Tigers Soar Past Comets In PIAA First Round
By: Jared Barton
Fresh off the WPIAL Championship, the North Allegheny girls’ soccer team hosted the PIAA first-round matchup against Penn Manor at Newman Stadium Tuesday night. The Tigers took care of business with a 5-0 win to advance to the quarterfinal round.
NA opened the scoring early in the contest while dominating offensive zone time throughout the night. With around 32 minutes left in the first half, junior Kieran Shannon took an aggressive shot about 10 yards away from the Penn Manor net that hit the goalkeeper, and the rebound found senior Emma Schupansky who scored.
About four minutes later, senior Avery Ruffus scored from 15 yards away after a Schupansky steal and pass from fellow senior Averie Bierker. With 24 minutes left, Bierker scored her own goal from 25 yards away with a shot from distance that had a great curve from right to left and tucked inside the far post.
North Allegheny continued the strong offensive play into the second half, as Shannon tallied her first of two on the night from 20 yards away on a floating shot towards the far back corner of the net with 34 minutes remaining.
With under 20 minutes to play, junior Addison Vrabel fed a centering pass deep in the offensive end to a waiting Shannon for the tip into the net.
The combination shutout was earned from junior Jordan Beemer, who faced only one shot, and sophomore Kayla Schwerin. In an emotional return to the pitch following months of recovery from an injury, junior Mia Barsotti saw game action for the first time this season in the late stages of the second half. For her return and efforts to get back from injury, Barsotti was named Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
With the win, the Tigers are now 18-3-2 on the season and advance to the PIAA Quarterfinal round this Saturday. NA will face Downingtown West, who beat Mechanicsburg 2-1 (4-3 in penalty kicks) on Tuesday. North Allegheny faces District I runner-up Downingtown West in the PIAA Quarterfinals Saturday from Northern High School at 4:00 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER SUMMARY VS. PENN MANOR, 11-4-25
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1st | 2nd | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Manor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 3 | 2 | 5 |
