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FOUR LADY TIGER PLAYERS SIGN LETTERS OF INTENT

Four members of the NA Varsity Soccer team signed letters of intent to play soccer at the collegiate level next year.  Goalkeeper Rachel Middleman will play at Ohio State, defender Margaret Nikituk at Mercyhurst, midfielder Taylor Gapczynski at Youngstown State and forward Kylie Fuller at Johns Hopkins University.

CONGRATULATIONS TO RACHEL, MARGARET, TAYLOR AND KYLIE!

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GAPCZYNSKI NAMED TO WPIAL FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS

Senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski was selected by the WPHSGSCA coaches to the first team of the WPIAL Class AAA All-Stars.  Gapczynski was also named to the Section 3-AAA All-Section team along with senior forward Kylie Fuller, senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman, and senior defender Larissa Steeb.  Middleman was chosen on the All-Section team for the third straight year while Gapczynski was named for the second consecutive season.

CONGRATULATIONS TO TAYLOR, KYLIE, RACHEL AND LARISSA!!!

WPIAL CLASS AAA ALL-STARS

WPIAL SECTION 2-AAA ALL-STARS

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STRONG SECOND HALF GIVES LEBO 4-0 VICTORY
OVER LADY TIGERS IN WPIAL PLAYOFFS

After trailing by just a 1-0 score midway through the second half, Mt. Lebanon scored three goals in the last sixteen minutes of the game to secure a 4-0 victory over NA in the WPIAL playoffs as Mt. Lebanon Stadium on Tuesday night. 

The Blue Devils scored the only goal they would need in the first half when sophomore Katherine Pryor blasted one from the top of the box off the hands of Tigers goalkeeper Rachel Middleman 17 minutes into the match. It remained 1-0 until the Blue Devils exploded for three goals in a span of just under sixteen minutes midway through the second half. Audrey Cillio scored the first two goals in the half including a header from a throw in that went into the net of a North Allegheny's players head. Cillio's second goal was much prettier when she came down the left side, hit the brakes to avoid a Tigers defender and swept a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net. Katherine Pryor's older sister Caroline scored the final goal of the game with only 33 seconds remaining.

The loss eliminated the Lady Tigers from the playoffs as Mt. Lebanon advanced to the quarterfinals.  NA finished with a final record of 14-6 on the season.

The Lady Tigers soccer team would like to thank our loyal fans, especially the NA students, for how they stayed positive throughout the game encouraging the team to the very end.  Thank You!!!

(Thanks to MSA's Don Rebel for information in this report!)

Click here to listen to the MSA Broadcast of the game!

GAME SUMMARY
MT. LEBANON - 4  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

WPIAL CLASS AAA SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

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LADY TIGERS TOP HAMPTON, 2-1, ON PENALTY KICKS IN WPIAL PLAYOFF OPENER

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

After playing 110 minutes of playoff soccer without a decision, the Lady Tigers converted on four penalty kicks to three for Hampton to take a 2-1 victory over the Talbots in the prelminary round of the WPIAL Class AAA tournament at Fridley Field Stadium at Hampton.  During regulation time, senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski scored a second half goal to tie the game at 1-1 and force overtime.  Junior forward Katie Hohmann converted the final PK for what proved to be the game winner.

Neither team had much of a scoring chance in the early going as both teams were cautious and played strong defense.  Senior defender Larissa Steeb sent a long ball in on one hope to Hampton GK Haley McDonald in the first minute.  Hampton's Alana DeLuca answered with another long attempt from the right side four minutes later that NA senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman grabbed after one bounce.  At the 10:50 mark, the Talbots' Sam Werner sent another attempt from 30 yards into the box that Middleman stopped easily.  NA got a chance on a direct kick by Gapczynski three minutes later, but the shot went wide left.  Steeb came back with another attempt from long range at the 14:08 mark but McDonald caught the ball on the fly.  A minute later, Gapczynski drilled a direct kick in from 23 yards on the right that McDonald bobbled but covered.  The Lady Tigers continued to apply pressure and earned a corner kick midway through the half.  Gapczynski sent a high ball toward the far post, but McDonald went high to make the catch.  Less than a minute later, Hampton's Emily Spencer sent a long shot in that Middleman collected after two hops.  Alyssa Katz followed with a hard attempt from the 18 but shot wide left.  With 17:22 left in the half, sophomore Carly Brailer answered for NA as she forced McDonald to make a diving save of her attempt from the 18.  The Tigers continued to control the ball with Gapczynski sending in another hard shot from 25 yards that McDonald grabbed after one hop.  Steeb had to make a good defensive play in the box to stop a scoring chance by Emily Spencer with 12:33 remaining.  Hampton came back again with 7:49 left and almost scored when Emily Spencer sent in an acrobatic throwin that Werner headed just wide of the net.  NA picked up the pressure in the latter moments of the half.  A ball sent into the box was covered by McDonald with 3:51 left.  Tiger pressure forced another corner kick with 3:27 remaining, but the Talbot defense cleared the ball.  With 2:40 remaining, senior forward Kylie Fuller was pulled down outside the box.  On the ensuing direct kick by Gapczynski, the ball sailed high and wide to the right.  NA earned another corner with 18 seconds left, but the Talbots were able to clear the attempt as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers had the better of the play territorially in the half but could not score.  NA recorded three corner kicks to none for Hampton, but the teams went to the first intermission scoreless. 

Early in the second half, it was Hampton applying the pressure that eventually resulted in the first goal of the game.  Just 1:02 into the half, Elizabeth Regan sent a cross to Emily Spencer who directed it just over the goal.  At the 4:10 mark, Werner drove a direct kick from 20 yards over the NA net.  After a direct kick by Katz went wide left, the Talbots earned a corner kick at the 7:14 mark.  NA failed to clear the ball in spite of several attempts allowing Emily Spencer to have a good chance from the right side that she sent into the net.  The Talbots scored the all-important first goal to take a 1-0 lead at the 7:53 mark.  NA came back to pressure the Hampton goal looking for the equalizer.  Gapczynski drove a direct kick over the Talbot net at the 14:23 mark.  Freshman Christine Palmeri was sent in by NA Coach Chet Gapczynski and she responded with a high attempt from the right side that McDonald caught on the fly.  Two minutes later, Steeb drilled a long direct kick that McDonald also was forced to catch in front of the goal.  The Talbots answered with a scoring chance at the 18:11 mark, but the shot by Kathrine Bergman was blocked by the NA defense.  Gapczynski sent a long attempt at the 19:35 mark that McDonald caught.  Less than a minute later, Gapczynski had another chance off a direct kick.  This time, the NA senior was on the mark as she caught the upper right hand corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1 with 19:50 still left in the half.  Both teams had chances to take the lead in the remaining time but could not score.  The Talbots' Mia Coelho shot wide right from 20 yards with 18:18 left.  Palmeri answered wtih a blast wide left from the 18 less than three minutes later.  Steeb lifted a long direct kick into the box with 14:50 left, but the Talbot defense headed the attempt out of danger.  In the next several minutes, NA attempted to set up Palmeri but the Hampton defense was able to keep the Tiger freshman away from the goal.  With 7:50 left, Hohmann had a great chance from the 18 but McDonald made a diving save to keep the game tied.  With 3:38 left, another throwin by Emily Spencer set up a scoring chance in the box but the header went wide.  Hampton's Stella Sotereanos lifted a shot over the goal from the 18 with 2:29 remaining.  A minute later, Sotereanos had another chance from 20 yards but shot wide right.  With time running out, Hohmann had one last chance but shot high.  Regulation time ended with the game tied at 1-1.

In the playoffs, there are two 15-minute overtime periods scheduled, both subject to sudden death if a team scores.  Both teams approached the first OT cautiously with few scoring chances early.  Hohmann sent a long attempt in on one bounce at the 3:45 mark.  Hampton's Natalie Smith answered with a chance from 25 yards that Middleman collected on one hop with 7:05 left.  Hohmann had another good chance to end the game on a breakaway down the middle but her shot went wide left.  With 5:27 left, the Talbot defense blocked an attempt by Palmeri and cleared the ball.  Steeb came up with another good defensive play blocking a scoring attempt by Emily Spencer from 20 yards away with 3:20 left.  With time running out, Fuller tried to set up Hohmann in front of the goal but McDonald stepped in to intercept the pass.  The game was still tied at 1-1 after one overtime period.

Early in the second OT, senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk made a nice move down the right side but her roller was stopped by McDonald.  Less than a minute later, Emily Spencer sent in an attempt from the left side that Middleman had to punch away.  Hampton then earned a corner kick, but the attempted cross went behind the NA goal.  Werner came back with a shot wide at 9:22.  Gapczynski sent in a hard attempt off a direct kick with 7:47 remaining but McDonald made the catch.  Werner answered for the Talbots but her shot from 20 yards was redirected right to Middleman with 6:50 left.  Hampton continued to apply the pressure and picked up another corner.  For the second time, the serve off the corner hit the back of the NA goal.  Down the stretch, the only other scoring attempt came from the Talbots but a direct kick from 30 yards went wide left.  Hampton dominated the second overtime period but the NA defense and Middleman held them off.  With a 1-1 tie after two halves and two overtime periods, the game was sent to penalty kicks for a decision.

Each team chose five players to make the attempts.  Sophomore Emily Johns led off for NA, but McDonald made the save as Johns went for the left corner.  Werner then gave Hampton a 1-0 lead with a clean shot into the upper right hand corner.  Gapczynski came back to tie the shootout at 1-1 with a blast that beat McDonald.  Middleman then came up with a big save on Gacka to keep the contest tied.  Steeb gave NA their first lead at 2-1 with another strong kick that went over the right shoulder of McDonald.  Freshman Amanda Spencer calmly tied the contest with a ball into the right side.  Fuller put NA back ahead with a low shot into the left corner to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.  Hunkele came back to tie the contest at 3-3 with a shot just inside the left post.  Hohmann then stepped up to score into the left side of the net to make it 4-3.  With the game on the line, Hampton senior Sarah Krzewinski shot wide left.  The Lady Tigers had survived with the win in penalty kicks giving NA a 2-1 victory over the Talbots.

It was a hard fought defensive match throughout the contest.  The NA defense contained the Talbots thanks to the efforts of Steeb, junior Leah Langhans, and sophomore Calene Dougherty.  Strong play at midfield by Gapczynski, Nikituk, and junior Christina Boada continuing stopped Hampton passing plays.  Middleman was strong in goal as usual for the winning Lady Tigers.  Fuller and Hohmann came on strong, particularly late in the game.   For her efforts in scoring what became the game winner, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Katie Hohmann as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Lady Tigers advance to the First Round of the playoffs and a meeting with #4 seed Mt. Lebanon.  The game is scheduled for Tuesday night at Mt. Lebanon Stadium with game time set for 7:45 pm.  The MSA Sports Network will broadcast the game live on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:30 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  HAMPTON - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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FULLER, HOHMANN LIFT LADY TIGERS
OVER HOPEWELL, 4-2

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

Senior forward Kylie Fuller and sophomore forward Katie Hohmann scored two goals each to power the Lady Tigers to a 4-2 victory over Hopewell in the regular season finale at Newman Stadium on Tuesday night.  Fuller's second goal midway through the second half broke at 2-2 tie and Hohmann's second goal late in the half secured the victory on Senior Night.

Hopewell started quickly with a pair of attempts by Kayla Losco and Chelsey Haney but could not score.  Fuller came back for NA at the 3:08 mark with a long attempt from 25 yards that was caught by Hopewell keeper Emily Faller.  Three minutes later, senior forward Savanna Kelly was open in the box but could not get off a shot.  At the 10:28 mark, senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski launched a hard shot from the 18 but it went wide of the goal.  Seconds later, senior defender Larissa Steeb sent in a high attempt that bounced over the head of the Hopewell keeper where Hohmann was able to collect the ball and send it into the empty net.  NA took a 1-0 lead at the 10:49 mark.  Haney came back for the Vikings at the 14:40 mark with an attempt that rolled right to NA senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman.  Two minutes later, Haney drilled a hard shot over the goal from the 18.  Haney finally found the net at the 18:47 mark with a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.  Hohmann answered with a shot off the cross bar with 19:45 left.  Three minutes later, Hohmann sent a through ball to sophomore forward Brianna Layman but the pass was just beyond her reach.  With 18:15 left, the Lady Tigers earned their first corner kick and converted.  Gapczynski sent a high cross to the right post that Fuller headed into the left hand corner of the net to give NA a 2-1 advantage.  With 14:52 left, Haney tried for the equalizer but her shot from the 18 was stopped by Middleman.  Fuller came back from the left side but her left footed attempt was caught by the Hopewell keeper.  With 10:11 left in the half, Gapczynski had a chance from the right side from 35 yards but sent it over the goal.  Two minutes later, Hohmann took a pass from Gapczynski but drove a hard shot wide to the left of the Viking net.  With 7:05 left, sophomore forward Carly Brailer sent a high shot toward the goal from the 18 but Faller went up to make the save.  The Lady Tigers kept the pressure on for most of the remaining time in the half but could not finish.  With 5:50 left, junior midfielder Danielle Dorazio lifted an attempt from the left side from 25 yards away but the Hopewell keeper made the stop.  Hopewell came back a minute later with a shot by Krysten Opsatnik that went left of the NA goal.  Sophomore defender Melina Mermigas then made a good play against Haney to avert another Viking opportunity.  With 1:48 remaining, NA earned another corner kick.  After the ball was cleared, Mermigas lifted a high shot that hit the top of the cross bar with 1:15 remaining.  With 45 seconds left, Hopewell forced their only corner of the half but could not convert as Middleman stopped Kayla Losco's shot attempt.  Time ran out in the half as the Lady Tigers took a 2-1 lead to the intermission.  Corner kicks favored NA, 2-1, in the half.

Hopewell came out strong and almost tied the game in the first minute.  Haney was able to get around the NA defense and break in on Middleman who made a tremendous save with her left forearm to keep NA in the lead.  The Vikings kept up the early pressure but Angela Gurchak lined an attempt over the NA goal from the left side at the 2:20 mark.  The pressure paid off for the Vikings at the 6:32 mark when Haney scored her second goal of the game racing around the NA defense and Middleman before rolling the ball into the net to tie the game at 2-2.  NA came back with a good ball into the box, but no Tiger player was able to make a play on the pass.  At the 9:28 mark, Haney again made a good play along the left side in the box, but her shot hit the side of the goal.  Two minutes later, the Lady Tigers had a direct kick just outside the box when Fuller was trip.  On the ensuing kick, Fuller was stopped by the Viking keeper on a strong shot right at her.  NA then forced a pair of corner kicks beginning at the 11:10 mark.  On the first, Brailer had a good chance, but her shot was blocked over the goal line.  On the second, the Hopewell defense was able to clear the ball.  Brailer came back two minutes later to get off two more attempts from close ranged but her second shot missed the net.  At the 18:31 mark, Fuller scored her second goal of the game from the left side from ten yards away to give NA a 3-2 advantage.  The goal would prove to be the game winner, Fuller's second in as many nights.  NA controlled play for most of the remainder of the game.  Junior midfielder Christina Boada got off a good atttempt from 25 yards that was stopped by the Viking keeper.  With 18:58 left, Steeb drilled a long attempt that was caught on a one bounce by Faller.  A minute later, senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk sent a shot wide right from 25 yards away.  Hopewell came back with a pair of corner kicks.  The NA defense cleared the first attempt with Sarah Estok sending the second over the NA net.  With 12:01 left, Hohmann sent a one-touch attempt off the cross bar.  A minute later, Kelly lifted one over the goal from 25 yards with Fuller drilling another hard shot right at the keeper with 10:50 remaining.   The Lady Tigers continued to pepper the Viking net with Hohmann being stopped by Faller from close range thirty seconds later.  Haney had a chance at the equalizer with 9:56 left but her shot went wide left from the 18.  With 6:20 remaining, Fuller broke down the middle and hit the right post with the Vikings clearing the ball over the goal line.  On the ensuing corner, Estok was able to clear the ball toward midfield.  With 3:32 left, Haney broke free through the box, but Mermigas made another good play to take the ball away before Haney could shoot.  As time was running out, sophomore Emily Johns sent a pass in to Hohmann on the left side of the box.  The NA sophomore broke left and was able to direct the ball past the Viking keeper for her second of the night.  The goal gave NA a commanding 4-2 lead with just 1:18 left in the game.  Freshman Christine Palmeri got off a hard shot right along the goal line that Faller stopped with seconds remaining.  Time ran out as the Lady Tigers picked up the 4-2 victory.  Corner kicks ended at six for NA to three for Hopewell.

It was another good team effort by the Lady Tigers.  Good offensive play created a number of scoring opportunities.  In the midfield, NA continued to win 50/50 balls led by Gapczynski, Boada, Nikituk and Dorazio  In the back, Steeb, junior Leah Langhans, sophomore Calene Dougherty, and Mermigas were challenged by Haney, but came through when needed at the end of the game.  For her offensive efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior Kylie Fuller appropriately on Senior Night as the Player of the Game for the second consecutive night!

With the non-section win, NA finished with a regular season record of 13-5-0.  The Lady Tigers will begin play in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs as early as Saturday.  The MSA Sports Network will broadcast the WPIAL Pairings Meeting tonight LIVE on the internet beginning at 8:00 pm.  Join Don Rebel, Sam Hall and Bob Orkwis for the latest playoff info including sites, dates and times of the first round games.

JV UPDATE:  The JV team finished on a winning note with a 9-1 victory over Hopewell.  NA goals were scored by Lauren Shivetts (3), Alexis Aiken (2), Maria Snyder (2), Christine Palmeri and Madeleine Heistand.

Click here to go to the MSA broadcast!

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  HOPEWELL - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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SECOND HALF GOALS SINK NORTH HILLS, 3-1

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

The Lady Tigers broke a 1-1 halftime tie with goals by senior forward Kylie Fuller and sophomore forward Brianna Layman early in the second half to take a 3-1 victory over rival North Hills at Newman Stadium on Monday night.  Sophomore Carly Brailer sent home a rebound late in the first half to answer an earlier NH tally.

Early in the first half, the Lady Tigers threatened to take the lead.  Senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski drove a hard shot along the ground that was topped by NH goalkeeper Emily Jamison at the 3:50 mark.  Three minutes later, sophomore forward Katie Hohmann sent a header toward the net that Jamison picked up after two bounces.  At the 8:29 mark, Fuller lifted a cross toward a breaking Hohmann that just went too far.  The Indians came back a minute later when Abby O'Connell set up Hartman at the 18 but her shot went wide left. Senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk came back with an attempt from 35 yards that came in on one hop to the NH keeper.  It was North Hills, however, that got on the board first.  On a long direct kick from 45 yards on the right side, Hartman was able to pick up the ball in full stride and lifted a shot over NA senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman to give NH a 1-0 lead at the 12:12 mark.  A little over two minutes later, senior defender Larissa Steeb sent a long cross in the box that Hohmann headed just wide.  At the 16:50 mark, Gapczynski blasted another hard shot from 35 that was stopped by the Jamison.  Over the next several minutes, NA had the ball in the box but could not get off a good scoring attempt.  The Lady Tigers kept the pressure on looking for the equalizer.  Gapczynski sent another long attempt from the middle of the field that was caught by Jamison.  With 17:31 left, sophomore defender Melina Mermigas drove a shot over the goal from just outside the 18.  A minute later, Fuller broke down the left side but was stopped by Jamison who made a diving save.  With 12:51 left, Nikituk had a chance but shot wide from 30 yards.  Steeb sent a long attempt into the box that Jamison controlled with 7:08 left, and Gapczynski had another hard shot stopped by the NH goalie two minutes later.    The Lady Tigers finally broke through to tie the score.  Steeb lifted a long attempt off a direct kick from 44 yards on the right that Jamison came out but was unable to collect.  Brailer was there to drive home the rebound to tie the game at 1-1 with 5:25 left in the half.  NA kept control in the offensive end for most of the remainder of the first half resulting in a pair of corner kicks.  The Lady Tigers could not convert either with a header going over the net on the second.  Hohmann had a chance to give NA the lead from the left side, but Jamison came out to cut the angle and make another diving save with just 30 seconds left.  The teams went to the intermission tied at 1-1.

North Hills came out strong in the first several minutes of the second half resulting in an attempt by Lindsey Slagel that went wide right at the 3:15 mark.  The Lady Tigers stormed back, however, to take the lead.  Brailer sent a ball across the box that Fuller controlled on the left side.  After a step to the right, Fuller drilled it into the right corner of the net to give NA a 2-1 advantage 5:27 into the half.  After a North Hills corner kick was denied by the NA defense, Fuller answered with a cross to Brailer who set wide left at the 9:00 minute mark.  A minute later, Layman broke down the right side and beat the NH keeper with hard shot into the left corner to extend the NA lead to 3-1.  The Indians had a chance to cut into the lead when O'Connell took a pass from Lea Sullivan and shot just wide left at the 12:20 mark.  O'Connell came back less than a minute later with a run down the right side, but Middleman came out to make a tough save to keep NA in the lead by two.  The Indians got a corner kick on the play but could not convert.  The Lady Tigers followed with a long ball down the left side that Fuller could not quite get to as NH keeper Jamison dove on the ball in the box.  At the 17:12 mark, Sullivan lifted a ball from the left side that Middleman caught on the fly.  Less than two minutes later, Steeb had to clear a ball out of the box to stop a NH attack.  After the Indians failed on another corner kick, Hohmann set up Fuller at the 18 but her strong attempt hit the top of the crossbar.  With 19:10 left, Layman sent another attempt in from the right side from 20 yards out, but Jamison made the save.  Brailer came back with a pair of good scoring attempts over the next several minutes.  On the first, the shot went wide left from 10 yards away.  On the second, Jamison had to make a diving save on a rolling attempt from the 18.  After the Indians forced another corner kick, the NA defense was able to clear the ball.  The Lady Tigers continued to keep the pressure on for most of the remainder of the game.  Hohmann sent a turning shot from the 18 over the net with 10:55 left.  Less than two minutes later, Brailer almost scored again from in close, but Jamison extended her left hand to stop the attempt.  With 5:55 remaining, NA earned another corner kick but could not convert.  With 5:30 remaining, freshman Christine Palmeri made a nice play along the NH goal line, but Jamison stopped her shot.  At the 1:05 mark, junior Maria Snyder broke into the box but shot wide right after a collision with the NH keeper.  The Lady Tigers had one last chance but a long shot by junior April Knell from the right side was caught by Jamison as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers had avenged an earlier defeat at North Hills with a 3-1 victory.  Corner kicks were even at 4-4, but that did not tell the story as NA dominated play for most of the game.

After the early goal, the NA defense and Middleman stopped the remainder of the NH scoring chances to secure the victory.  Steeb, sophomore Leah Langhans, sophomore Calene Dougherty, and Brailer were instrumental in the Tiger defensive play.  Offensively, NA created a number of scoring opportunities thanks to good play at midfield by junior Christina Boada, junior Danielle Dorazio, Nikituk, and Gapczynski.   For her offensive efforts and for scoring the game winner, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Kylie Fuller as the Player of the Game.

The Lady Tigers have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.  The WPIAL committee will be meeting tomorrow night to present the pairings.  The MSA Sports Network will broadcast the pairings show live on the internet beginning at 8:00 pm.  With the win, NA finished section play in third place with a final record of 9-5-0 with the overall mark improving to 12-5-0.  The Lady Tigers will complete regular season play tonight when they host Hopewell 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 7:30 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:45 pm. 

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 3  NORTH HILLS - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS TAKE CARE OF BUTLER, 4-1

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

Senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski scored a pair of goals to lead the Lady Tigers to a 4-1 victory over Butler at Newman Stadium on Wednesday night.  Sophomore forward Katie Hohmann and sophomore midfielder Carly Brailer also scored for NA as they earned the important section victory.  With the loss by Pine-Richland on Wednesday night, the Lady Tigers have qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

The Lady Tigers came out ready to play and stormed the Butler goal early.  NA forced a corner kick just 25 seconds into the game, but senior forward Kylie Fuller headed the ball just wide.  Butler's Chelsea Rock came back with a hard shot from 20 yards but sent it right to NA senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman.  The Lady Tigers were then able to take the lead at the 5:54 mark.  Gapczynski sent a ball down the left side that Fuller caught up with and then sent it into the box to Hohmann.  Hohmann made several good moves and drilled a shot into the net from ten yards away to put NA on top, 1-0.  At the 6:53 mark, senior defender Larissa Steeb drove a long shot on one hop that was fielded by Butler keeper Taylor Troyan.  A minute later, sophomore defender Leah Langhans send a ball through the box that Hohmann just missed catching up with after a slide in the penalty area.  At the 12:48 mark, Butler's Markenzie Hohn rolled a pass through the box but it went past the net and several Butler players in front of the goal.  After neither team could get a scoring chance over the next several minutes, Gapczynski lifted a direct kick into the box that Hohmann headed just wide left at the 18:12 mark.  Less than two minutes later, Hohmann shot wide left again from the 18.  NA kept up the offensive pressure with Hohmann again missing wide of the Butler net, but the Lady Tigers earned a corner kick.  On the corner, Gapczynski's high ball into the box was headed by Fuller right to the Tornado keeper with 18:30 remaining in the half.  Two minutes later, NA took a 2-0 lead.  Hohmann took the ball into the box and dropped it off to Brailer on the right side.  Brailer was able to lift the ball over the Butler keeper and into the net from a tough angle on the right side for the second NA tally.  Butler answered with a direct kick from the right side that Hohn drove wide.  With 12:25 left in the half, Gapczynski sent a direct kick just over the Butler goal.  Steeb followed with a long attempt from near midfield that Troyan had to catch deep in the box.  Brailer had another chance from close range that Troyan also stopped.  At the 32:13 mark, Gapczynski drilled a long attempt over the head of the Butler keeper and into the net to give the Lady Tigers a commanding 3-0 advantage.  Two minutes later, Gapczynski tried again from 30 yards but sent the ball wide left.  With under five minutes left, Troyan came up big with two tough saves on shots by sophomore midfielder Calene Dougherty and Brailer as the score remained at 3-0.  With 3:12 left, junior midfielder Christina Boada headed a corner kick just wide.  In the remaining time in the half, the Lady Tigers controlled the ball in the Butler defensive third but could not score again.  The half ended with the Lady Tigers holding a 3-0 lead.  In the first half, NA recorded three corner kicks to none for the Tornado.

Early in the second half, Butler's Hohn sent a shot high and wide from 30 yards away just 48 seconds into the period.  The Lady Tigers came back to again pressure the Butler goal.  A long ball from Gapczynski into the box was just too far for Hohmann at the 2:50 mark.  After several attempts by NA failed, senior midfielder Savanna Kelly came down the left side and sent a through ball to Hohmann who was pulled down as she cut across in front of the goal.  Gapczysnki then calmly drilled the penalty kick into the left corner to extend the NA lead to 4-0 at the 5:54 mark of the half.  Butler came back two minutes later with a long attempt from the right side that Middleman caught easily.  At the 9:23 mark, the Tornado had another chance but shot wide from 35 yards out.  A minute later, Rock came down the left side and broke open but her shot went high and wide of the NA goal.  At the 11:22 mark, junior midfielder Danielle Dorazio had a chance from 25 yards but the Butler defense blocked the shot.  A minute later, the Lady Tigers forced another corner kick but the header went wide.  Butler threatened to score at the 14:20 mark, but Middleman made three tough saves on Rock and Hladik to keep the Tornado off the board.  Hladik came back with a long attempt less than a minute later, but Middleman punched the ball out of danger.  At the 17:19 mark, Fuller had a chance from ten yards, but Troyan made a good save to deny the senior forward.  Butler came back with a corner kick at the midway point of the half, but the NA defense cleared the attempt.  Less than a minute later, the Lady Tigers sent a through ball into the box, but Troyan was able to cover it.  With 16:52 remaining, Butler's Jaime Hildebrand drove a long shot in on one hop that Middleman fielded.  After the Tornado cleared an attempt on an NA corner, Gapczynski forced Troyan to make a diving save.  NA forced another corner with 13:39 left but could not score.  Fuller had two more chances in the next several minutes but shot right on the first and over the goal on the second.  Rock came back for the Tornado but shot wide right from the 18 with 9:29 left.  After an NA corner was cleared, Hohmann took the ball down the left side but saw Troyan make the save on her attempt.  The Tornado finally got on the board on a good individual play by Rock who took a pass from Hladik, cut across the middle and was able to finish to cut the NA lead to 4-1 with 4:58 left.  The Lady Tigers had one more chance off a corner with 3:10 left, but a header by Fuller went over the net.  In the remaining time, the Tiger defense held off the Tornado as NA went on to the 4-1 victory.

It was another good team victory for the Lady Tigers with strong performances by a number of NA players.  Defensively, a combination of Steeb, Langhans, Brailer, and sophomore Melina Mermigas kept the Butler offense off the board until late in the game.  Middleman was tough in the net again for the Tigers.  In the midfield area, Boada, Dougherty and senior Margaret Nikituk did a good job of winning the 50/50 balls.  Offensively, NA kept the pressure on the Butler defense for most of the game.  For her efforts both offensively and defensively, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior Taylor Gapczynski as the Player of the Game.

With the win, NA improved to 8-5 in section play and have qualified forthe playoffs as they currently hold third place.  The Lady Tigers will host rival North Hills on Monday night in the section finale 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.

JV UPDATE:  The JV team defeated Butler, 4-0, behind goals from Madeleine Heistand, Emily Johns, Maddie Layman, and Kelsey Hake.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  BUTLER - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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SECOND HALF GOALS GIVE SENECA VALLEY 2-0 VICTORY OVER LADY TIGERS

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

The Lady Tigers gave #2 ranked Seneca Valley all they could handle for most of the game, but two second half goals by the Raiders were the difference in a 2-0 Seneca victory.  The game was scoreless until the 26:18 mark of the second half.

Seneca Valley was the better team in the early going.  Mandy Cerminara shot over the goal from 18 yards out just 1:20 into the game.  Madison Kozlowski drilled a one hopper that senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman had to stop just a minute later.  NA moved the ball down the right side at the 3:54 mark with senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk sending a roller that was stopped by SV goalkeeper Keara Lydon.  Less than a minute later, sophomore defender Leah Langhans made a good block of another attempt by Cerminara.  After Grace Emmerling shot wide at the 5:09 mark, the Raiders' Shayna Elser drove a long ball into the box that Middleman came out to collect.  The Lady Tigers came back at the 9:50 mark when senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski drove a hard shot from 25 yards that went wide right.  The Raiders answered on a two-on-one that the NA defense was able to stop with Middleman coming out to fall on the ball.  At the 13:50 mark, Seneca's Kate Kelly got open at the fifteen but drove a hard shot just wide to the left of the NA goal.  The Raiders kept the pressure on with Elser drilling a hard attempt from the right side that Middleman caught on a short hop.  Two minutes later, senior forward Kylie Fuller got off a strong attempt that went in to Lydon on one hop from 30 yards out.  At the 18:48 mark, Morgan Williams sent a long attempt from 25 yards right to Middleman.  A minute later, Cerminara answered but her attempt from 25 yards also went right to Middleman.  At the midway point of the half, Kozlowski drove a hard shot off the football crossbar from 20 yards away.  Two minutes later, Middleman made successive saves on Cerminara and Kelly, the second a diving stop to keep the game scoreless.  After a corner kick by the Raiders was cleared with 17:45 remaining, the Lady Tigers began to gain momentum.  A direct kick by Gapczynski went just over the crossbar and hit the football crossbar.  With 11:41 remaining in the half, junior Danielle Dorazio got off a strong attempt that went wide left of the Raider net.  A minute later, Fuller was pulled down outside the box, but Gapczynski's direct kick ws wide to the left of the goal.  Senior defender Larissa Steeb followed with a long attempt into the box, that was caught by the Raider keeper.  NA kept the pressure on with Melina Mermigas lifting another attempt over the goal with 7:15 left.  Fuller came back two minutes later to shoot wide left.  With 3:09 on the first half clock, sophomore forward Katie Hohmann shot high and wide from 15 yards out.  NA earned a corner kick when SV defender Raegan Dobbins made a good defensive play to push the ball away from Hohmann and over the goal line with 2:08 left.  On the corner, the Lady Tigers had several chances but could not finish in the box.  With 1:14 left, NA forced another corner but again could not convert as time ran out in the half.  The teams went to the intermission in a scoreless tie.

Early in the second half, the Lady Tigers picked up where they left off at the end of the first half.  After an early SV corner kick that was cleared by Langhans, NA came back with a direct kick by Gapczynski from 35 yards that went wide righ of the goal.  The Raiders came back at the 5:28 mark with Kozlowski also shooting wide of the net.  Gapczynski answered with another attempt from the middle of the field that sailed wide left.  At the 9:10 mark, sophomore Carly Brailer sent in a high attempt from the 18 that was caught by Lydon.  The Raiders tried to work the right side with Emmerling but Steeb was able to break up the attempt.  The Raiders earned a corner at the 14:37 mark, but Cerminara shot wide after taking a pass from Kelly to keep the game scoreless.  After NA cleared another SV corner, Fuller had a good chance at the 16:25 mark, but Lydon was able to make the save.  On the ensuing corner kick by Gapczynski, the Raider defense was able to clear the ball.  With 18:49 left, sophomore midfielder Calene Dougherty made a good defensive play on Kozlowski to stop a Seneca scoring chance.  With 16:05 left, Emmerling drove a long attempt wide.  With 13:41 left, the Raiders got the all important first goal.  After Emmerling shot wide to the left of the NA goal, Williams made a good save along the goal line and found Katie Riley open in front of the net.  The Raider sophomore, who had just entered the game, was able to roll the ball into an open net to give Seneca a 1-0 advantage.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Lady Tigers had a chance to equalize but Hohmann's header went wide of the SV net from about ten yards away.  It was the best NA chance of the second half as the Raiders took control of the game down the stretch.  Middleman had to make a good save on Emmerling to keep it a one-goal game with 10:23 left.  The NA senior keeper followed with an outstanding save on Cerminara after she took a pass from Kelly and shot from ten yards away.  The Raiders would not be denied, however, as Kelly was able to make a nice move at the 18 and beat Middleman on a shot into the left corner of the net.  Seneca Valley took a commanding 2-0 lead with just 8:55 remaining in the game.  With under five minutes remaining, the Lady Tigers had several chances with a header by Fuller from 15 yards going wide of the Raider goal.  The Seneca defense was able to hold off NA in the remaining time with Hohmann sending a long attempt in from 30 yards out that was stopped by Lydon.  Time ran out as Seneca Valley remained unbeaten with a 2-0 victory over the Lady Tigers.

Overall, the game was relatively even.  Corner kicks ended with both sides posting four for the game.  It was an outstanding effort by the Lady Tiger defense led by Steeb, Langhans and Dougherty with Middleman superb in goal again.  For her efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior defender Larissa Steeb as the Player of the Game.

With the loss, the NA section record fell to 7-5 and into a tie for third place in Section 2.  The overall NA mark dropped to 10-5 on the season.  The Lady Tigers will host Butler tomorrow night in a key section contest 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 7:30 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:45 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
SENECA VALLEY - 2  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS CRUSH SOUTH FAYETTE, 8-1,
IN HAMPTON TOURNAMENT

The Lady Tigers exploded for eight goals on Saturday at the Buzz Miller Hampton Invitational in an 8-1 victory over South Fayette on Saturday afternoon.  Sophomore Katie Hohmann led NA with three goals while senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski recorded three assists for the winning Lady Tigers.

The Lady Tigers started quickly against one of the top ten teams from Class AA.  At the 1:21 mark, senior Kylie Fuller sent the ball toward the Lion net earning a corner kick.  Off the corner, sophomore Carly Brailer got off a shot that was stopped by SF keeper Sarah Pruss.  At the 3:55 mark, Gapczynski drove a hard shot at Pruss but she made the save.  At the 5:40 mark, Fuller passed to senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk who found Hohmann open but her shot went wide right.  A minute later, Gapczynski's shot went wide, but NA received a corner.  Off the corner, Gapczynski drove the ball to the middle of the box where Fuller headed it into the net to give NA a 1-0 advantage at the 6:50 mark.  At 7:45, sophomore GK Alexis Aiken had to make a good save on a South Fayette attempt.  At the 12:30 mark, sophomore Calene Dougherty sent Hohmann down the right side where she was able to send a cross to Brailer, but her attempt was punched out by the Lion keeper.  Junior midfielder Christina Boada picked up the rebound as NA continued to control play.  At the 14:57 mark, a good passing play by the Lady Tigers resulted in the second NA goal.  Dougherty passed to Nikituk who dropped it off to Brailer who tapped the ball to Fuller who scored her second goal to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 advantage.  Midway through the half, Nikituk passed to junior Danielle Dorazio who set up Hohmann for NA's third goal as the Lady Tigers took a commanding 3-0 lead.  With 17:22 left, senior defender Larissa Steeb sent a pass to Dorazio but the Lion GK made the stop.  At the 26:49 mark, the Lady Tigers earned another corner off an attempt by Fuller with the Lion defense heading the ball out of play.  On the corner, NA converted again as Hohmann headed Gapczynski's corner kick into the net at the 27:14 mark.  With 9:26 left in the half, Fuller drilled another shot of the hands of GK Pruss earning another corner for NA.  On the corner kick, Gapczynski sent the ball into the box where Steeb's attempt went just wide.  With 7:57 remaining, Gapczysnki got the ball to Hohmann in the box where she turned and scored her third goal of the half to give NA a 5-0 advantage.  With 2:58 left, freshman Maddie Layman found junior Nicole Goldstein open, but her shot went wide left.  With under one minute remaining, the Lady Tigers earned another corner when Dorazio's attempt was deflected out of play by the Lion keeper.  Sophomore Emily Johns sent a dangerous ball into the box on the corner, but GK Pruss was able to punch it away as the half ended.  The Lady Tigers were in control, 5-0, at the intermission.

In the second half, assistant coach Dio Tadimi, who was coaching the team in play of Head Coach Chet Gapczynski), was able to use the JV team for the entire second half.  At the 3:25 mark of the half, Johns sent a hard shot that was stopped by Pruss.  Less than a minute later, junior Brenna Burry, who came in as the goalkeeper in the second half, made a tough save that was cleared by the NA defense.  At the 7:10 mark, Layman drove another shot just wide left of the goal.  At 10:14, Palmeri sent a corner kick into the penalty area where Layman sent it over the net.  At the 11:25 mark, junior Chandler Fuller started a passing play by getting the ball to Layman who sent it to freshman Madeleine Heistand whose pass to Palmeri was drilled right at the keeper.  At the 11:50 mark, junior Maria Snyder drove a shot off the hands of Pruss but Heistand was there to send home the rebound as NA extended the margin to 6-0.  At the 15:20 mark after junior Lauren Shivetts was pulled down heading for the net, Palmeri sent an attempt over the net.  Between the 16:10 and 16:15 mark, Layman had a pair of shots with Goldstein attempting another, but all were stopped by Pruss.  Goldstein had another chance a minute and a half later, but her shot rolled right to the SF keeper.  With 18:15 left, Palmeri took a cross from junior April Knell but shot it over the net.  With 14:56 remaining, Shivetts had an opportunity after receiving a pass from Snyder but shot wide right.  With 9:41 left, Palmeri lifted a long shot from 38 yards out that went over Pruss's extended hands into the net to give NA a 7-0 lead.  Palmieri scored again less than two minutes later as she converted a pass from sophomore Alison Krause through the middle as the lead ballooned to 8-0 with just 7:19 remaining.  With 5:50 left, good defensive play by Chandler Fuller, Snyder and  sophomore Christine Grom stopped a Lion scoring chance.  South Fayette finally got on the board with 4:41 left when Morgan Fink was able to find the corner of the net as the score went to 8-1.  Goldstein and freshman Kelsey Hake had chances in the next minute but did not score.  With 26 seconds remaining, Goldstein sent a corner kick into the box, but the Lady Tigers were unable to score as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers completed the 8-1 rout of South Fayette.

The victory improved the overall NA record to 10-4-0 on the season.  The Lady Tigers will host first place Seneca Valley on Monday night in a key section contest.  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.

JV UPDATE:  On Friday, Maria Snyder's goal gave the JV team a 1-0 victory at Hampton.

(Thanks again to Claudia Steeb for the information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 8  SOUTH FAYETTE - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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MARS TOPS LADY TIGERS, 3-0

In a physical game at Mars on Wednesday night, the Planets scored a pair of early goals and held off the Lady Tigers to take a 3-0 section victory.  Mars' Alexis Mastro put the Planets ahead with a goal just 1:12 into the game with Mars adding another goal at the 5:36 mark.  NA was unable to come back from the early deficit and lost their first game in the last five starts.

The Planets scored off a throw in when NA senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman was unable to make the play after a collision in the box with no foul called on Mars.  The goal counted and Mars took a 1-0 lead at the 1:12 mark.  At 2:08, a Mars shot went over the NA goal.  At the 4:29 mark, senior defender Larissa Steeb was forced to clear another Mars throw in.  Less than a minute later and after Mars was called for an off side, the Planets regained possession of the ball.  Once again, Middleman had a collision with more Mars players with no call with Mars' Crysta Garner putting the ball into the NA net.  The Planets had a 2-0 lead early.  Less than a minute later, sophomore Brianna Layman came back with a pair of balls into the box with Mars GK Meghan Kelly picking up the second.  At the nine minute mark, senior forward Kylie Fuller passed to senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski but the Planet defense was able to clear the attempt.  Less than a minute later and after a foul was called on Mars, Gapczynski's direct kick went right to the Mars keeper.  At the 12:20 mark, NA earned a corner kick when sophomore Carly Brailer's shot went off a Mars player.  Gapczynski's corner kick was rolled to the Mars keeper by the Tiger players in front of the net.  At the 14:00 mark, another foul was called on Mars.  A good passing play off the direct kick from Steeb to Brailer and then to sophomore Katie Hohmann did not result in a score.  During the next six minutes, the Lady Tigers kept the ball in the Mars defensive zone for much of the time but could not get any good scoring chances.  With 18:17 left, Gapczynski sent another hard attempt right to Kelly.  With 15:32 remaining in the half, Fuller sent another scoring chance right to the Mars keeper.  A little over a minute later, Brailer sailed a shot over the Planet net.  With 11:42 left, NA got another scoring chance after a Mars foul.  Steeb sent the direct kick into the box to Hohmann who got around the Mars GK but the Planet defense was able to cover the net on the shot attempt.  With 8:11 left, senior Chelsea Henderson ws tripped in the box setting up an NA penalty kick.  Gapczynski took the kick but hit the post.  Fuller had another chance two minutes later but Kelly made the save.  With 4:40 left, another Mars foul gave a free kick to Gapczynski who drilled a strong attempt right to the Mars keeper from 25 yards out.  With 2:37 left, sophomore Leah Langhans made a pair of good defensive plays heading the ball away.  With 50 seconds remaing, Mars was awarded a corner but the Lady Tigers were able to clear the attempt.  The half ended with Mars holding the 2-0 advantage.

The Lady Tigers came out strong early in the second half as they tried to get back in the game.  Just 43 seconds into the half, Henderson sent a cross into the box toward Hohmann but Kelly was able to come out and collect the ball.  At the 1:20 mark, NA was unable to convert a corner kick.  A minute later after another Mars foul, Steeb sent a ball to senior Margaret Nikituk but her shot was picked up by the Mars keeper.  At the 3:40 mark, Steeb cleared a Mars scoring attempt to start a counter attack.  a passing play from Brailer to Hohmann to Dougherty was unable to finish.  At the five minute mark, Middleman made a great save but gave up a Mars corner that was cleared by the NA defense.  Less than two minutes later, Gapczynski drove a corner kick into the box where junior Danielle Dorazio headed it just wide left of the Mars net.  Junior midfielder Christina Boada received the Mars goal kick and started an NA attack.  Fuller took the ball up field where the Mars defense cleared it right to Boada who shot right to the Planet keeper.  At the 10:10 mark, Henderson tried to find Hohmann in the box, but Kelly came out to stop the play.  For the next eight minutes, most of the play was in the center of the field with no team gaining a scoring opportunity.  At the 18:27 mark, Langhans again made a good defensive play stopping a Mars attack and clearing the ball.  Les than a minute later, Mars scored again on a header by Mastro off a throw in.  The goal gave Mars a 3-0 lead at the 19:00 mark.  Less than a minute later, Dorazio lifted a shot over the net.  With 17:mintues remaining, Henderson was forced to catch a Mars player from behind to stop a scoring attempt.  With 14:20 left, Dorazio had another chance but shot right to the Mars keeper.  Twenty seconds later, Middleman had to make a save to keep Mars from scoring again.  With 12:20 left, Nikituk had a chance but was stopped by Kelly.  With nine minutes left, Gapczynski sent a ball into the box off a corner that was headed over the end line by Mars giving NA another corner.  Gapczynski's second corner was touched by several NA players in the box but they could not get off a good scoring attempt.  With five minutes left, Langhans was forced again to make a tough defensive play against a breakilng Mars player.  With 2:30 left, NA had a good chance when Nikituk crossed the ball to Mermigas but her shot went wide right of the net.  NA had one more corner in the waning moments but could not convert.  The Planets were able to hold off the Lady Tigers for the remainder of the game to take the 3-0 decision.

With the loss, the NA section record fell to 7-4-0, the overall mark to 9-4-0.  The Lady Tigers are currently in third place in the section race.  NA will be in action again on Saturday afternoon when they meet South Fayette in the Buzz Miller Hampton Invitational.  Game time is scheduled for 2:00 pm.

JV UPDATE:  The JV team saw Mars come back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to finish with a 2-2 tie.  NA goals were scored by Madeleine Heistand and Nicole Goldstein

(Special thanks to Claudia Steeb for the information in this report.)

GAME SUMMARY
MARS - 3  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS BLANK KNOCH, 4-0, FOR
THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

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

Sophomore Carly Brailer scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Lady Tigers to a 4-0 section victory over Knoch at Newman Stadium on Monday night.  Senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski and junior midfielder Christina Boada also scored for NA as they won their fourth in the last five games.  Senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman was in the NA net for the shutout.

The Lady Tigers took control of the game from the outset, applying pressure on the Knoch goal throughout the game.  At the 2:15 mark, senior Chelsea Henderson sent a pass to an open senior Savanna Kelly, but the ball rolled out of play.  Senior Margaret Nikituk then set up sophomore Brianna Layman that resulted in an NA corner kick.  Off the corner, Gapczynski sent the ball into the far side of the box to sophomore Leah Langhans who passed to Nikituk but her shot went over the crossbar.  At the 5:30 mark, senior defender Larissa Steeb stopped a Knoch attack and started a counter-attack with a pass to senior forward Kylie Fuller.  Fuller passed to Nikituk who again shot over the goal.  Less than a minute later, Nikituk set up Layman, but her shot went right to the Knoch keeper.  At the 9:00 minute mark, Steeb passed to Kelly, but the Knoch defense was able to clear the scoring attempt.  Knoch came back with a ball down the left side resulting in a shot toward the NA goal that Middleman was able to pick up at the top of the box.  At the 10:20 mark, Steeb drove a ball into the box to Layman who headed it wide of the net.  A minute later, Layman completed a passing play that started from Boada to Fuller, but the shot attempt went right to the Knight GK.  At the 12:14 mark, Gapczynski lifted another corner kick into the box, but Layman sailed it over the Knoch net.  Less than a minute later, Layman sent another ball over the Knight goal.  At the 14:26 mark, Steeb set up Fuller but her shot was stopped by the Knoch keeper.  At the 18:55 mark, Fuller headed a pass from Langhans right to the Knight goalkeeper.  The Lady Tigers forced another corner kick when the Knoch keeper touched the ball before it went over the goal line.  The corner attempt by Gapczynski went right to the goalkeeper.  NA finally broke through with 17:49 remaining when Gapczynski was able to finish off a pass from Nikituk to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead.  A little over a minute later, Henderson had a chance but was stopped by the Knight keeper.  A collision in front of the Knoch net between the goalkeeper and Brailer resulted in a save by the keeper.  With 15:39 left, the Lady Tigers struck again when Brailer redirected a ball into the net that was in by sophomore Melina Mermigas to give NA a 2-0 advantage.  With 14:08 left, Steeb hit the crossbar, but the Knight defense cleared the ball.  Steeb had another chance a minute later, but the Knight goalkeeper was able to make the save.  In the next two minutes, shots by Henderson and Layman were stopped by the keeper.  With 10:45 left, Brailer shot wide of the Knoch net.  With 4:45 left, Henderson set up Brailer in front of the goal but her attempt sailed over the goal.  With 4:05 remaining, Gapczynski’s corner kick was cleared.  The Lady Tigers continued to pressure the Knoch goal with Fuller’s attempt stopped with two minutes left in the half.  With 33 seconds left, Steeb passed to Gapczynski who shot over the net.  With just ten seconds left, Steeb set up Fuller but she shot wide right of the goal.  The half ended with the Lady Tigers holding a 2-0 lead.

Early in the second half, the Lady Tigers picked up where they left off at the end of the first half.  At the 1:10 mark, Fuller sent a pass to Kelly whose shot rolled right to the keeper.  At th 3:15 mark, Langhans found Kelly open but she could not convert.  Less than a minute later, Boada crossed the ball to Brailer who headed it over the goal.  At the 5:40 mark, Brailer sent a ball in the box to Boada who sent it into the goal with a single touch to give NA a 3-0 lead.  At the 9:40 mark, the Lady Tigers scored again when Fuller lifted a cross to Brailer who scored her second of the game to give NA a commanding 4-0 advantage.  At the 11:24 mark, Fuller drove a hard shot right at the Knoch keeper.  With 19 minutes remaining, Gapczynski lifted another corner kick into the box, but the Lady Tigers did not convert.  Two minutes later, Fuller drove another ball into the penalty area but NA was unable to finish.  With 15;24 left, Gapczynski sent another corner kick into the middle of the field.  Steeb was able to had the ball to sophomore Calene Dougherty but her shot went over the net.  With 15 minutes left, Steeb drove another ball into the box, but NA was called offside.  The Lady Tigers continued to keep the ball in the Knight defensive end with Steeb sending another direct kick into the box where it was collected by the Knight keeper.  Fuller and Nikituk both drove balls into the penalty area but the Knight defense was able to clear the attempts.  With 10:45 left, Knoch had a scoring chance, but Steeb took control of the ball sending Fuller back on a counter attack that was stopped by the Knoch GK.  With just under ten minutes remaining, NA Coach Chet Gapczynski sent in his JV team while keeping Middleman in goal.  With 7:41 remaining, the Knights had a scoring chance that went over the NA goal.  With 4:30 left, the ball was sent into the box with several NA players having chances but could not convert.  With 3:05 left, junior Nicole Goldstein sent a cross to freshman Christine Palmeri who shot it over the net.  A Knoch foul gave Palmeri another chance but again shot over the goal.  With 1:10 left, junior Chandler Fuller tracked down a Knoch player forcing an errant shot over the NA goal.  With ten seconds left, junior Maria Snyder had one last chance but her shot went right to the Knoch keeper as the game ended.  The Lady Tigers completed the 4-0 shutout.

It was a dominating performance by the Lady Tigers with contributions by a number of players to the victory.  For her offensive output of a pair of goals and an assist, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Carly Brailer as the Player of the Game.  With the win, NA improved to 7-3 in section play, 9-3 overall.  The Lady Tigers will travel to Mars tomorrow night for a key section battle with game time set for 7:00 pm.

JV UPDATE:  The JV team defeated Knoch, 3-0, with goals scored by Madeleine Heistand, Christine Palmeri, and Maddie Layman.

Photo Gallery

(Thanks again to Claudia Steeb for the information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  KNOCH - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS BLANK PINE-RICHLAND,
 4-0, IN SOCCERFEST FINALE

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

The Lady Tigers used strong defensive and an outstanding performance by senior goalkeeper Rachel Middleman to shut out Pine-Richland, 4-0, at Newman Stadium on Saturday night in the final game of the SoccerFest celebration.  Sophomore forward Katie Hohmann scored a pair of goals and added an assist to pace NA.  Junior midfielder Christina Boada sophomore forward Brianna Layman added single tallies for the winning Lady Tigers.

Pine-Richland came out strong and threatened to take an early lead.  Ram midfielder Sarah Lusby set up a scoring chance at the 4:20 mark with a long throw into the box that was caught by Middleman on one hop.  A minute later, senior forward Kylie Fuller answred with a shot from 25 yards that was high and went left of the P-R goal.  At the 6:34 mark, the Rams' Stacey Weismann broke free down the left side, but Middleman robbed her with a diving save with senior defender Larissa Steeb forcing the Ram rebound attempt wide to keep the game scoreless.  For the next seven minutes, the teams played at midfield with neither mounting any scoring chances.  At the 14:05 mark, Weismann got off another strong attempt but Middleman made the save.  Weismann came back less than a minute later to beat the NA defender along the goal line, but her pass was shot wide by Tara Trombetta.  At the 15:07 mark, senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski came back with a hard shot from 25 yards that was caught by Ram goalkeeper Haley Wessel.  A minute later, Weismann was at it again and hit the crossbar with a strong attempt.  The Lady Rams kept the pressure on with Kristen Murslack shooting wide off the outside of the left post at the 17:30 mark.  Lusby sent in another long throw in and Natalie DeLacio drove a shot hight over the net at the midway point of the half.  The Lady Tigers showed signs of life with 18:20 left when Layman headed a cross just wide of the net.  A minute later, Middleman robbed Weismann yet again with a diving save  falling on the ball to prevent a rebound attempt.  The Lady Tigers struck first in the scoring column, however, on a good play by Gapczynski to keep the ball in play.  Gapczynski sent the ball to Hohmann who directed it to Boada.  The junior midfielder sent a turning shot high into the net from just inside the 18 to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead with 12:30 remaining.  It took NA a little over a minute to add to the lead when Layman was able to collect a bouncing ball in the box and drill it into the net to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 advantage.  NA continued to press and earned a corner kick with 8:34 left, but Gapczysnki's high cross was caught by Wessel.  The Rams came back with two scoring chances to try to cut the lead in half.  It was Weismann again shooting wide left with 7:04 remaining.  With 6:20 left, Middleman made another spectacular diving stop of Weismann to keep the two-goal lead.  With 4:46 left, Fuller drove a hard shot just wide from 30 yards.  Steeb sent a direct kick over the goal with 3:45 left.  NA had one last chance before the intermission when Layman sent a roller in that Wessel stopped with 2:45 remaining.  Neither team threatened in the final minutes as the Lady Tigers took a commanding 3-0 advantage to halftime.

Neither team was able to do much offensively early in the second half.  At the 4:36 mark, Middleman had to collect a bouncing ball in the box.  Lusby came back two minutes later with a hard shot from 25 yards that Middleman caught on one hop.  At the 10:15 mark, Trombetta rolled a ball along the goal line from the right side that Middleman easily picked up.  A minute later, sophomore Calene Dougherty made a good defensive play in the box to stop a Ram cross.  The Lady Tigers came back to earn a corner kick at the 13:17 mark, but the P-R defense cleared the attempt.  In the next several minutes, Steeb sent a pair of long direct kicks into the penalty area that NA could not convert.  With the Rams pressing, the Lady Tigers were able to break back with a 2-on-1.  Gapczynski made a long run down the middle and then set up Hohmann who sent the ball into the net to give NA a 4-0 lead with 20:50 left in the game.  The Rams came back with a strong effort to try to get on the scoreboard.  A soft shot by the Rams was caught by Middleman with 19:30 left.  Two minutes later, DeLacio had a chance but shot wide of the goal from 25 yards.  With 16:41 left, Lusby had a direct kick from 23 yards but drove the ball over the goal.  Trombetta had another opportunity from 25 yards on the right side but rolled the ball right to Middleman.  A minute later, Weismann broke free on the left side only to be robbed again by Middleman on another diving save.  Trombetta was there for the rebound but could not get off the shot.  NA came back with 13:31 left with sophomore Leah Langhans shooting wide right of the Ram net.  Weismann continued to press on the left side but shot into the side of the net with 13:02 left.  Ram pressure led to two consecutive corner kicks beginning with 12:13 remaining, but the NA defense was able to clear both attempts.  Weismann finally was able to get past Middleman on a run down the left side, but Steeb made a diving play on the goal line to keep the ball out of the net with 10:28 left.  A third Ram corner kick was cleared by the Lady Tiger defense.  Down the stretch, Fuller had a good chance from 25 yards but drove a one-hopper right at the Ram keeper.  In the remaining time, the Lady Tigers were able to stave off any P-R scoring chances as they completed the shut out with the 4-0 victory.

It was a great team win for NA backed up by the play of Middleman and the NA defense.  Steeb, senior Chelsea Henderson, sophomore Melina Mermigas, and Dougherty all played well in the back.  Senior midfielder Margaret Nikituk had a number of touches along with junior midfielder Danielle Dorazio.  For her efforts in the net, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Rachel Middleman as the Player of the Game.

With the win, NA improved to 6-3-0 in section and moved into second place behind Seneca Valley.  The overall season record went to 8-3-0.  The Lady Tigers will host Knoch tomorrow night in a section contest 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 6:45 pm.  The scheduled starting time is set for 7:00 pm.

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  PINE-RICHLAND - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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

LADY TIGERS REBOUND FROM LOSS
TO DOWN SHALER, 2-1

After losing a tough game to North Hills on Monday night, the Lady Tigers came back last night at Shaler to defeat the Titans, 2-1.  A goal by senior defender Larissa Steeb tied the game at 1-1 late in the first half.  Early in the second half, senior midfielder Taylor Gapczynski scored what proved to be the game winner.

The Lady Tigers started strong with shots on goal in the first four minutes of the game.  Just 1:24 into the contest, sophomore Calene Dougherty sent a cross from the right side to sophomore forward Katie Hohmann who shot wide right of the net.  Less than a minute later, senior Kylie Fuller took a pass from senior Margaret Nikituk but shot barely over the Shaler goal.  At the 3:58 mark, Fuller blasted a shot from long range that went right to Shaler GK Arnie Dobracki.  At 7:13, Shaler was able to beat an offside trap with Kristie Hamilton scoring to give the Titans a 1-0 lead.  NA continued to pressure the Shaler goal with another shot at the 8:00 minute mark that was stopped by Dobracki.  Twenty-one seconds later, Fuller forced the Shaler keeper to make another save.  At the 10:29 mark, junior midfielder Christina Boada drove a shot over the Titan net.  At the 13:28 mark after a Shaler foul, Steeb sent a long ball deep into the Shaler end, but the Lady Tigers could not convert.  At the 18:26 mark, another Shaler foul gave Steeb a free kick that was intended for sophomore forward Brianna Layman, but a Shaler defender was able to step in to clear the ball.  Less than a minute later, Layman crossed the ball to Hohmann who headed the ball over the goal.  With 19:02 left, a pass from Hohmann to junior Danielle Dorazio was stopped by the Shaler defense, but it resulted in an NA corner kick.  The Lady Tigers almost scored off the corner as Gapczynski sent the ball into the box with Shaler's clear going right to sophomore Leah Langhans who sent it back to Gapczynski.  A strong drive by the senior midfielder was bobbled by the Shaler GK but she was able to cover it.  With 17:25 left, senior goalie Rachel Middleman punched out a Shaler attempt sending the ball to Nikituk who took it the length of the field before NA was called for offside.  With 13:41 left, Boada made a good play at midfield taking the ball away from two Shaler players, but NA was able to score on the play.  With 12:10 left, Steeb drove a ball toward the Shaler net resulting in another NA corner.  The Lady Tigers were able to score off the ensuing corner.  Gapczynski sent the ball into the box where the NA players kept it alive.  Nikituk then collected the ball and passed it back to Steeb whose high shot hit the post and went into the Shaler goal.  NA had tied the game at 1-1 with 11:46 left in the half.  With 7:45 left, Middleman had to make a tough save.  With 2:45 remaining in the half, Nikituk sent a long ball down the field to senior Savanna Kelly but the ball rolled out of bounds.  With one minute left, Steeb's long pass to Fuller was picked up by the Shaler keeper.  Time ran out in the half with the game tied at 1-1. 

Early in the second half, the Lady Tigers continued to apply pressure on the Shaler defense.  Just 46 seconds into the half, Dougherty set up Fuller but her shot went over the net.  NA continued to control the ball and at the 8:10 mark, sophomore Carly Brailer gave the ball to Fuller who made a long run before being stopped by the Titan defense.  At the 10:00 minute mark, Middleman made a leaping save to keep the game tied.  On the ensuing goal kick, Steeb drove a long ball to Hohmann who sent a hard shot that was stopped by the Shaler keeper.  At the 12:54 mark, the Lady Tigers took the lead when Gapczynski took a pass from Layman on the right side and beat the Shaler GK to give NA a 2-1 advantage.  At the 15:00 minute mark, Langhans gave Hohmann an opportunity but she could not score.  At the 18:07 mark, Layman's cross hit the football upright.  Two minutes later, freshman Christine Palmeri sent the ball up field to Hohmann but again the Shaler defense was able to stop the attempt.  With 16:19 left, Brailer gained control of the ball at midfield and sent it through the Titan defense where it rolled all the way to Shaler GK Dobracki.  With 12:41 left, Middleman again made a big save pulling a Shaler attempt out of the air.  With 11:47 remaining, sophomore Melina Mermigas took a pass from Dorazio but sailed it just over the Titan net.  With 8:30 left, Shaler sent most of their players toward the NA net, but Brailer was able to clear a bouncing ball in the box.  With 8:00 minutes left, Palmeri almost caught up to a long pass from Boada down the sideline but it went out of bounds.  With 7:32 left, Hohmann had another attempt but the ball went right to the Shaler keeper.  With 6:20 remaining, Hohmann headed a Gapczynski corner kick over the goal.  A little over a minute later, Hohmann pushed a pass through the Titan defense to Nikituk whose quick shot was stopped by Dobracki.  With 3:10 left, Dougherty stepped in to clear a Shaler passing attempt.  With 2:15 left, a Shaler shot went over the NA net.  With just ten seconds left, Dorazio narrowly missed adding another NA goal but just missed the Shaler goal as time ran out.  The Lady Tigers came home with a 2-1 victory.

With the win, the Lady Tigers improved to 5-3 in section, 7-3 overall.  The Lady Tigers will host Pine-Richland on Saturday night as part of SoccerFest with game time set for 7:30 pm.

JV UPDATE:  The JV team defeated Shaler, 4-0, with Maddie Layman scoring twice and Nicole Goldstein and Christine Palmeri also adding goals for the winning Lady Tigers.

(Thanks again to Claudia Steeb for the information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  SHALER - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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

2009 WPIAL GIRLS' SOCCER

The Lady Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL Class AAA along with 52 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 first, the second-place team will enter as the third section representative.  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 clearly be 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 "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.

PIAA Qualifiers --- the four semifinalists will advance to the PIAA tournament.

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.

2009 GIRLS' SOCCER ALIGNMENT - 53 TEAMS

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