Tigers Devour Big Macs In WPIAL Quarterfinals, 6-1
After missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade in 2022, the North Allegheny boys’ soccer team made a triumphant return to the postseason with a resounding 6-1 win over Canon-McMillan on Saturday afternoon in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals at Newman Stadium. Leading 2-1 at the half, the second-seeded Tigers buried the seventh-seeded Big Macs with four goals over the final 40 minutes to score a convincing playoff win.
The ball was bouncing North Allegheny’s way early on as a clearing attempt by Canon-McMillan sophomore Gabe Fegley instead went into the Big Macs net, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. The own goal was credited to North Allegheny senior Arnav Patel for his ninth of the season.
The Big Macs bounced back from the early adversity and tied the game at 1-1 in the 11th minute thanks to a goal by Louis Liberatore.
In the 32nd minute, North Allegheny regained the advantage when junior Mykola Denysenko found senior Joey Vojtas for a goal and the Tigers led, 2-1, heading into halftime.
While Canon-McMillan hung tough in the first half, North Allegheny dominated the final 40 minutes of play and coasted into the WPIAL semifinals. In the 54th minute, junior Will Love took a pass from fellow junior Zach Nash and scored for a 3-1 lead. The goal was Love’s third of the season.
Junior Nathan Katari was awarded a penalty kick in the 55th minute and converted for a goal, his seventh of the season, to extend the lead to 4-1. Vojtas netted his second of the game, and fifth of the season, in the 63rd minute for a 5-1 lead. Nash tallied his team-leading 13th of the campaign in the 68th minute to cap an impressive 6-1 victory for the Tigers.
For his two-goal performance, Vojtas was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
Senior goalie Dante Accamando made three saves to earn the victory in net. North Allegheny outshot Canon-McMillan, 8-3, and led in corner kicks, 7-2.
North Allegheny leaps to 15-1-3 on the season with the playoff win, while Canon-McMillan’s year comes to a close with a 10-7-1 record. The Tigers will take on section rival Butler in the WPIAL semifinals on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Boys Soccer Summary vs. Canon-McMillan, 10-28-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
| Canon-McMillan | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 2 | 4 | 6 |
