Boys' Lacrosse Game Summaries

by: Bob Orkwis

In the WPIAL 3A Boys Lacrosse Playoffs, third-seeded Upper St. Clair and fourth-seeded North Allegheny both bowed out with a loss in the semifinals.

But this year offered a reprieve for both teams with a consolation game, the winner would represent District 7 in the PIAA Playoffs.

In a contest that went down to the final shot in the final second, North Allegheny prevailed 8-7 to reach the state playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Jacob Clarkson scored his seventh goal of the season off an assist from Mason Brown 1:33 into the game to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Evan Proud answered for the Panthers before Johnny Castillo converted a Sam Porter feed for his 33rd goal to put North Allegheny back in front.

Merrimack recruit Ryan Buonomo tied the game at 2-2, before Colman Craft scored in transition to make the score 3-2 after the first quarter.

Nick Sichak from Craft scored man-up, followed by Porter’s 20th of the season from Brown, which gave the Tigers a three-goal run and a 5-2 lead.

Nate Haberman found the back of the net for the Panthers after a timeout with :27 left before halftime to make it 5-3.

Proud’s second goal of the game followed by a Beckett Mayfield tally gave the Panthers a three-goal run of their own and tied the game at 5-5.

Sichak then scored back-to-back goals to put the Tigers up by two. Porter assisted on the second, which gave the junior Sichak the hat trick and his team leading 44th goal of the year.

Brown’s tally early in the fourth quarter made the score 8-5 Tigers, but the Panthers came back with goals by Holden Rickel and Buonomo to make it a one-goal game. Buonomo’s goal was his 60th of the season and gave him 300 career points.

Junior Luke Rohan, who had nine draw controls for North Allegheny, won the face off. But as the Tigers tried to play keep away, the Panthers forced a turnover and Rickel scooped up the ground ball with five seconds left.

The St. Joe’s commit raced down the right wing and got a shot away as time expired, but senior Logan Lyle, a St. John’s recruit, made the save on a future A-10 foe to secure the 8-7 victory for North Allegheny.

With his last second heroics and a total of twelve saves in the win, Lyle was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Upper St. Clair finished the season at (12-8). North Allegheny improved to (11-9) and will be the third-place team from the WPIAL in the state playoffs.

The Tigers will face the District 3 champion in the first round. #1 Central York and #2 Manheim Township will play next Tuesday for that title, with the first round of the PIAA playoffs scheduled for Tuesday June 3rd.

Boys Lacrosse Summary at Upper St. Clair, 5-23-25

By: Jared Barton

A five-goal burst in the fourth quarter ended up making the difference in the WPIAL 3A Boys’ Lacrosse Semifinal as the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils beat North Allegheny 9-4 at Peters Township Monday night.

In a rematch of the season’s first game, the Tigers and Blue Devils battled hard in Washington County for a chance to return to the WPIAL title match at USC later this week. Lebo will get a chance at a three-peat when they face off against Shady Side Academy at a date and time to be determined.

NA was able to weather an early offensive storm from Mt. Lebanon, but senior midfielder Joey Hetz got the top seed on the board first with roughly five minutes left in the opening quarter. The Tigers responded with a tough goal from sophomore Mason Brown, assisted by junior Johnny Castillo, just over a minute later. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the period, a rising shot from distance found the back of the net off the stick of junior Nick Sichak. NA held a 2-1 lead after one quarter.

Hetz found twine for his second of the contest in the opening minutes of the second. Senior Keegan Green gave the lead back to the Blue Devils two minutes later, before Hetz scored a hat-trick marker on the man-up with 85 seconds left in the half. North Allegheny had five man-up chances of their own in the first half of play, but could not cash in. Sichak brought the game back to one score in the final seconds of the half with a tip-in goal. Lebo had a 4-3 lead at the break.

The defensive battle continued into the third quarter, with the lone goal scored with 32 seconds left in the frame. Senior Jacob Clarkson buried a shot from distance as the Tigers and Blue Devils headed into the final quarter.

The Mt. Lebanon pressure was too much for North Allegheny to handle in the final quarter, with Green scoring his second on the man-up, Hetz found his fourth, sophomore Garrett Cramer and junior FOGO Andrew Pinilla found the score sheet all within a two-minute period. NA scored on their own goal with two minutes remaining on an intended pass to senior goalkeeper Logan Lyle. The St. John’s commit played another strong game in net, and was a big reason the match was so close through three quarters making 15 total saves. Junior Max Prezioso was credited with the marker.

Clarkson was named Wright Automotive Player of the Game with his game-tying goal and effort throughout the contest.

With the loss, NA falls to 9-9 overall, but the season is not over just yet. North Allegheny faces Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL Third-Place Game later this week at a time and site to be determined.

BOYS LACROSSE SUMMARY VS. MT. LEBANON, 5/19/25

by Randy Gore

For the second consecutive season, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland faced off against each other in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. The outcome was the same as the previous year, with the host Tigers securing a hard-fought 7-6 victory over the Rams at Newman Stadium. The outcome extended NA’s head-to-head winning streak to six in a row over the Rams, also accounting for the third straight playoff victory for the Tigers over their neighborhood rivals.

Following a 25-minute lightning delay, the North Allegheny offense was charged up to start the contest and scored four of the first five goals of the game. Juniors Colt Gibson, Johnny Castillo and Nick Sichak, and senior Sam Porter scored during NA’s opening salvo for a 4-1 lead with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter.

Coming off a thrilling 11-10 win over Shady Side Academy to end the regular season, Pine-Richland returned to form in the remaining minutes of the first half and cut the NA lead to 4-3 by halftime on markers by Dayne Wilden and Rowan Foster. Foster’s goal came with just 15 seconds left before intermission.

In a contest that finished with a narrow margin, it took an accumulation of little plays that earned the Tigers a big victory. Midway through the third quarter, North Allegheny broke a 13-minute scoring drought when sophomore Mason Brown attained a crucial offensive ground ball that kept the Tigers in possession behind the Rams’ net. Brown capitalized on the opportunity and scored with 4:18 left in the third period to increase the NA lead to 5-3. Wilden’s second goal of the night trimmed the NA lead to 5-4 with 2:37 left in the quarter, but Sichak responded in kind with his second marker of the contest with 1:10 remaining in the stanza to stretch the Tigers’ advantage to 6-4.

In the fourth quarter, Wildon notched a hat trick with 8:59 left in regulation to again cut the NA lead to one goal at 6-5. Castillo scored his second goal of the game with 6:05 to play to give the Tigers a two-goal lead again, 7-5. Undaunted, Pine-Richland scored a proximity goal with 1:53 remaining thanks to a Quinn Foster tally, bringing the score to 7-6, North Allegheny.

In the waning minutes, key ground balls by seniors Colman Craft and Jack Ferraro helped the Tigers maintain their one-goal lead. With 23 seconds to play, Sichak ran out the clock to help punch NA’s ticket to the WPIAL semifinals. Sichak, who finished with two goals and an assist, was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Other important contributors to the NA cause included Craft and Ferraro, who finished with four ground balls each. Craft added a team-best two takeaways. Junior FOGO Luke Rohan had a strong second half, totaling six faceoff wins. Senior goalie Logan Lyle registered eight saves, some of the spectacular variety.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 10-8 overall and will face the reigning WPIAL champion Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils on Monday night in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals at a site and time to be determined. Pine-Richland’s season comes to a close with a 10-8 overall record.

ICYMI: Highlights from @NA_TigersLax win over Pine-Richland in the @wpial7 Quarterfinals earlier this week!@NickSichak @NA_Schools @colmancraft06 pic.twitter.com/W2CIaZGSpC

— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) May 16, 2025

BOYS LACROSSE SUMMARY VS. PINE-RICHLAND, 5-14-25

By: Jared Barton 

The North Allegheny boys’ lacrosse team closed out the regular season with an 11-8 section win over Seneca Valley from Newman Stadium Tuesday night.

NA jumped out of the gate early, scoring back-to-back goals from juniors Johnny Castillo and Nick Sichak. Seneca broke the goose egg with three minutes left in the quarter to cut the lead in half, but Sichak scored his second of the contest, assisted by fellow junior Colt Gibson, to take a 3-1 lead at the end of the first frame.

The Tigers scored three of the four total goals in the second stanza. Sichak completed the hat trick with four minutes remaining in the half, assisted by freshman Charlie Jones. Senior Jacob Clarkson scored, assisted by Gibson, with two minutes left in the quarter. Junior Luke Rohan won a faceoff with a minute left and dashed down field to score on the play. NA held a 6-2 lead at halftime.

Junior Hawke Brian found the back of the net to open scoring in the second half, assisted by sophomore Mason Brown. The Raiders added a pair of markers before senior Colman Craft scored unassisted to take an 8-4 lead after three periods.

Senior Sam Porter extended the lead in the early stages of the final quarter, followed by the fourth score of the contest for Sichak. Clarkson scored his second of the game, assisted by Porter, with three and a half minutes left. Seneca Valley attempted a comeback, scoring three of the four goals in the frame within the final 1:15, but NA held on.

Senior Logan Lyle made 10 saves in net, while junior Alex Costa stopped two shots. Rohan took home Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels, winning 15 faceoffs and scoring a goal. Gibson ended the contest with 4 assists.

With the win, North Allegheny finishes the regular season with a 9-8 overall record and 5-1 mark in section play. The Tigers await the WPIAL playoff pairings on Thursday to see what seed NA will hold and who the first opponent will be when the postseason begins next week.

ICYMI: Highlights from @NA_TigersLax 11-8 win over Seneca Valley last night! pic.twitter.com/IvHJiFu6Qt

— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) May 7, 2025

BOYS LACROSSE SUMMARY VS. SENECA VALLEY, 5-6-25

By: Jared Barton

The North Allegheny boys’ lacrosse team faced Spire Academy in the “C” Bracket Final of the MSLA Tournament Saturday at Western Reserve Academy. Spire took the 17-5 victory in rainy conditions.

Spire Academy scored the first three goals of the contest before NA found life. With nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, junior Nick Sichak scored his first of two. The Tigers also had quick goals from junior Colt Gibson and senior Sam Porter.

Spire proceeded to score the next nine goals in a row before a Sichak tally with less than 10 seconds remaining in the first half. The academy then scored five more goals over the third and fourth quarters before Tigers sophomore Mason Brown found the back of the net with two minutes left in the game.

Senior goalie Logan Lyle made six saves, while junior Alex Costa made five stops. Senior Jack Ferraro had three ground balls and a takeaway. Sophomore Jack Ewalt had six faceoff wins.

The full replay of Saturday’s game can be found here.

With the loss, North Allegheny falls to 8-8 on the season. NA is back in action at home for Youth Night and the final game of the regular season featuring a section clash with Seneca Valley at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday. The NA Sports Network will have live audio coverage of the contest.

BOYS LACROSSE SUMMARY VS. SPIRE ACADEMY, 5-3-25