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THREE LADY TIGERS NAMED AS NFHCA HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

Three NA players were selected to the NFHCA High School Academic All-American team.  Seniors Rachel Laurent, Sarah Boselovic and Kellie Roach were chosen based on the following criteria: member of varsity team, cumulative GPA of 3.5 of 4.0 or 4.375 out of 5.0 or 87.5% out of 100 % through the first quarter of the 2009-10 academic year.

CONGRATULATIONS TO RACHEL, SARAH AND KELLIE!!!

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COTTER, ROACH  NAMED TO WPIAL ALL-STAR TEAM

Senior forward Kellie Roach and senior midfielder Michelle Cotter were selected to the WPIAL Class AAA League All-Stars.  Roach, Cotter, and junior forward Sophie Batton were named to the WPIAL Section 1-AAA All-Star team.  Batton was also given Honorable Mention on the WPIAL Class AAA team.  Sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom was on the Section 1-AAA Honorable Mention list.

2009 WPIAL AAA LEAGUE ALL-STARS

2009 WPIAL AAA LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION

2009 WPIAL AAA SECTION 1 ALL-STARS

2009 WPIAL AAA SECTION 1 HONORABLE MENTION

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FOX CHAPEL OUTLASTS LADY TIGERS,
2-1, IN WPIAL SEMIFINALS

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

Fox Chapel scored two early second half goals and then held off a late NA rally to take a 2-1 victory in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals at Newman Stadium on Wednesday night.  Freshman Emily Humiston scored the NA goal but it was not enough as the Foxes eliminated the Lady Tigers.

Early in the first half, Fox Chapel controlled the ball and pressured the NA defense but could not get off a scoring attempt.  At the 6:59 mark, senior back Sarah Boselovic made the first of several good defensive plays to take the Foxes out of the circle.  A minute later, FC earned a long hit followed by the first penalty corner of the game at the 8:45 mark.  FC's Kelly German had the best scoring chance off the corner but her shot was blocked.  NA came back with 11:59 remaining when Humiston made a good move into the circle but her pass was cleared by the FC defense.  Less than a minute later, the Foxes sent a pass through the circle but could not get off a shot.  The Lady Tigers forced a corner with 9:24 left, but a shot went wide of the goal.  With 7:03 remaining, the Foxes' Maddy Lucas got open but also shot wide of the cage.  Less than a minute later, the Foxes had two good chances, but freshman goalie Vicky Robertson made both saves.  The Lady Tigers had a chance with 5:20 left but FC goalie Madison Wagner was able to beat senior forward Kellie Roach to the ball and clear it out of the circle.  In the last two minutes, Fox Chapel put strong pressure on the NA defense earning a pair of penalty corners.  On both occasions, the NA defense, led by Bosilevic, senior Michelle Cotter and sophomore Alexa Sofranko, along with Robertson in goal, was able to stymie the Fox Chapel attack.  The teams went to the intermission with a scoreless tie.  Fox Chapel recorded three corners to just one in the half.

Early in the second half with junior Meghan Conwell in goal for NA, Fox Chapel resumed the offensive pressure and it paid off.  Off a scramble in front of the NA net, Pegeen Stone was able to score the game's first goal and give Fox Chapel a 1-0 advantage just 1:32 into the half.  The Lady Tigers came back with pressure of their own and earned a long hit at the 4:47 mark. Roach got off a good attempt that Wagner stopped with the rebound cleared.  After a FC time out, Roach broke down the right side and found junior Sophie Batton open in the middle.  Batton got off a good shot but Wagner made a better save with the Foxes again clearing the rebound.  NA kept up the pressure around the 10 minute mark, with junior Hailey Mancuso driving a hard shot that Wagner stopped.  At the 13:09 mark, sophomore Carly Thieret received a yellow card with NA being a player short for the next five minutes.  With 15:05 left in the half, the Lady Tigers broke down with a 3 on 2 but Roach's cross field pass was just too long.  With 14:27 remaining, Humiston sent a pass through the FC circle.  Fox Chapel came back on a long run by Cali Skalski that resulted in a corner for the Foxes.  FC was able to score off the corner when Maria Urso put in a rebound to make it a 2-0 game  .  At this points, freshman Bekah Rosenblatt came in to play in goal for NA.  In the last eleven minutes, the Lady Tigers took control of the game.  With 10:06 left, NA earned a corner but could not score.  Fox Chapel came back with a 2 on 1 but Sofranko took the ball away and started an NA counter attack.  With 5:03 left, Batton had a good opportunity but shot wide left.  With 4:03 remaining, sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom found Batton open again, but the NA sophomore sent it wide left.  With 2:12 left, NA earned their third corner of the half and finally converted.  Humiston put home a rebound that cut the FC lead to 2-1 with 1:57 left.  In the remaining time, the Foxes were able to control the ball in NA territory until just seconds remained.  As the Lady Tigers broke across midfield, time ran out and Fox Chapel was able to take the 2-1 victory.

Fox Chapel utilized their good team speed through the middle and their transition game kept the ball in NA territory throughout much of the first half.  After FC took the lead, the Lady Tigers came back to play much better in the second half.  The FC defense and outstanding play in goal by Madison Wagner held off NA until late in the game.  A lot of credit goes to the Tiger defense that kept NA in the game.  For her efforts in the back, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior Sarah Boselovic as the Player of the Game.

With the loss, the NA season ended with a final record of 13-5 along with the section title.  Fox Chapel advanced to the championship game where they will meet Peters Township, a 3-1 victor over Norwin in the other semifinal.  The championship game will be played at Fox Chapel on Monday at 7:45 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
FOX CHAPEL - 2  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

WPIAL CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP

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LADY TIGERS WRAP UP SECTION PLAY WITH 1-0 VICTORY AT PINE-RICHLAND

Photo Gallery

Junior forward Sophie Batton scored the only goal of the game late in the first half as NA went on to a 1-0 victory at Pine-Richland on Tuesday afternoon.  The Lady Tiger defense and junior GK Meghan Conwell kept the Rams off the board for the remainder of the contest as NA took the one-goal victory.

Playing a transition game for most of the first half, the Lady Tigers did a fine job of recovering possession of the ball and keeping it out of the defensive zone.  The NA midfield of senior Michelle Cotter and sophomores Carley Thieret and Emily Hesidence worked well with their forwards to channel the ball and recover possession.  The Lady Tigers were able to earn to corners at the 19:34 and 19:08 marks but could not convert them into goals.  Intense play by freshman forward Emily Humiston, Thieret, and sophomore Alexa Sofranko led to another corner at the 12:00 mark.  Again, the Lady Tigers could not convert.  At the 7:24 mark, the Rams earned a penalty corner.  A strong play by Batton at the fly position forced a weak direct shot by P-R.  Cotter was able to send the ball out of the circle to Thieret who was recovering back to the play.  The Lady Tigers then put together a successful passing play that led to the go ahead goal.  After intense midfield play, sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom sent a free hit to senior forward Kellie Roach.  Roach made a dodge around the defender and found junior forward Hailey Mancuso open who then sent the ball to Batton.  The NA junior carried the ball into the circle, drew the goalie out, and popped the ball into the cage to score what would be the game's only goal.  At the 2:00 minute mark, Pine-Richland received a yellow card for a jewelry violation.  Even with a man advantage, NA played the remaining half maintaining possession and managing the clock to not allow the Rams any offensive momentum.  The Lady Tigers took a 1-0 advantage to the intermission.

After the break, NA still had three minutes remaining in the P-R penalty.  The Rams were able to stop the Tiger advantage and carried the ball into the NA defensive end.  Junior goalkeeper Meghan Conwell came through with a key save to keep the 1-0 lead.  After time elapsed on the penalty, the Lady Tigers regained control of possession play to ride out the half.  Near the completion of the game, NA utilized solid time management skills to ensure the victory as the Lady Tigers took home the 1-0 decision.  The Lady Tigers earned seven penalty corners and recorded nine shots on goal in the half.

With the win, NA completed section play with a 9-1 record.  The overall Lady Tiger season record improved to 12-4 on the year.  NA will travel to Fox Chapel tomorrow evening for the regular season finale, a non-section contest against Fox Chapel with game time scheduled for 7:00 pm.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1  PINE-RICHLAND - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS EDGE NORWIN TO CLINCH SECTION TITLE

The Lady Tigers traveled to Norwin on Tuesday night and came home with a huge 2-1 victory over the defending WPIAL champions.  Senior Kellie Roach gave NA an early lead, but Norwin tied it just before halftime.  Halfway through the second half, freshman Emily Humiston got the game winner as the NA defense held off the Lady Knights for the remainder of the contest.

After the tough loss to Norwin earlier in the season, the Lady Tigers entered the game ready to avenge the defeat.  After a tough midfield battle early, senior captain Kellie Roach was able to get on the board to give NA the 1-0 lead.  At the 19:28 mark, Roach and fellow forwards Humiston, senior Rachel Laurent, and sophomore Paige Vanerstrom began putting pressure in the Norwin circle.  Roach was able to slam the ball into the net on an unassisted goal.  The NA defense then stepped up led by senior captain Sarah Boselovic and sophomore Alexa Sofranko to curb any Norwin push.  Norwin was held without a penalty corner throughout the half.  The Knights were able to tie the game, however, with just 30 seconds left in the half.  NA outshot Norwin, 5-3, in a defensive first half of play.  The teams went to the intermission tied at 1-1.

At the half, Norwin was give a "delay of game" penalty allowing NA to take the face off at the Norwin 40 yard lline.  The Lady Tigers used the advantage to earn their first and only offensive corner of the game.  NA was unable to convert on the corner but continued to put pressure on the Norwin defense, accumulating a number of plays in the offensive zone.  Midway through the half, Roach captured the ball and carried it into the circle and shot on goal.  The Norwin keeper made the save but her clear was stopped by Laurent at the top of the circle.  Laurent then passed to Humiston who was able to engage the goalkeeper and shoot around her for what was to be the winning goal.  The Lady Tigers took a 2-1 lead.  At this point, the defense stepped up to prevent any Norwin answer.  At the 4:00 mark, Norwin had a chance but NA junior goalie Meghan Conwell made a diving save.  During  the last two minutes of the game, the Lady Knights pressured the NA goal looking for the equalizer.  In the circle, sophomore midfielder Emily Hesidence was able to come up with the ball, carry it out and pass to Roach.  The Knights got possession back on a foul and sent a free hit back into the NA defensive zone where senior midfielder Michelle Cotter was able to make the play and send the ball out of the zone.  Off another free hit, Norwin again penetrated the NA defensive zone.  This time it was Sofranko who made a good tackle to come up with the ball.  A good passing play from Sofranko to Laurent to Humiston to Roach was able to get the ball into the offensive zone where NA was able to retain possession as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers finished with one penalty corner while allowing just one corner against.  NA recorded eight shots on goal in the game.  Conwell earned the victory with four goalkeeper saves.

With the win, NA improved their section record to 8-1 and clinched the Section 1 title.  The Lady Tigers will complete the regular season with a trip to Pine-Richland for a 3:30 pm section contest.

COACHES NOTES:  North Allegheny played a solid 60 minutes of field hockey.  Every player believed in the game plan and supported each other through positive communication and team offensive/defense to secure the win.  Not only were our sticks strong, our fee quick but they wore their heart on their sleeve to earn an NA playoff berth.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  NORWIN - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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HUDSON HOLDS OFF LADY TIGERS, 4-3

The Lady Tigers gave a good effort against a tough Ohio squad from Hudson on Saturday night at Newman Stadium but came up a little short in a 4-3 loss.  Senior Kellie Roach scored a pair of goals to pace NA while junior Sophie Batton added another tally for the Lady Tigers.

Early in the game, tough midfield play was featured with intense transitional play with senior Michelle Cotter, sophomores Emily Hesidence and Carley Thieret stepped up to shut down the Explorers' offensive momentum.  At the 16:55 mark, Roach gave NA a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal.  Hudson came back just 20 seconds later to tie the game with an unassited goal.  After an offensive surge by Roach, Batton, and freshman forward Emily Humiston, the Lady Tigers were unable to score.  Hudson came back with two late goals to take a 3-1 lead at halftime.  NA finished with five penalty corners and five shots on goal.

In the second half, the Lady Tigers came out strong and pressured the Hudson defense.  NA was able to cut the lead to 3-2 off a corner with Batton scoring off the left post on a pass from Humiston.  Three minutes later, Hudson restored the two-goal lead converting a penalty corner.  The Lady Tigers fought hard for the remainder of the contest and finally scored again with just 11 seconds left when Roach put home her own rebound for her second of the game.  Hudson was able to take a 4-3 victory back to Ohio.  Junior goalkeeper stepped up in the cage in the second half to collect seven saves while allowing just one goal.

With the loss, the overall NA record dropped to 10-4 as they began preparations for the big game at Norwin on Tuesday night.

GAME SUMMARY
HUDSON (OH) - 4  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS MASTER MT. LEBANON, 6-3

Both senior forward Kellie Roach and junior forward Sophie Batton recorded hat tricks on Friday night at Mt. Lebanon as the Lady Tigers downed Lebo, 6-3, in a non-section contest.  NA built a 6-0 lead before the Blue Devils came back to score three late goals.

The Lady Tigers were ready to play their third game this week and came out strong.  The Blue Devils were ready, too, and began pressuring the NA midfielders and defenders in transitional play.  With Lebo pressuring the NA circle, the Lady Tiger defensive corps of senior Michelle Cotter, Sarah Boselovic and sophomore Alexa Sofranko stepped up to stop the Lebo attack.  After five minutes of solid defense, the Lady Tigers turned the tables and began to pressure the Blue Devil circle.  Roach opened the scoring as she blasted the ball past the Lebo GK to give NA a 1-0 lead.  Mt. Lebanon tried to answer but solid midfield defense by Cotter and sophomores Carley Thieret, Paige Vanerstrom and Emily Hesidence foiled their attempts.  At the 15:00 minute mark, the NA transition play created a penalty corner.  After the Lebo defense stopped the attempt, Cotter regained possession.  Cotter ripped a shot from the top of the circle that Batton redirected into the goal from the left post to put NA up, 2-0.  Ten minutes later, Roach struck again.  The NA midfielders were able to feed the ball to the NA captain and she was able to slam the ball into the left corner of the net.  A minute later, Roach scored again on an almost identical play to pick up her third goal of the game and give NA a commanding 4-0 advantage.  The Lady Tigers took the four-goal lead to the intermission.  Junior Meghan Conwell started in goal for NA and kept Lebo off the board.

Early in the second half, the Lady Tigers increased the lead.  Roach again received the ball from the midfielders and took it into the circle.  Roach then found Batton open and the NA junior found the cage with her second of the game as the lead went to 5-0.  NA continued to over power the Lebo defense earning three consecutive corners.  On the third corner, Batton converted on a pass from Roach for her third of the game to push the margin to 6-0.  Mt. Lebanon responded late in the game with three unanswered goals in the last seventeen minutes.  The Lady Tigers finished with 10 penalty corners and 21 shots on goal.  Conwell earned the victory with four saves.

With the win, the overall NA record improved to 11-3 on the season.  The Lady Tigers played Hudson on Saturday night in a non-section game.  On Tuesday, NA will travel to Norwin for a key section contest.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 6  MT. LEBANON - 3

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS DOMINATE PENN-TRAFFORD, 6-2

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

The Lady Tigers built a 5-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 6-2 section victory over Penn-Trafford at Newman Stadium on Thursday night.  Junior forward Sophie Batton scored a pair of goals and added an assist to pace the winning Lady Tigers.  Senior forward Kellie Roach, senior forward Michelle Cotter, freshman forward Emily Humiston and senior forward Amanda "Spike" Worsley all tallied goals for NA.

From the opening hit back, the Lady Tigers took control of the contest.  NA forced a penalty corner just 1:46 into the game but could not score.  At the 2:36 mark, Roach sent a pass through the circle but NA could not convert.  A minute later, Roach drilled a hard shot from the edge of the circle that P-T goalie Alyssa Sadler stopped.  The Lady Tigers forced another corner at the 6:10 mark but several shot attempts were blocked by the Warrior defense.  Penn-Trafford came back with a breakaway attempt less than a minute later, but a good defensive play by senior defender Sarah Boselovic broke up the shot attempt.  The Lady Tigers kept the pressure on forcing three more penalty corners.  In the first at the 7:40 mark, Roach got off two shots that were stopped in front of the net.  A minute later, senior midfielder Rachel Laurent had a chance but shot wide of the goal.  On the third PC, Roach drilled a hard shot into the net from just inside the circle to give NA a 1-0 lead.  Batton picked up the assist on the goal.  After a P-T time out, NA forced another corner but could not score.  At the 14:48 mark, junior forward Hailey Mancuso sent a pass to Cotter who blasted it into the net to give NA a 2-0 advantage.  Less than three minutes later, Humiston was able to score from in front of the goal after Cotter drove the ball into the circle.  The lead increased to 3-0.  With 8:24 left, another corner allowed NA four chances in the circle but they could not convert.  With 7:39 remaining, sophomore Emily Hesidence drilled a hard ball into the circle that Worsley was able to direct into the net as NA increased the margin to 4-0.  The Warriors finally earned a penalty corner with 5:06 left, but the NA defense cleared the ball.  The Warriors' Dana Bowersox made a long run late in the half, but the Tiger defense again blocked her pass attempt.  In the last two minutes, NA forced two more corners.  With just 1:03 remaining in the half, the Lady Tigers converted the second corner with Batton scoring off an assist from Roach.  The half ended with NA holding a commanding 5-0 advantage.  The Lady Tigers posted eleven corners in the first half to just one for the Warriors.  Freshman goalie Bekah Rosenblatt was in goal for the first half.

In the second half, junior Meghan Conwell took over in goal for the Lady Tigers.  Coach Jen Diaz made a number of substitutions and allowed players to switch positions early in the half.  The Warriors came out with more intensity in the second half and force a long hit just 1:42 into the period.  After the NA defense cleared the attempt, the Lady Tigers earned a corner but could not score.  Penn-Trafford got on the board at the 7:50 mark on a long run by Bowersox who put her own rebound into the net to make it a 5-1 game.  NA answered less than two minutes later.  Batton was able to score from in front of the goal after taking a good pass from Mancuso, who picked up her second assist of the game as the Lady Tigers took a 6-1 lead.  Midway through the half, Humiston made a long run down the right side but could not get off a shot.  P-T's Marissa Sergiej answered with a long run of her own but did not score.  The Warriors did froce a corner at the 12:57 mark that resulted in a goal scored by Sergiej who deposited a rebound into the net.  The Lady Tigers still led 6-2 with 12:25 remaining.  P-T forced a pair of corners in the next several minutes but the NA defense held them off the board.  With 6:36 remaining, the Lady Tigers almost scored again when Roach sent a pass to the left of the goal that Worsley could not quite control as it went wide of the net.  With 5:12 left, Laurent stole the ball but shot wide of the net.  A final P-T corner was cleared by the NA defenders with 2:43 remaining.  The Lady Tigers got the final scoring chance when sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom drove a hard shot just wide of the goal.  NA wrapped up the 6-2 victory as time ran out.  In the second half, Penn-Trafford posted four corners to one for NA, but the game total stood at 12-5 in favor of the Lady Tigers.

It was a good overall team effort by the Lady Tigers who took control of the game from the outset.  Good passing and hard defensive play marked the important section victory.  Tough transitional play at midfield by sophomore Carley Thieret, Hesidence and Vanerstrom helped keep the ball in P-T territory.  On the defensive end, Boselovic, sophomore Alexa Sofranko, and sophomore Maria Baldonieri all helped stop the potent P-T offense.   For her efforts at the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Sophie Batton as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Lady Tigers improved their section record to 7-1 and took over sole possession of first place in the section as Norwin dropped a 2-1 decision to Hempfield on Thursday night.  NA will travel to Mt. Lebanon tonight to meet the Blue Devils in a 7:30 pm non-section contest.  Tomorrow night, the Lady Tigers will host Hudson (OH), in another 7:30 pm non-section game at Newman Stadium.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 6  PENN-TRAFFORD - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS BLANK LATROBE, 2-0, TO REMAIN
IN FIRST PLACE IN SECTION

The Lady Tigers downed Latrobe, 2-0, at Latrobe in a section contest on Tuesday afternoon.  Senior captain Kellie Roach scored both NA goals as the Lady Tigers dominated play for most of the afternoon.  Freshman goalkeeper Bekah Rosenblatt was in net to post the shutout victory.

The Lady Tigers pressured Latrobe from the pass back and kept the ball in the half of the field for most of the half.  After collecting 13 penalty corners, NA finally converted to get on the board.  Junior Sophie Batton assisted Roach at the eight minute mark to give NA a 1-0 lead.  NA continued to keep the pressure on the Wildcats with solid transitional play from midfielders senior Michelle Cotter, and sophomores Emily Hesidence and Alexa Sofranko.  The Lady Tigers finished the half with 16penalty corners and ten shots on goal.  The NA defense of senior captain Sarah Boselovic and sophomore Maria Baldonieri held the Latrobe offense in check and did not allow a shot on goal.

In the second half, NA continued to pressure the Latrobe defense.  The Lady Tiger offense continued to create corners and pound the Wildcat goalie with shots.  Latrobe was able to challenge the NA defense, however, and posted three offensive corners.  The Tiger defense was able to keep the Wildcats off the board.  With five minutes left in the half, the Lady Tigers were able to seal the victory when Cotter passed to Roach who ripped a shot into the net to give NA a 2-0 advantage.  Rosenblatt recorded one save in the second half in posting the victory.

The win improved the NA section record to 6-1 keeping them one half game ahead of Norwin.  The overall Lady Tiger record improved to 9-3 on the season.  NA will host Penn-Trafford tomorrow night 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 6:45 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Newman Stadium.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  LATROBE - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS SPLIT TWO GAMES IN MICHIGAN

The Lady Tigers traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a pair of games on Saturday and came home with a win and a loss.  In the first game, Pioneer downed NA 4-1, with freshman Emily Humiston scoring the Lady Tiger goal.  In the second game, NA downed Skyline, 3-0, behind goals from senior Kellie Roach who scored twice and junior Amanda "Spike" Worsley who added the final tally.  Junior Meghan Conwell recorded eight saves in posting the shutout.

Pioneer got on the board five minutes into the first game converting on a penalty corner.  NA's left side led by Humiston and sophomore Carley Thieret had strong transitional play in the game.  Pioneer was able to regain possession and attack the NA goal.  At the 11:52 mark, Pioneer scored with a strong shot from the top of the circle to take a 2-0 lead.  With seven minutes remaining in the half, Pioneer scored  their third goal.  NA had two penalty corners with one shot on goal.  Freshman goalie Bekah Rosenblatt made five saves.  Pioneer took a 3-0 lead to the intermission.

The Lady Tigers regrouped in the second half and went on the attack.  The right side stepped up led by senior captain Roach, senior Michelle Cotter and junior Sophie Batton.  NA created much more offensive momentum but could not beat the Pioneer goalkeeper.  The Pioneers scored again at the 16 minute mark to take a 4-0 lead.  The Lady Tigers finally broke through to score with four minutes left with Humiston scoring on a breakaway.  NA accumulated 6 penalty corners with 8 shots on goal.  Rosenblatt had three second half saves.

COACH'S NOTES:  NA never gave up against a tough Pioneer team.  At the half, we focused on making the necessary adjustments to put on more offensive pressure and the team rose to the challenge.  We created more opportunities for ourselves in the circle and this growth will lead us in the remainder of the WPIAL season.

In the second game, the Lady Tigers dominated the first half possession play against Skyline.  The NA forwards including junior Hailey Mancuso, Batton, Roche and Cotter were aggressive in getting the ball in the circle and creating offensive opportunities.  Roach opened the scoring by slamming the ball passed the Eagle goalkeeper.  Two minutes later, a Humiston and Roach combination resulted in a second goal for the Lady Tigers.  NA went into the intermission with one penalty corner and twelve shots on goal.  Junior goalie Meghan Conwell had two saves as NA held a 2-0 lead at halftime.

After the half, the Lady Tigers came out strong and forced the ball into the Skyline circle to create a corner.  Worsley was able to convert off the corner on the left post off a pass from Roach.  The NA defense stepped up to shut down any Skyline offensive momentum.  The defense was led by senior captain Sarah Boselovic and sophomores Maria Baldonieri and Alexa Sofranko.  NA finished the half with five penalty corners and 11 shots on goal.  Conwell had eight saves in completing the shutout.

With the split, the overall NA record went to 8-3 on the season.

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

GAME SUMMARIES
PIONEER (MI) - 4  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  SKYLINE (MI) - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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ROACH'S HAT TRICK LEADS LADY TIGERS
OVER HEMPFIELD, 4-1

After trailing early by a 1-0 score, the Lady Tigers stormed back with senior forward Kellie Roach scoring three second half goals to lead NA to a 4-1 victory.  Junior Amanda "Spike" Worsley had tied the game with a late first half goal.

The game was played on turf at Hempfield Stadium with rain making the field wet and conditions ideal for field hockey.  After collecting a penalty corner in the first minute, the Lady Tigers started putting pressure on the Hempfield goal.  After four corner attempts, Roach beat the Hempfield goalie at the 6:00 mark, but the goals was called back on a questionable call.  Hempfield used the call for momentum and scored the game's first goal to take a 1-0 lead.  After a time out by NA, the Lady Tigers answered to tie the game at the 8:00 mark.  Worsley scored off the left post on a corner play assisted by junior Sophie Batton and sophomore Carley Thieret.  Although NA finished with 16 shots and 12 offensive corners, the score remained tied at halftime.

In the second half, Roach came out energized and sparked a continuing NA offensive pressure on the Hempfield defense.  After the Tiger offense pounded the circle and challenged the Hempfield goalie with repetitive shots on goals and corners, Roach scored on an assist from sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom to give the Lady Tigers a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the half.  Roach forced another corner with her creative dribbling.  On the set play, senior Michelle Cotter struck the initial shot with Roach redirecting it into the cage for her second goal to give NA a 3-1 advantage.  With six minutes left in the game, Batton shot on goal with Roach collecting the rebound and sending it high over the goalie's shoulder and into the net completing her hat trick.  It was Roach's first hat trick of the season.  The NA defense shut down two Hempfield penalty corners with freshman goalie Bekah Rosenblatt finishing the game with two saves.  On offense, NA finished with 32 shots on goal along with 25 penalty corners.

With the win, NA improved to 5-1 and moved into first place in the section.  The overall NA mark went to 7-2 on the season.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Ann Arbor on Saturday for a pair of games against Pioneer and Skyline High Schools.  The first game is scheduled for 10:00 am.

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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  HEMPFIELD - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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HUMISTON'S GOAL IN OT BEATS PINE-RICHLAND, 2-1

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Freshman forward Emily Humiston scored on a rebound with 3:09 remaining in overtime to give the Lady Tigers an exciting 2-1 victory over neighborhood rival Pine-Richland at Newman Stadium on Tuesday night.  Senior Kellie Roach had given NA a 1-0 lead midway through the first half on Senior Night before the Lady Rams tied it just before halftime.

The Lady Tigers started quickly and forced two early penalty corners at the 5:00 minute and 7:31 minute marks.  Neither corner resulted in a scoring opportunity.  NA continued to pressure the Ram defense keeping the ball in the Pine-Richland offensive zone for much of the first fifteen minutes of the game but could get no real scoring chances.  With 12:35 remaining, however, sophomore midfielder Paige Vanerstrom sent the ball into the circle where Roach collected it and scored on a turning shot that beat P-R goalie Alyssa Lerda to give NA a 1-0 lead.  The Lady Rams came back with some offensive pressure sparked by a long run down the left side by Rebecca Pereira.  With 9:28 left in the half, Vanderstrom drove another ball into the circle resulting in a long hit for NA.  The Lady Tigers could not get through the Ram defense, however, and continued to hold the one-goal lead.  With 2:00 remaining, P-R began to pressure the NA goal.  Just inside a minute to play, Klein had a great chance from just inside the circle but NA freshman goalie Rebekah Rosenblatt made a tough save.  The Rams were awarded a corner on the rebound play.  Klein was able to take the insert and blast it into the net to tie the game with just seconds remaining in the half.  The teams went to the intermission tied at 1-1.  Although the Lady Tigers dominated ball possession and had a territorial advantage for much of the half, the game was tied.

The late goal seemed to energize the Lady Rams as they came out strong early in the second half.  Senior captain and defender Sarah Boselovic made a good defensive play in the first minute to deny a P-R scoring chance.  Just 3:20 into the half, Rosenblatt made a good play coming out to kick away another Ram opportunity.  At the 6:22 mark, the Lady Rams forced a penalty corner that junior Sophie Batton was able to clear.  The Lady Tigers came back on a long run by Roach down the right side but could not get off a shot.  Minutes later, Klein and P-R-s Haley Burnside had a two-on-one, but Burnside had trouble handling the pass to the left of the NA net.  With 16:13 remaining, the Lady Tigers forced their first corner of the half but could not get off a shot.  NA pressure forced a long hit less than a minute later.  With 12:35 remaining, junior midfielder Carley Thieret made a long run through the middle but the Lady Tigers could not convert in the circle.  NA kept the pressure on forcing another long hit less than a minute later.  The Lady Rams held off NA and were able to come back with pressure of their own.  P-R forced two consecutive corners with Burnside getting the best chance, but her shot was blocked by the NA defense.  The Lady Tigers came back quickly with Humiston breaking across the middle and getting off a good shot that resulted in an NA corner with 4:30 left in the half.  After a flurry in front of the P-R net, the Lady Tigers were awarded another corner but the ensuing shot attempts were blocked.  With 3:32 left, NA earned another corner with Roach having a good chance in the middle but the Ram defense again was there to block the attempt.  With time running out, the Lady Tigers earned yet another corner and both Roach and Thieret got off shots that were stopped as regulation time ended.  With the game tied at 1-1, the game went to overtime.  In the second half, P-R had four corners and NA three with the game totals standing at five each.

The overtime period belonged to the Lady Tigers.  Just 39 seconds into the OT, NA earned another corner.  Humiston shot just wide left of the net.  With 12:59 remaining and off another corner, Roach had a chance but the Ram defense continued to play tough and blocked the attempt.  NA continued to pressure the Ram goal keeping the P-R team bottled up.  The pressure paid off again with Humiston having a shot blocked resulting in the third corner of the overtime.  Off the insert, Humiston again was stopped.  A fourth corner with 11:25 gave Humiston another chance with the Ram defense blocking this attempt.  With 8:25 left, Humiston broke in on the left side but shot wide.  With 7:00 minutes remaining, Roach stole the ball at midfield and broke in on a two-on-one.  Ram goalie Lerda came out and made a great save robbing Roach of the game winner.  Less than a minute later, the Lady Tigers had a two-on-none break with Humiston passing to Roach only to see Lerda with another spectacular save to keep the Rams' hope alive.  With 3:40 left, Humiston shot wide left again as NA continued to send shots at the P-R net.  Finally, the pressure paid off when Humiston was able to put home a rebound of a shot by Roach to give the Lady Tigers the win.  In the overtime period, NA had five corners to none to the Rams.  P-R did not get off a shot in the overtime stanza.

It was a great effort by the Lady Tigers to capture the win in overtime.  NA got a good effort from a number of players on Senior Night, but the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Carley Thieret as the Player of the Game for her hustling play in both the offensive and defensive ends of the field.  With the win, the NA section record improved to 4-1 and moved them into a first place tie with Norwin, a 3-2 loser to Penn-Trafford last night.  The overall NA mark improved to 6-2 on the season.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Hempfield tonight to meet the Spartans in a 7:30 pm section contest.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  PINE-RICHLAND - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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2009 WPIAL FIELD HOCKEY

The Lady Tigers will compete again in Class AAA of the WPIAL along with eleven other teams.  The top teams in each section 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 and one point for a tie.  Ties for first place will not be broken and ALL tied teams will each receive a winner's plaque.  In the event of a multiple team time for second, third, or fourth place, head-to-head competition will be used to break the tie.

EXAMPLE:

Team A is clearly first.  Teams B, `C, and D are all tied with identical section records for second place.  In the head-to-head competition among the three teams, Team B is 3-1, Team C is 2-2 and Team D is 1-3.  Team B is the second place team and is entered into the tournament

Failure to break the tie by applying the point system will result in applying a point differential system to a plus or minus five to all section games played.  If this procedure does not break the tie, a playoff game will be held.

Duration of the game shall be a maximum of sixty minutes played in two equal halves.  All regular season games ending in a tie will be subject to the following Overtime Procedures:
1- Prior to the overtime period there shall be a 5-minute intermission/
2- The home team captain calls the coin toss and the winner chooses choice of goal or to take possession of the ball.
3- Teams will be limited to 6 field players and a goalkeeper.
4- If a player was disqualified (red card) during the regulation game, that team must play short throughout the overtime.  If a player was suspended (yellow card) the team shall play short until the suspension time is completed.

The overtime will be 15 minutes "SUDDEN VICTORY".
There will be unlimited substitutions.  There will be no team time-outs even if a team has unused time outs.  Regular season games tied after the 15 minutes overtime period are recorded as a tie.

2009 FIELD HOCKEY ALIGNMENT - CLASS AAA (12 TEAMS)

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