Boys' Soccer Game Summaries

The magical run of the North Allegheny boys’ soccer team came to an end on Tuesday night as the Conestoga Pioneers handed the Tigers a 1-0 loss in the PIAA semifinals. The Pioneers earned their third trip to the PIAA championship game in the last six years. North Allegheny was vying for its first trip to the state championship since 2000.

The skillful possession game of the District 1 runners-up kept North Allegheny off balance in the first half. Conestoga peppered NA goalie Grant Glorioso with nine shots on goal in the opening half but each time the junior net minder denied the Pioneers to keep the game scoreless at the half. The Pioneers outshot the Tigers in the first half, 9-1.

In the second half, North Allegheny played inspired ball and nearly scored on a shot by senior Owen Leonard thirty seconds into the half but the try missed wide left.  Just minutes later, senior Jack Passodelis had an opportunity but his shot missed wide right.

The Tigers controlled the pace in the first eight minutes of the half but Conestoga broke that momentum with a header by Nick Jennings to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead with 31:37 on the clock. Jennings’ goal came on the second rebound in a flurry of shots on net by the Pioneers.

Despite the deficit, North Allegheny continued to pressure Conestoga and tallied an open shot for junior Sean Atwater courtesy of tic-tac-toe passing. However, the attempt by Atwater was stopped by Pioneers goalie Luke Smith to keep the score at 1-0. With six minutes remaining, Josh Luchini hustled for a ball in the right corner and centered a pass in front of a yawning net but the pass was just beyond the toe of Leonard on the doorstep. Conestoga held off NA’s furious attempt at a rally for a 1-0 victory and a date with District 3 runners-up Elizabethtown in the PIAA title game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

For a terrific 2016 season, the North Allegheny seniors were named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game. The Tigers end the campaign with a 17-3-5 record. Congratulations to the Tigers and head coach Bobby Vossmaer for a memorable season.

Boys Soccer Summary vs. Conestoga, 11-15-16

By Lee Mohn

The North Allegheny boys’ soccer team did not need overtime on Saturday afternoon, but the Tigers were just as successful in regulation in a 1-0 win over Seneca Valley to claim a spot in the PIAA semifinals.  The loss was only the second of the season for Seneca Valley, both at the hands of the North Allegheny Tigers.

Seneca Valley almost took the early lead just 50 seconds into the game when Matt Happ put a header on the net but NA goalie Grant Glorioso was there for the stop.  Happ had another chance in the 22nd minute but Glorioso  was there again.  The Tigers would then strike for the only goal of the game in the 26th minute when Alex Goto sent a pass into the box and Cam Yurik was able to get a piece of it and knock into the back of the net.

The second half started with the Raiders in hot pursuit but the defensive play from Nick Williams, Christian Giannetti and Goto denied any good opportunities.  Owen Leonard had a golden opportunity early in the second half but a great defensive play by Thomas Washington for the Raiders kept the ball from going in.  The Raiders continued the offensive pressure but Glorioso made a couple key saves down the stretch to secure the victory.  Grant Glorioso was named the Wright Automotive player of the game for his efforts.

The Tigers will now take a road trip and play on Tuesday night against Conestoga from District 1 at a neutral site in the PIAA semifinals. North Allegheny improves to 17-2-5 on the season, while Seneca Valley’s year comes to an end with a record of 19-2-1.

Tuesday night’s PIAA First Round matchup between North Allegheny and Pine-Richland was a rematch of the WPIAL semifinals on October 29. The game was played at the same neutral site, Mars High School, and ended in the same fashion as junior Sean Atwater delivered an overtime game-winning goal to lift the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Rams. It’s the third-straight playoff game Atwater has ended with an overtime goal and it’s the fourth overtime win in the postseason for the Tigers. (A video of Atwater’s game-winning goal is provided below.)

In the first half, both teams played a conservative game that yielded few scoring chances. North Allegheny had the best of the opportunities and nearly scored with 10 minutes left in the half when Jack Passodelis uncorked a strong shot but was denied by Pine-Richland goalie Tom Fest. The Tigers had another good scoring chance with 3:30 remaining in the half but a shot by Sam Buirge missed wide right and the game stayed deadlocked at 0-0 entering halftime.

In the second half, senior Ben Cinker scored his team-leading 12^th goal of the season, assisted on a terrific pass from Cam Yurick, to give North Allegheny a 1-0 lead with 34:58 on the clock. It took Pine-Richland only four minutes to even the score as senior Carlo Tozzi sent a crossing pass through the box to Niko Marsh who drove the ball inside the left post to tie the game at 1-1.

The game remained tied and went to overtime, the eighth time in the last nine meetings between NA and Pine-Richland that overtime was needed. The Rams tilted the field in their direction in the first overtime and had a great opportunity to win it on a shot by Tozzi with 10 minutes remaining. However, senior goalie Grant Glorioso made another clutch save in the playoffs, diving to his left to deflect the ball wide of the net. With 1:14 to play in overtime, Nicholas Shideler dribbled deep into the box  but drove his shot off the side of the net.

The contest went to a second overtime and came to an abrupt end when North Allegheny was awarded a free kick from 40-yards away from the Pine-Richland net. Atwater took the free kick and lofted a high-arching ball that fell just beyond the reaching hands of Fest and into the net for a North Allegheny win, 2-1. For his efforts, Atwater was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

North Allegheny improves to 16-2-5 on the season and advances to the PIAA quarterfinals for another rematch against a familiar foe, the Seneca Valley Raiders. The game will be played on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Pine-Richland’s season concludes with a record of 13-7-3.

Boys Soccer Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 11-8-16

Photo Gallery by J.J. LaBella

The North Allegheny Tigers won their first WPIAL championship since 1999 with a 2-1 overtime triumph over the Seneca Valley Raiders at Highmark Stadium on Thursday night. Junior Sean Atwater, who scored his first goal of the season in overtime to beat Pine-Richland in the semifinals on Saturday, again connected for the game-winning marker to sink the Raiders in an exciting title tilt. The championship is North Allegheny’s eighth in program history. Its also the third overtime win thus far in the 2016 playoffs for the Tigers.

Seneca Valley, the undefeated top-seed in the Class AAAA bracket, was vying for its first ever WPIAL crown and had the better of the play in the first half. In particular, senior Matt Happ utilized his exceptional speed for several good scoring chances but was either denied by NA keeper Grant Glorioso or missed narrowly wide of the net. After a scoreless first half, the Raiders were able to finally breakthrough for the game’s first goal on a free kick that was lobbed into the box by senior Cole Dengler. The pass was driven into the back of the net by senior Matt Stopar for a 1-0 Seneca Valley lead with 20:59 remaining in the game.

Trailing by a goal, the Tigers had their work cut out for them against Seneca Valley goalie Dylan Good, a first-team All-Section selection, who had allowed only three goals all season. However, North Allegheny managed to tie the game with 2:24 left in regulation on a goal by Josh Luchini. Senior Owen Leonard sent a long pass toward the box from the midfield and Luchini headed the ball past Good to even the score at 1-1. Luchini, the Tigers leading goal scorer the last two seasons, missed most of the 2016 campaign due to injury and played sparingly in his return in the WPIAL semifinals on Saturday. In a do-or-die scenario in the championship contest, Luchini played through the pain and came through with the clutch goal. (Below is an MSA Sports Center Stage interview with Luchini following the win.)

In overtime, Happ nearly gave Seneca Valley the victory with a line-drive shot with 12 minutes remaining in the extra session but was denied on a fantastic save by Glorioso. Making key game-saving plays all night, Glorioso was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

The play of Glorioso kept North Allegheny in the game and Atwater used one swing of his leg to end it. With 5:43 left in overtime, Atwater delivered his second goal of the season for the game-winning marker and a 2-1 North Allegheny victory.

North Allegheny improves to 15-2-5 on the season, while Seneca Valley suffers its first loss of the year with a 19-1-1 mark. Both teams will participate in the PIAA tournament that begins on Tuesday night.

Boys Soccer Summary vs. Seneca Valley, 11-3-16

by Lee Mohn

The North Allegheny Tigers have played in close games all year and Saturday’s WPIAL semifinal contest with Pine-Richland was no exception.  The Tigers played in their eighth overtime game of the season and stayed undefeated in those game.  The Tigers scored with 9:51 left in the first overtime to defeat Pine-Richland, 1-0, and will move onto the WPIAL championship next week at Highmark stadium. (See video of game-winning goal below.)

The Tigers were swarming early and Sean Atwater missed an opportunity two minutes in when he shot the ball wide.  The game continued to be played tight with neither team creating scoring chances.  Pine-Richland’s Nicholas Schiedler  came close to scoring with fifteen minutes left in the first  had a golden opportunity but goalie Grant Glorioso was up to the challenge to smother the shot.  A few minutes later, the Rams’ Niko Marsh just missed a header and sent his shot wide.  Both teams only had one shot on goal in a scoreless first half.

In the second half, the Tigers’ Ben Cinker was stopped by a great save by Tom Fest nine minutes in.  Neither team could muster many opportunities because of the defense on display.  The overtime started and Pine Richlands Carlo Tozzi was stopped by Glorioso in the first minute.  Then came the winning goal. A good throw-in by Alex Goto into James Nolan who was fighting for space with a Pine-Richland defender and the ball was deflected onto the foot of Atwater who rifled the winning shot from 27 yards out for a 1-0 NA victory.  With that goal Sean Atwater was named the Wright Automotive player of the game.

The Tigers will now face rival Seneca Valley for the championship.  The Tigers are one of only three teams to score against Seneca Valley all season.  Pine Richland will move on to play Upper St. Clair for the No. 3 seed in the upcoming PIAA playoffs.

Boys Soccer Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 10-29-16