2022-2023 Game Summaries
Tigers Put Away Panthers, 14-10
In an early season tussle between two perennial playoff contenders, the North Allegheny boys’ lacrosse team outlasted the Upper St. Clair Panthers on Monday night, 14-10, at Newman Stadium.
Playing like a well-oiled machine in the first period, the Tigers used crisp passing and a sniper’s aim to jump out to a 7-1 lead. Junior Evan Lyon opened the scoring just 1:16 into the game for an immediate 1-0 lead. Upper St. Clair answered right back with a goal by Will King 30 seconds later, knotting the score at 1-1. From there, the remainder of the first period belonged to the Tigers. NA received goals by Marco Pascarella, Nick Sichak, Jonathan Castillo, another by Lyon and two more from Marc Bartolomucci in the stanza. The Tigers were also 2-for-2 on man-up opportunities in the first quarter and was 4-for-6 on the night.
In a tightly officiated game, it was Upper St. Clair who took advantage of man-up scenarios in the second period to inch back into the game. The Panthers scored five of the next seven goals and cut the Tigers lead to 9-6 by halftime. Lyon notched a hat trick and Castillo scored his second of the night in the quarter, but the Panthers clawed back thanks in part to two man-up goals by Dalton Yates.
With USC nipping at NA’s heels, the Tigers answered the bell in the third quarter to regain command. Pascarella started the uprising with a marker just 38 seconds into the second half for a 10-6 lead. Bartolomucci followed with a goal with 9:44 on the clock for an 11-6 advantage. After a goal by King trimmed the lead to 11-7, Bartolomucci caught the Panthers napping in their own end with a caused turnover, ground ball and goal with 8:21 remaining in the period for a 12-7 lead. The goal was Bartolomucci’s fourth of the night and swung the pendulum back in NA’s direction. Adding an assist, two ground balls and three takeaways to his stat line, Bartolomucci was tabbed the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Following Bartolomucci’s fourth tally, the Tigers scored two of the next three goals over the next 12 minutes on markers by Travis Lamark and Sam Porter to grow the lead to 14-8 with 7:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
To their credit, the Panthers refused to go away quietly as Yates netted back-to-back goals, his third and fourth of the night, to trim the NA lead to 14-10 with 5:24 left in regulation. That was as close as USC got, however, as the Tigers used good ball movement and played keep away down the stretch to close out the non-section victory.
The were several outstanding performances in the victory for the Tigers, including Lyon with three goals, four assists and three groundballs. Pascarella secured six groundballs and four takeaways, while defenseman Matthew Miller notched six groundballs and one takeaway. In net, goalies Logan Lyle and Beck Taucher split the first and second halves, respectively. Lyle made five saves and Taucher stopped two shots.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 1-1 overall, while Upper St. Clair drops to 1-1 on the young season. The Tigers will have the rest of the week off before hosting Everest Academy on Tuesday, March 28.
Boys Lacrosse Summary vs. Upper St. Clair, 3-20-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Upper St. Clair | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| North Allegheny | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
Comets Hold On To Top Tigers In Season Opener
by Jared Barton
The comeback was on for the North Allegheny boys’ lacrosse team but the effort fell short, however, as the Mason Comets edged the Tigers 10-9 at Newman Stadium on Saturday. Trailing by four goals late in the third quarter, the Tigers trimmed the deficit to one in the fourth and narrowly missed tying the game on their final possession in the waning seconds. The visitors from near Cincinnati, OH, held on for the non-section win.
NA started the game fast and scored the first two goals in a three-minute span. Senior Marco Pascarella found the twine first with 10:31 left in the opening stanza. Senior Marc Bartolomucci scored to put the Tigers up 2-0. Mason countered with two goals courtesy of Aiden Schramm and Mason Levin and the game was tied at 2-2 with less than four minutes to go in the quarter. The teams traded goals to end the first. Junior Evan Lyon scored, while the Comets’ Eli Natorp responded a minute later. Pascarella cashed in with a transition shot to end the frame with the Tigers holding a 4-3 edge.
Mason stepped up the pace in the second quarter, as Michael Niere registered the first of four goals just 30 seconds in. Tiger freshman Nick Sichak took a cross-crease feed from Bartolomucci and tallied his first varsity goal giving NA the 5-4 edge. But Mason countered by scoring the next five goals in a row to take a 9-5 lead late in the third quarter. Sichak wasn’t the only first-year player to find the back of the net, as fellow freshman Jonathan Castillo scored late in the third to make it 9-6.
Sichak added his second goal of the game to cut the lead to 9-7 with just over nine minutes left in the contest. Mason held possession for long periods of the fourth quarter and scored what would end up being the game-winner courtesy of Peter Marietta with 2:27 left. About 30 seconds later, Lyon cut the lead back to two, then with just 30 seconds left, Pascarella secured the hat trick on a man-up opportunity and brought the Tigers within one, 10-9. NA had a final push into the offensive zone with 13 seconds on the clock but Lyon’s shot missed the net wide left.
Senior Beck Taucher and sophomore Logan Lyle spilt time in the cage each facing 10 shots apiece. Taucher made three saves, while Lyle stopped seven total.
Pascarella earned Wright Automotive Player of the Game Laurels for his four-point afternoon.
North Allegheny falls to 0-1 on the season and is back in action against Upper St. Clair on Monday night from Newman Stadium. That 7:30 p.m. matchup will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Boys Lacrosse Summary vs. Mason (OH), 3-18-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Mason | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| North Allegheny | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 |