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LAYMAN, HOHMANN EARN ALL-SECTION SOCCER HONORS

(11/9/10) On Tuesday, two North Allegheny girls were named to the All-Section team.  Sophomore forward Maddie Layman and junior forward Katie Hohmann received the honors after they led the Lady Tigers to a third place finish in Section 2-AAA.  The girls will look to improve on their stellar play next season, as they have several underclassmen returning in 2011.

ALL-SECTION TEAM (SECTION 2-AAA)

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MOON ELIMINATES NORTH ALLEGHENY FROM PLAYOFFS

by Jordan Dee

North Allegheny was eliminated from the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs with a 1-0 loss in the first round to No. 4 seed Moon Saturday afternoon at Moon Area Tigers Stadium in Moon Township.

Moon’s Jordan Belsky scored the game’s only goal.

Antonio Grese had Moon’s first chance in the opening minute of play. Antonio Grese sent a rolling shot from about 15 yards away that was saved by North Allegheny keeper Madison Martin.

Less than 30 seconds later, Leah Langhans sent a free kick in on a bounce to Moon keeper Mattie Follen.

In the 5^th minute, Moon’s Christine Barthen took a free kick from 30 yards out. It was low enough to be blocked by Calene Dougherty, who was part of a 3-player wall just in front of Barthen.

North Allegheny controlled play from that point until midway through the first half. In the 7^th minute, Follen beat Katie Hohmann in a race to the ball in the box. A minute later, Hohmann sent a bouncing shot that Follen deflected over the goal line. Brianna Layman sent the resulting corner kick off the head of Hohmann, but she was unable to direct it toward the net. In the 12^th minute, Maria Carr sent a rolling shot from 30 yards away that Follen saved easily. Two minutes later, Hohmann sent a shot from 30 yards out on once bounce into Follen.

Grese looked to break the North Allegheny momentum with a shot in the 21^st minute, but it missed wide.  Langhans responded with a shot of her own about 45 seconds later. She went around a Moon defender and fired a ball that was saved by a diving Follen.

With 14:38 remaining in the first half, Belsky lined up a corner kick from the far side. It barely cleared the heads of everyone in front of the net and tucked itself just inside the near post. Belsky’s 3^rd goal off a corner kick this season gave Moon a 1-0 lead.

North Allegheny maintained pressure for the next 10 minutes of the half. In the 28^th minute, Hohmann had a shot blocked by Katie Valach. A minute later, Maria Snyder chipped the ball toward the goal from a distance that Follen saved. Megan Van Kirk had her shot attempt blocked over the goal line in the 34^th minute. Emily Johns sent the resulting corner kick off the body of Maddie Layman in the box, but she was unable to release a shot. Two minutes later, Christine Palmeri chipped a shot toward the Moon goal. Follen beat Van Kirk in a footrace to keep North Allegeny off the board.

Moon got three more chances to close out the half. In the 37^th minute, Belsky sent a shot wide from 45 yards out. A minute later, she had her corner kick blocked by a North Allegheny defender in the box. Marissa Clough would have had the final opportunity for Moon, but Martin beat her to the ball in the 39^th minute.

The teams traded opportunities through the first seven minutes of the second half. 

Maddie Layman took a rolling shot from about 22 yards out in the 41^st minute that was saved by Follen.  Lexi Thomas answered with a shot along the goal line that Martin saved just 30 seconds later.

In the 44^th minute, Langhans chipped a shot toward the goal from 30 yards out, but was unable to get it past Follen.

Moon got the better of the chances over the next 12 minutes of the half. In the 49^th minute, Sydney Schipani set up Chelsea Leipold for a shot from 30 yards out, but it was sent over the net. In the 53^rd minute, Thomas sent a corner kick off the head of Barthen in the box. It sailed over the North Allegheny net and off the football goal posts. Moon’s best scoring chance of the half came in the 55^th minute. Schipani got a around a North Allegheny defender and fired a shot from close range that was deflected away by Martin.

North Allegheny controlled the final 25 minutes of the game. In the 56^th minute, Hohmann’s header bounced into Follen. The best scoring chance of the game came a minute later. Carr had her shot deflected by Follen. Hohmann collected the rebound, but sent her shot off the post. Langhans sent a free kick over the net from just outside the Moon box in the 57^th minute.

Langhans broke 10 minutes of relative silence in the game with a shot from 35 yards out. In the 73^rd minute, Hohmann tried to direct a cross off the head of Van Kirk in the box, but it was a little too high. The last North Allegheny chance came in the 78^th minute. Hohmann was dragged down, giving Langhans a final free kick from 35 yards out. She slipped in the process, though, and the shot missed the net.

In a hard-fought defensive battle, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Christine Grom as its Wright Automotive North Allegheny Player of the Game.

With the loss, North Allegheny ends its season with a 8-8-3 overall record. Moon improves to 16-2-0 overall. Moon will face No. 5 seed Norwin in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

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NORWIN SNAPS NA'S UNBEATEN STREAK

The North Allegheny Lady Tigers rounded out their regular season schedule with a non-section game against the Norwin Lady Knights on Tuesday evening.  North Allegheny carried a six-game unbeaten streak into the contest, but Norwin broke that string with a 1-0 victory.  Despite the loss, NA played very well against a team that’s ranked in the top 10, and by some publications, in the top five. 

Norwin had an early opportunity to score but Emily Shields sent a shot wide at 37:25 in the first half.  North Allegheny brought pressure seven minutes later when sophomore Maddie Layman set up junior midfielder Emily Johns for a shot that was saved by the Lady Knights’goaltender.  NA continued the offensive pressure, but sophomore Maria Carr was turned away by the Norwin net-minder as well.  At 11:20, the Lady Tigers had a free kick by junior Leah Langhans, followed by a battle in the box but North Allegheny could not convert.  Aside from Langhans’ free kick, the Lady Knights had the majority of the scoring opportunities over the final 20 minutes of the first half.  However, the Tigers defense was up to the challenge keeping the game scoreless at the half.

North Allegheny came out strong in the second half with good offensive pressure, but ultimately it was Norwin’s Rachel Dellefemine who scored the game’s first and only goal at 25:39 in the second half to give the Lady Knights the lead 1-0.  In the last 10 minutes of the match, NA continued to shoot away at the Norwin net.  A good effort by freshman Megan Van Kirk was turned away by the Lady Knights goalie at 10:00.  With six minutes left, Carr passed to junior Katie Hohmann which created a corner kick.  The corner kick was taken by junior Annie Erickson but NA was called for a penalty in the box.  The Lady Tigers maintained their presence in the Norwin end but could not put one in the net and the Lady Knights held on for a 1-0 win.

North Allegheny finishes the season with an 8-7-3 overall record.  NA will now visit Moon on Saturday in the opening round of the WPIAL Girls Soccer Tournament.  Moon is 14-2 on the year.  Saturday’s game begins at 4:00 pm. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORWIN-1   NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0  

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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LADY TIGERS LOCK UP PLAYOFF SPOT,
BEAT NORTH HILLS 1-0

To listen to a replay of the game, Click Here!

By Jordan Dee

North Allegheny clinched a postseason berth with a 1-0 victory over Section 2-AAA rival North Hills on a rainy Monday night at Newman Stadium.

It was Senior Night in honor of seven Lady Tigers: Christina Boada, Brenna Burry, Danielle Dorazio, Chandler Fuller, April Knell, Nikki Reynolds, and Maria Snyder.

Katie Hohmann scored the game’s lone goal in the victory.

Play began with a classy move by both teams. All but one of the seven seniors was in the starting lineup. Boada and Burry had missed the entire season due to injury. Boada started, but immediately checked out when North Hills purposely sent the opening kick well over the touch line. Burry was unable to play, but Brianna Layman wore her teammate’s #1 jersey in her honor.

Much of the game was played in the center of the field. Snyder did get the first chance in the 3^rd minute on a shot from 30 yards out. It appeared to be wide of the net, but North Hills keeper Emily Jamison collected it to be safe.

The Indians then had back-to-back corner kicks in the 6^th minute. Brittney Traynor’s first attempt was deflected across the goal line. Megan Stewart couldn’t convert on the second attempt, either.

Hohmann got her first chance in the 9^th minute. She sent a hard shot from 25 yards on one bounce that Jamison saved.

North Hills had another corner kick in the 17^th minute. The shot was sent low and failed to get close to the goal. It would be the last good scoring chance for either team for more than 10 minutes.

In the 29^th minute, Emily Johns sent a corner kick into Hohmann. Her header, though, went wide of the Indians’ net.

With 9:36 remaining in the half, Hohmann beat Jamison with a shot from 25 yards out and just inside the near goalpost. It was Hohmann’s team-leading 13^th goal of the season.

Maddie Layman nearly extended the lead with a shot from 25 yards out in the 33^rd minute. Jamison reached high to punch it over the net and off the football crossbar. About a minute and a half later, Hohmann sent a cross of a North Hills head and over the Indians’ goal line. The initial corner kick missed everyone in front of the net, but a lurking Leah Langhans got a shot off that went wide.

Neither team could manage a scoring chance after that, and the Lady Tigers took a 1-0 lead to the half.

The pressure in the North Hills end continued in the second half. In the 46^th minute, Jamison left the box to play the ball. Maria Carr chipped a ball toward the open net from a distance that missed wide.

It appeared as though North Hills tied the game about a minute later. Samantha Jamison put the ball into the North Allegheny net after another Indians player collided with Tigers keeper Madison Martin. Instead of allowing the goal, the officials awarded the Lady Tigers a free kick from inside their own goal box. North Hills then had an opportunity go awry in the 62^nd minute thanks to a defensive play from behind by Brianna Layman. The resulting North Hills corner kick missed everything.

In the 64^th minute, Snyder sent a cross that was intercepted by Emily Jamison. Langhans then sent a free kick from 30 yards at a sharp angle that was punched out by Jamison. Hohmann charged toward the net to track down the resulting corner kick. She collided with Stewart and Jamison, and was given a yellow card.

Traynor was then dragged down deep in North Allegheny territory in the 70^th minute. Johns headed away the free kick before drawing a call against the Indians.

The Lady Tigers capped the scoring chances with three of them in a 4-minute stretch. Langhans sent a free kick from 35 yards out that resulted in a violation against North Allegheny. In the 75^th minute, Johns forced Jamison to punch away a corner kick. Finally, Maddie Layman sent a cross for Calene Dougherty. Dougherty couldn’t get a full kick and the shot was saved by Jamison.

With the victory, North Allegheny improves to 6-4-2 in section and claimed the 3^rd seed out of Section 2-AAA in the postseason. The Lady Tigers are now 8-6-3 overall.  For her difference-making goal, Katie Hohmann was chosen as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.  North Hills drops to 5-7-0 in section and 10-8-0 overall. The Indians were eliminated from postseason play with the loss.

The Tigers will close out their regular-season schedule with a non-section game at Norwin today. The WPIAL Class AAA playoffs begin this weekend.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 1   North Hills - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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2010 WPIAL GIRLS' SOCCER

The Lady Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL Class AAA along with 34 other teams.  The top three teams and ties that CANNOT be broken 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 equal the maximum for sectional qualification, NO OTHER TEAMS WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE TOURNAMENT.  In the event of a tie for second, third, and in some cases for fourth place, the Tie Breaker System will be employed.  If the 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.

The PIAA Board of Directors has adopted a rule for ALL LEVELS OF SOCCER for the 2010-11 school year that REQUIRES "that a player who receives a yellow card sit out a mandatory period of five minutes as indicated on the soccer game clock."

2010 GIRLS' SOCCER ALIGNMENT - 35 TEAMS

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