Tigers Edge Panthers In Final Seconds For Non-Section Victory
By: Jared Barton
The North Allegheny boys’ soccer team bounced back from a tough home loss to Plum earlier in the week to take a dramatic 2-1 road win over Upper St. Clair Thursday night.
The Tigers got on the board first with just nine minutes left in regulation. Freshman Josh Tufts drove down the right side near the end line, crossed to the goal and junior Connor Heliger scored to break the scoreless tie. The Panthers responded with a penalty kick goal from Ishaan Gupta in the 73rd minute, and the game looked destined for overtime.
Late heroics kept the game with NA and prevented the extra frame. On the Tigers’ final push into the offensive zone, senior Kevin Chen took a strong shot that was saved by USC goalie Dylan Childs. Junior Francis Randiga pounced on the rebound and found the back of the net for the game-winning marker with just six seconds left in regulation.
Senior keeper Xavier Zyskowski made two saves in the winning effort.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 3-1 on the season. NA is back in non-section action at Newman Stadium Saturday for a girl-boy doubleheader with Norwin. The girls’ game begins at 3:30 p.m. with boys’ action slated for 7:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
BOYS SOCCER SUMMARY VS UPPER ST. CLAIR, 8-28-25
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1st | 2nd | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Allegheny | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Upper St. Clair | 0 | 1 | 1 |
