Tigers End Regular Season with Draw against Central Catholic
By: Bob Orkwis
A pair of teams with postseason tickets already punched met for their regular-season finale at Newman Stadium, but neither North Allegheny nor Central Catholic got the result they wanted as the game ended in a 1-1 tie after a pair of overtimes.
North Allegheny got on the scoreboard early. Francis Randiga had a throw-in from the near touch line that was headed towards Harper Boles. The ball glanced off a Vikings player and into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute.
Two minutes later, senior keeper Ben Powell made a great save to keep the Tigers in the lead.
North Allegheny had a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks at game’s end, and the Tigers created opportunities off the set pieces but got no goals. The Tigers with Randiga, Justin Stalter and Boles had opportunities, but they couldn’t solve Central Catholic’s Ryan Flaherty.
A mistake on a clearing attempt for North Allegheny gave the Vikings an empty net, and Griffin Burnes walked it home in the 54th minute to knot the match at 1-1.
Sophomore Jaxon Cowger, who replaced senior Gianni Corso as the third Tiger keeper, kept the score tied with a diving save to his left in the 69th minute.
Andrew Opiela had a great chance for Central Catholic off a cross from the left wing in the first overtime, but misfired high. Randiga and Leo Yu had chances for North Allegheny, but couldn’t convert.
The best chance for the Tigers to win came on a free kick three minutes into the second overtime. With the ball 18 yards away, Owen Lopresti’s hard right-footed strike just sailed wide, and the contest would end in a draw.
Senior captain and defender Justin Stalter, with his usual solid play on the back line, and at least four chances created off back-post headers on corner kicks, was chosen as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
Central Catholic (10-3-3) finishes the year in 3rd place in Section 4A-1. North Allegheny (9-5-3) is the third-place team in Section 4A-3. The Tigers bested the Vikings 2-1 in the first round of last year’s playoffs. The teams will find out this year’s postseason assignments when the WPIAL soccer brackets are unveiled on Wednesday. Stay tuned to the North Allegheny Sports Network for updated playoff broadcast information.
BOYS SOCCER SUMMARY VS CENTRAL CATHOLIC, 10-13-25
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1st | 2nd | OT | 2OT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Catholic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
