Tigers Run Away From Titans For 7-1 Victory In Home Opener
The North Allegheny girls’ soccer team opened the section slate on Monday night at Newman Stadium with a 7-1 victory over the Shaler Titans. The win was NA’s 20th in a row in the head-to-head series with Shaler.
The Tigers displayed their ability to dominate possession time in the early going and broke through for the first goal of the night when senior Sam Braden scored with 29:54 on the first half clock for a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, senior Abigail Stager made it 2-0 with her seventh goal of the season. The upstart Titans managed to stun the Tigers, briefly, when a through ball found the foot of freshman Naudia Zotter, who made a nifty move in the goal box and fired in a goal with 19:59 remaining in the half. The goal by Zotter trimmed the score to 2-1, Tigers.
Unfazed, North Allegheny went right back to work and gained a 3-1 advantage with 17:00 left in the half thanks to a goal by junior Kanak Agarwal. Junior Rowan Barsotti tacked on another marker with 2:48 left before intermission to give the reigning WPIAL champions a 4-1 lead.
GOAL ⚽️ Kanak Agarwal pic.twitter.com/oq7gTWehfw
— North Allegheny Girls Soccer (@nasoccergirls) August 29, 2023
Following halftime, the Tigers put the game out of reach with two goals in the first two minutes of the second half. Just 58 seconds into the half, Braden lofted a high-arching crossing pass on the doorstep that was toed mid-air by a leaping Stager for a 5-1 advantage. With 38:07 remaining, Barsotti put a shot on net that was initially saved by Shaler goalie Reanna Richardson, but the rebound was driven home by senior Ally Ruiz to increase the NA lead to 6-1.
Braden put the finishing touches on the victory with her second goal of the evening with 31:38 to play, capping a 7-1 victory for the Tigers. A sparkplug for North Allegheny throughout the night, Braden, a Slippery Rock University commit, was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.
The Tigers outshot the Titans, 28-2, and led in corner kicks, 7-2.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 3-o overall and 1-0 in Section 1-AAAA. Shaler slips to 0-1 on the campaign. The Tigers look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday night with a visit to neighborhood rival Pine-Richland in another section contest.
Girls Soccer Summary vs. Shaler, 8-27-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
| Shaler | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 4 | 3 | 7 |
