team as selected by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Senior midfielder J.P. Fulton, senior defender Peter Schweers, and junior defender Evan Buysee were chosen for the Section 2 All-Section squad.

Senior midfielder J.P. Fulton was named to the PG North Soccer All-Stars as selected by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fulton was also named to the WPIAL All-Star team.

Senior midfielder JP Fulton was selected to the 2008 Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association (WPSCA) All-Star Game, which took place on Saturday, November 28, 2008 at Moon High School. The game showcases the areas finest senior class players from AAA, AA, and A.

NAME	TEAM	POS.
Zach Zuzek	Canon McMillan	MF
Ethan Green	Central Catholic	F
Jeffrey Simmons	Gateway	F
Scott Scheinberg	Gateway	GK
Nico Marocco	Moon Area	D
Sam Engel	Moon Area	MF
JP Fulton	North Allegheny	MF
Anthony Balistreri	Penn Trafford	MF
Steve Ellis	Penn Trafford	MF
Christian Brandstetter	Peters Twp	MF
Adam Horn	Pine-Richland	MF
Nick Lombardo	Pine-Richland	MF
Kevin Andreone	Seneca Valley	F
Alex Fishetti	Seton LaSalle	D
David Delgreco	Seton LaSalle	F
Mike Liebert	Seton LaSalle	MF

The Tigers ended their season with a 2-1 loss at Fox Chapel on Monday night. NA completed the year with a final section mark of 4-5-1 and a fourth place finish. Overall, the Tigers posted a 9-8-1 record.

The Tigers traveled to Plum High School on Saturday evening for a showdown with the Mustangs. They came away with a 2 - 1 victory ensuring a winning record for the 2008 campaign. Andrew McIlvried and Danny Crawford scored for North Allegheny on assists from J. P. Fulton and Shawn McCrorey.

The Mustangs pressured the Tiger defense early and often recording the first goal of the evening at 1:30 (NA 0 - Plum 1). The Tigers regained their composure and recorded a number of scoring opportunities that were coordinated by senior midfielder Fulton. At 8:00 Tim Zahren chested a ball to Fulton, who volleyed a hard shot on goal only to be stopped by the Plum keeper. One minute later, Justin Kailer drove a shot from the 30-yard mark over the post. The Tiger offense continued to press, and at 15:00 Fulton crossed a ball to Zahren who put the ball in the net only to be called offsides. At 16:00 Zach Jergan received a chested ball from Tim Zahren and drove a hard shot off the post. The defensive corps of GK Mateo Carlini, Kailer, Phil Briggs, and Adam Sharpnack continued to come up big by preventing the Mustangs from gaining momentum and held Plum for the remainder of the half.

Two minutes into the 2nd half the Tigers squared the contest at 1-1 when Crawford headed Fulton's corner kick into the back of the net (NA 1 - Plum 1). At 15:50 junior keeper Mike Severyn made a big save to keep the game tied at 1-1. At 19:00 McCrorey's run down the right side and cross found McIlvried who headed home the go-ahead goal (NA 2 - Plum 1). It appeared that NA would take a 3-1 lead when Dane Bralich drilled a shot into the net; however, an offside call nullified the score.

With the win, the North Allegheny's section record is 4-5-1 and overall record is 9-7-1. The Tigers will travel to Fox Chapel on Monday in a 7:00 PM non-section contest.

The 7th Grade Boys hosted the Seneca Valley Middle School at NAI on
Monday afternoon for their final home game of the season. Seneca Valley
provided a stern test with the action in both halves moving up and down the
field. Midway through the first half, Zach Nimmo moved a ball forward to Aodhan
Ridenour just inside Seneca's half. Aodhan spotted Sean Dickerson on
the left 18 and sent a beautiful pass to the left corner. Sean made a nice
baseline move, dribbled on the net and then punched in the only goal of
the game for either side for a 1-0 NA victory. Second half play featured
rushes by both teams with halfbacks, defenders and goalies for both
teams making many solid plays. Zach Nimmo, Andrew Earle and goalie Suyash
Fulay had particularly strong defensive efforts. Late in the second half,
Seneca was awarded two direct kicks and a number of corner kicks, but each was
turned away to preserve the win. With this hard-fought win, NA extended
its record to 8-0 and will finish out the season against Fox Chapel on
Friday afternoon.

The 7th Grade Gold Soccer team improved its record to 7-0 yesterday with
a 6-0 victory over Gateway Middle School at NAI. Ryan TeKolste scored two
goals. Other goals were scored by Aodhan Ridenour, Sean Dickerson, Zach
Hughes, and Nick Jewell.

The 7th Grade Gold soccer team hosted Shady Side Academy at NAI on
Friday, Oct. 10. Shady Side delivered an early wake up call to the team by
scoring a goal within the first two minutes of play to make the score 1-0 Shady
Side. This was the first goal scored by an opposing team this season.
Soon thereafter, Sean Dickerson won a clearing attempt and buried an
unassisted shot from 20 yards to tie the score 1-1. Near the end of the
first half Ryan TeKolste won a ball on the left flat. He sent a nice
cross to Miko Reginella on the right wing. Miko scored on a shot to the left
corner to make the score 2-1 at halftime. With the memory of the early
goal in their heads, NA was all over SSA in the second half. Sean
Dickerson won another contested ball close in, dribbled around the next
defender and scored on a shot to the right corner for his second
unassisted goal. Shortly thereafter, Zach Nimmo sent a ball from his defensive
midfielder postion forward to Sean Dickerson. Sean outran the SSA
defenders, faked out the goalie and punched the ball into the net. Ryan
TeKolste and Miko Reginella teamed up for a second time, with Miko
scoring on a 25 yard shot just under the crossbar for the final score of 5-1 NA.

The Tigers returned to their winning ways Tuesday evening after a 4- 0 victory over cross-town rival North Hills at Martorelli Stadium. Senior Adam Sharpnack tallied a pair of goals to lead the way with seniors J.P. Fulton and Tim Zahren adding the other NA goals. Senior Rafael Bretz recorded a pair of assists.

The Indians pressured early; however, the Tiger keeper, Mateo Carlini, and the defensive corps consisting of Kailer, senior Pete Schweers, senior Phil Briggs, and Sharpnack prevented North Hills from taking an early lead. At 18:00 Kailer dropped a ball to Fulton, who dribbled through the North Hills defense, and drove the ball near post to log the first goal of the contest (NA 1 - NH 0). At 25:00 Kailer swung a ball that missed wide right. One minute later, Bretz drove a shot from the 25 that required the North Hills keeper to make a diving save. Senior midfielder Danny Crawford kept the Indian strikers at bay throughout most of the half with his physical play, and senior Andrew McIlvried's speed along the right side created a number of scoring chances. Schweers and Kailer came up big with tackles to prevent the Indians from tallying a score. North Allegheny went into the half with a 1 - 0 lead.

Less than one minute into the second half, junior forward Zach Jergan chested a ball to Bretz who fired wide right. The Tigers continued to press when Fulton chipped a ball to Jergan along the right side that was stopped by the Indian keeper. Several minutes later Bretz received a pass from junior Dylan Flaherty and struck the ball off the left post. At 13:30 the Tigers took a 2 - 0 lead after senior Nick Basara made a nice run along the left wing and crossed the ball to Sharpnack, who headed the ball past the keeper. North Allegheny continued to press when Bretz placed a nice through ball to a streaking Zahren who pushed the ball past the keeper to put the Tigers up 3 - 0 at the 16:00 minute mark. At 25:00 junior midfielder Andy Soergel made a nice move along the right side to beat the North Hills defense and pushed the ball to Bretz, who was taken down on the play. On the ensuing kick, Bretz found Sharpnack who buried home the fourth goal of the night (NA 4 - NH 0). Schweers continued to dominate the defensive third with hard tackles and clearing passes to keep the Indians off the score sheet.

With the win, the NA section record improves to 4-5-1, with an overall of 8-7-1. The Tigers will travel to Plum this Saturday in a 11:00 AM non-section contest.

The Butler Golden Tornado came into Newman Stadium on Thursday night and defeated the Tigers, 3-1, to end NA's hopes of advancing to the WPIAL playoffs. Junior Shawn McCrory had given the Tigers an early 1-0 lead, but Butler rallied to tie the game at halftime. In the second half, the Tornado added two more goals to go on to the victory.

In the first half, the Tigers scored four and a half minutes into the contest to take the lead. Senior MF J.P. Fulton drilled a shot of the goalpost with the rebound coming to McCrory who sent it into the net for his fifth goal of the season. NA maintained the lead over the next twenty minutes but Butler got the equalizer. Roberto Da Silva was able to put home a rebound inside the box to tie the game in the 26th minute. Neither team scored for the remainder of the half as the teams went to the intermission tied at 1-1.

In the second half, Jacob Gamble scored both Butler goals to give them the 3-1 win. The first goal came in the 25th minute and broke the 1-1 tie. Four minutes later, Gamble scored again to put the game away. For his offensive efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Shawn McCrory as the Player of the Game.

With the loss, the NA section record fell to 3-5-1, the overall mark to 7-7-1. The Tigers will complete section play on Tuesday when they travel to North Hills to meet the Indians in a 7:45 pm contest.

The 7th Grade Boys extended their record to 5-0 on Friday, October 3 at Pine Park vs. the Pine Richland Middle School. The game was a hard fought defensive contest with hotly contested midfield play on both sides. NA produced two first half scores that proved to be the difference in the game. Zach Nimmo won a ball near midfield and sent it to Nick Jewell on into the net at the seven minute mark. Ten minutes later, NA was awarded a penalty kick when Alex Dorazio was fouled in the box. Nick Jewell made short work of the penalty kick for a 2-0 score in favor of NA at halftime.

Both teams exchanged rushes in the second half, but no goals were scored. Shawn Baird and the defense turned in their 5th consecutive shutout.:

The Tigers lost another tough game in overtime on Tuesday night at Pine-Richland when the Rams' Brian Jones scored four minutes into the extra period to give P-R a 3-2 victory. Junior Zach Jergan's header had given NA an early lead while senior Andrew McIlvried tied the game in the second half.

The Rams scored early to take a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the contest. It took the Tigers just 2:30 to tie the game. Senior midfielder J.P. Fulton sent a through ball to senior midfielder Rafael Bretz along the left flank. Bretz then crossed the ball to Jergan who headed it into the net to tie the game at 1-1. NA continued to pressure the Ram defense with through balls, but the Tigers could not beat the P-R keeper. Midway through the half, junior forward Dane Bralich had a good chance but his header was stopped by the keeper. The NA defense of junior Evan Buysee along with seniors Justin Kailer, Pete Schweers, and Phil Briggs were able to hold off the Ram attack until the Rams were able to take the lead, 2-1, with 13:00 minutes remaining. Neither team could score in the time left in the half as Pine-Richland took a 2-1 lead to the intermission.

In the second half, the Tigers continued to pressure the Ram defense to try to get the equalizer. The hard work paid off when McIlvried was able to tie the game at the 14:00 minute mark. With six minutes remaining, senior GK Mateo Carlini came up with a big save to keep the game tied. The second half ended with the score, 2-2, as the teams got ready for overtime.

The winning goal came from Jones four minutes into the overtime period. With the loss, the NA section record fell to 3-4-1, the overall mark to 7-6-1. The Tigers will host Butler tomorrow night at Newman Stadium as section play continues. 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.

On a rainy night in Wexford, the Tigers and rival Shaler played 80 minutes and two overtime period but could not decide the issue as the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Senior defender Tyler Migliozzi gave NA a 1-0 lead at the 9:07 mark in the first half only to see Shaler tie the game with two seconds left in the half. The Tiger seniors were honored before the game on Senior Night.

The Tigers started quickly as senior midfielder J.P. Fulton had a chance at the 4:10 mark but Shaler GK Craig Feehan made the stop on his shot from 25 yards. Migliozzi got the Tigers on the board on a rebound as NA took a 1-0 lead early. Shaler had a chance at the equalizer a minute and a half later when Eric Hackworth had a shot at a wide open net but sent the ball wide left. NA senior midfielder Rafael Bretz had two chances midway through the half. His first attempt was stopped by the Shaler GK, and the second was driven over the net. With 14:30 remaining, senior midfielder Andrew McIlvried had a chance but missed the net. With 5:10 left in the half, a cross into the box by the Tigers hit a Shaler defender and almost rolled into the goal. Finally, Eric Hackworth got the Titans even with just two seconds remaining as he scored to tie the game at 1-1.

There was no scoring in the second half although both teams had chances. Luciano DiTommasso from Shaler was robbed by senior GK Mateo Carllini just five minutes into the second half. A minute and a half later, McIlvried sent a header wide of the Shaler net. With 24 minutes remaining, Bretz drove a direct kick over the goal. The best opportunity came a minute and a half later when junior forward Israel Echeverria deflected a shot by Bretz off the post. Down the stretch, neither team threatened as the game went to extra time.

In the first overtime, juniors Dane Bralich and Zach Jergan each had headers stopped by Shaler keeper Feehan. In the second overtime period, neither team came close to scoring. It was an even contest for most of the evening with the corner kicks ending up 4-3 in favor of the Tigers. For his efforts on the defensive end, particularly when NA was a man short after a red card, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Danny Crawford as the Player of the Game.

The tie left NA in fourth place in section play with a 3-3-1 record with the overall record going to 7-5-1. The Tigers will travel to Pine-Richland on Tuesday night for a key section battle with the Rams. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

The 7th grade Gold soccer team extended their record to 4-0 with a 3-0 win at NAI over th visiting N. Hills Middle School team on Monday, 9/29. North Hills fought hard for the first 45 minutes with NA holding only a 1-0 lead resulting from a first half goal by Aodhan Ridenour on a feed from Nick McClure. As had been the case for much of the game, NA's defense and midfield play kept the pressure in the North Hills zone. This constant pressure finally resulted in an unassisted goal from defenseman Peter Tobias in the 45th minute on an errant clearing attempt by N. Hills in their defensive zone to make the score 2-0. Shortly thereafter, Sean Dickerson put home a pass from Ryan TeKolste for the final score of 3-0. Shawn Baird finished off the team's continued strong defensive play by registering the team's fourth shutout.

Seneca Valley's Kevin Andreone scored two minutes into overtime to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over NA at Seneca Valley on Thursday afternoon. The Raiders held a 1-0 lead after the first half, but the Tigers rallied to take the lead late in the second half.

The lone Raider goal came at 9:30 of the first half and held up as Seneca took a 1-0 advantage to the intermission. Junior Zach Jergen evened the scored on a cross from senior midfielder Evan Cullen at the 26:50 mark of the second half. The Tigers then took a 2-1 lead on Cullen's drive from 35 yards out. The Raiders came back to tie the game, however, with a goal with 5:00 minutes remaining. In the overtime period, Andreone scored early to give the Raiders the hard-fought triumph.

With the loss, the Tigers fell to 3-3 in section play, 7-5 overall. Next up for NA will be the Shaler Titans tomorrow 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 7:15 pm. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

The Tigers knocked off another top-ranked opponent on Monday night when they defeated #2 Norwin, 2-0, at Newman Stadium. Junior forwards Shawn McCrory and Dylan Flaherty scored first half goals, and the NA defense held off the Knights the rest of the way to secure the victory. Senior GK Mateo Carlini and junior GK Mike Severyn each played a half to share the shutout.

The Tigers started quickly earning two corner kicks in the first 4:17 of the game but could not convert. McCrory sent a cross that was caught by Norwin GK Shane Lee at the 3:19 mark. At the 5:10 mark, Norwin came close when Carlini made the stop, but senior defender Tyler Migliozzi had to clear the rebound. Two minutes later, the Knights Tyler Galata shot wide of the NA goal from the right side. The NA defense had to clear another rebound at the 10:50 mark. Less than two minutes later, McCrory had a good chance from the right side and just missed the left corner of the net. At the 12:52 mark, Norwin's Carmene Albano broke free down the middle, but his attempt was deflected right to Carlini who made the save. The Tigers broke on top when senior MF J.P. Fulton sent a through ball between two Norwin defenders to a breaking McCrory who drove it home to give NA a 1-0 lead at the 13:46 mark. In the next minute, Norwin countered in an attempt to get the equalizer , but junior defender Evan Buysee made a good play in the box to clear the ball. At the 15:49 mark, senior midfielder Andrew McIlvried made a long run down the right side and sent a cross in front of the Norwin goal. After the Knights stopped the initial shot, Fulton had another attempt from ten yards but drove the ball over the goal. Fulton came back with another chance less than a minute later but sent the shot right at the Norwin keeper. At the midway point of the half, Norwin's Tom Morocco had a chance from 20 yards away, but senior MF Evan Cullen blocked his shot attempt. Less than a minute later, McIlvried sent another cross in from the right side that was caught by Lee. The Tigers were able to add to their lead when McCrory made another good run through the Norwin defense. The ball was blocked and rolled free in the box where Flaherty was able to drive it home from 15 yards out to give NA a 2-0 advantage at the 25:29 mark. Neither team was able to mount much of an offensive attack over the next five minutes until a long attempt by Norwin from 40 yards away was caught by Carlini. A minute and a half later, senior MF Danny Crawford lifted a high cross into the box that McCrory shot wide. With 7:13 left, Lee had to dive on a loose ball in the box to stop an NA scoring attempt. With 6:04 left, McCrory had another scoring opportunity, but Lee made the save. Norwin came back in the final five minutes to put pressure on the NA defense with Eric Vunovic driving a shot in from 25 yards away that Carlini had to stop. Off a corner kick in the last ten seconds, McIlvried had a chance from the right side that Lee stopped as time ran out. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead to the intermission.

With junior Mike Severyn now in goal, the Tigers came out strong at the beginning of the half but could not score. Flaherty had a shot from 15 yards away in the box stopped by the Norwin defense 2:30 into the half. Less than a minute later, Fulton drove a hard attempt from 25 yards out but Lee made the save. Just past the 5:00 minute mark, Albano got free on a breakaway, but Severyn came out and made a great save to keep the Knights scoreless. Less than a minute later, Severyn made a diving save to rob Morocco who was set up off a Norwin corner kick. The two saves seemed to take some energy out of the Knights, and at the 9:23 mark Tyler Bailey came in to replace Lee in the Norwin goal. A minute later, junior forward Israel Echeverria sent a header that forced Bailey to make a good save. After a Norwin corner kick failed to produce a scoring chance, the Tigers came back to again threaten. At the 17:48 mark, junior Zach Jergan drove a hard shot just wide and over the Knights' goal. Jergan came back four minutes later to head an attempt over the net. With 18:12 remaining, senior Nick Basara was stopped by the Norwin defense on a shot from right in front of the goal. With 16:20 remaining, senior Justin Kailer was forced to make a good defensive play against Mike Leibdzinski off a direct kick. Less than a minute later, Basara had a golden opportunity but his shot hit the right post before being sent over the goal line for an NA corner kick. The Knights had several scoring opportunities over the next four minutes with Cody Peddicord being stopped inside the box and then sending an attempt over the Tiger goal. The Knights did roll a shot off Severyn across the goal line, but the goal was disallowed because of offsides against Norwin. With 4:50 remaining, Echeverria made a spectacular run through a number of Norwin players before having the ball stripped in the box. Jergan shot wide right from 25 yards out with 4:11 left in the game. With 3:35, McCrory was open at the left post but was unable to get a foot on a cross from Jergan. Neither team threatened down the stretch as the Tigers finished off the 2-0 victory.

It was another good effort by the Tigers against a quality opponent. Norwin entered the game with an 8-0-1 record before being beaten by NA. The Tigers recorded five corner kicks to three for the Knights and had an overall territorial edge in the game. For his offensive efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Shawn McCrory as the Player of the Game. With the win, NA improved to 7-4 overall on the season. The Tigers will travel to Seneca Valley on Thursday afternoon to meet the Raiders in a key section contest. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 pm.

The 7th grade Gold team traveled to Butler on Monday for a game at the Horewitz Field against the Butler Middle School team. The team extended their record to 3-0 with some inspired play which resulted in a 5-0 score. Crisp passing and ball control were apparent during the entire game. The scoring started in the 3rd minute when Alex Durazio put home a cross from Miko Reginella. Shortly thereafter Nick McClure banged home a goal off a nice corner kick serve from Sean Dickerson in the 11th minute. Shortly after halftime, Sean Dickerson made a nice feed to Miko Reginalla who took a long kick from the right corner which eluded the Butler goalie for a 3-0 score. In the 37th minute, Miko Reginella served a beautiful ball to Nick McClure who put a well placed header into the net for a 4-0 tally. The scoring concluded in the 48th minute with a pass from Nick McClure to Sean Dickerson coming down the middle. After two quick feints, Sean put a shot into the low left corner of the goal resulting in the final result of 5-0. Sean Dickerson, Nick McClure and Miko Reginella each had 3 point days which were setup by great team play and a rock solid defense.

The Tigers will again compete in the WPIAL Class AAA along with 31 other teams. The top three teams and ties will enter the WPIAL tournament. All playoff entries will be determined by section record only and will be determined by the following method: Three points for a win, one point for a tie. Teams that tie for first place will not have the tie broken and each will be declared champions and will receive a section winner's plaque Those teams will enter the tournament, and if the teams tied for first place total three or more no other teams will be entered into the tournament. If only two teams are tied for the first, the second place team will enter as the third section team. In the event of a tie for second or third place, the tie breaker system will be employed. If a tie persists, head-to-head competition will determine the qualifier. In the event of a multiple tie, the following tie breaker will be employed:

1. Section records of the tied teams will be compiled.
2. The team that has the best won/loss record in head-to-head competition among the tied teams only will be the qualifier.
3. If the tie cannot be clearly broken, all tied teams will enter the tournament.

Teams that qualify for the tournament should be aware that they may be placed in a preliminary round and may be assigned to play the weekend prior to the first round of the tournament.

Each game will consist of two equal halves of 40 minutes each. Regular season game overtimes shall be resolved by playing no more than two (2) "sudden victory" overtime periods not to exceed ten minutes each. If a tie persists at that point, the game is over and is recorded as a tie. In post-season play, the procedure to determine a game winner will be the state adopted method of the National Federation soccer rules book.

Players and coaches who receive hard red cards and are disqualified from any game by the game official will not be permitted to participate in the next scheduled game played by their team at the same level of competition. Repeated red card offenders will be subjected to more severe penalties.

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