Tigers Fall To Blue Devils In Boys’ Lacrosse Semifinal
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
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Allegheny | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Mt. Lebanon | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
