Field Hockey News

The Pine-Richland Rams locked up an outright Section 1-AAA title on Monday night with a 5-0 victory over the playoff-bound North Allegheny Tigers. A year after winning their first ever section championship, the Rams made it two straight years with a section crown. Rams sophomore goalie Abby Baratka posted her ninth shutout of the season.

Pine-Richland opened the scoring in the early going with a goal by Boston University recruit Molly Rottinghaus for a 1-0 lead at the 3:11 mark of the first half. Junior Vivian Cavanaugh added a goal for Pine-Richland with 6:11 to play in the half for a 2-0 advantage. North Allegheny nearly trimmed the deficit with 3:42 left in the half when Bridget Russell uncorked a strong shot that trickled through the PR defense and into the circle. Sophomore Hailey Wachowiak found the loose ball but rolled a shot that narrowly missed wide left.

The deficit remained 2-0 at the half but could’ve been much worse for the Tigers if not for the goaltending of Emma Jorgensen and defense of junior Tristan Laughrey. Jorgensen made several acrobatic saves and Laughrey posted two terrific defensive saves on PR scoring attempts. Defenseman Kayley Cooper also played well on the back end and midfielder Laura Schwendeman had a strong performance. For her efforts, Schwendeman was selected as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

While the Tigers stayed within striking distance in the first half, Pine-Richland pulled away in the second half thanks to two goals from Sarah Metzmaier and one goal from Marina Miller to bring the final score to 5-0, Rams.

North Allegheny slips to 10-6 overall and finished section play with a 7-3 mark, good for second place in Section 1-AAA and a playoff spot. Pine-Richland improves to 14-2 overall and 9-0 in the section. The Tigers visit Upper St. Clair tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Field Hockey Summary vs. Pine-Richland, 10-16-17

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY HALVES	1	2	FINAL
North Allegheny	0	0	0
Pine-Richland	2	3	5