Water Polo News

By Randy Gore

On Senior Night, the North Allegheny water polo teams earned a doubleheader sweep over the visiting McDowell Trojans on Tuesday night. Both teams earned convincing wins: the NA girls’ team prevailed 13-9, and the NA boys’ squad won 21-11.

In the opening contest, McDowell held a 2-1 lead late in the first period before the North Allegheny girls bombarded the Trojans’ net with nine consecutive goals for a commanding 10-2 lead by the midway point of the third quarter. Senior Bella Spino led the offensive assault with five of the team’s first 10 goals and posted a team-leading four steals on defense.

After a goal by McDowell’s Mackenzie Elias cut the NA advantage to 10-3 with 2:32 left in the third period, the Tigers netted back-to-back goals by senior Mikaela Dassanaike for a 12-3 lead, marking their largest lead of the night. Dassanaike tallied four goals on the evening and added three steals. With the game well out of reach, McDowell scored six of the final seven goals to bring the final score to 13-9, North Allegheny.

Spino and Dassanaike accounted for nine of the Tigers’ 13 goals on the evening, and, along with goalie Katherine Vales, who made five saves, the senior triumverate was named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game on Senior Night. Other goal scorers for the Tigers in the victory included Lila Torchia, Sania Bedi, Karuna Ghuman, Selin Emekter. Bedi and Emekter added three steals apiece on defense. Freshman goalie Myra Anand saw time in net in the fourth quarter and corralled one save.

In another one-sided contest, the North Allegheny boys built a 13-2 lead by halftime and cruised to a 21-11 victory. Sophomore Tabari Morgan spearheaded the attack with five of the team’s first nine goals, along with a team-best four assists, to earn Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors. Senior Callan Bunger tallied a team-high seven goals, while senior Philip Liulias posted a hat trick in the fourth quarter. Senior goalie Mike Stefanko started the game and not only earned the victory with four saves, but also played the field in the second half, tallying a marker of his own. Freshman goalie Gannon Brooks played the second half in between the pipes to finish off the victory with five fourth-quarter saves.

Sophomore Filip Malezanov chipped in with a pair of goals, while single goals were scored by Mason Shantz, Noah Cochrane and Siddh Kapil. Shantz added a team-high four steals on defense.

With the sweep, the North Allegheny girls improve to 8-9 on the season with wins in seven of their last nine games. The NA boys are now 18-1 on the campaign, winners of nine in a row. Both squads will travel to Erie on Thursday for a visit to Cathedral Prep to take on the Ramblers at the Hagerty Family Events Center.