Tigers Strike Early To Take Section Win Over Rams
By: Jared Barton
The North Allegheny boys’ soccer team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the Tigers beat the Pine-Richland Rams 5-1 at Newman Stadium Tuesday night.
NA wasted little time cracking the scoresheet, as junior Francis Randiga attempted the throw-in from the near side at what was almost a corner kick angle. The ball found the head of senior Elliot Swierczynski near the far post and the Tigers led 1-0 with 37:10 left in the first half.
Pine Richland had a couple of opportunities in the offensive zone, including a corner kick that was rifled off the post in the last stages of the frame, but senior goalkeeper Xavier Zyskowski was up to the task.
The Rams had the first chance of the second half when a shot hit the crossbar less than two minutes after the halftime break.
NA then added goals to cushion the lead. Senior Justin Chen fed a pass to Randiga, who buried it on a linedrive kick in stride 15 yards out. Three minutes later, sophomore Vik Vaders found an open teammate in senior Leo Yu 10 yards away. Yu spun and shot from straight on to find twine.
The lone Rams goal of the night came via a breakaway from Sammy Buse. The Tigers added insurance markers from senior Graham Kunz on the penalty kick and junior Owen Lopresti, following a beautiful stretch pass downfield from senior Emmett Morris.
Swierczynski took home Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels for his efforts all night.
With the win, North Allegheny improves to 1-0-1 in section play and 4-1-2 overall. The Tigers are back in action at Newman Stadium Thursday night for another section match when they host Butler at 7:00. That game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
BOYS SOCCER SUMMARY VS PINE-RICHLAND , 9-9-25
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1st | 2nd | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine-Richland | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 1 | 4 | 5 |
