Boys' Soccer News

By: Jared Barton

The North Allegheny boys’ soccer team earned a major section win over Seneca Valley Tuesday night, beating the rivals 4-2 at Newman Stadium. It was the Tigers’ first regulation win over the Raiders in the last 12 meetings between the teams.

The Tigers dictated the pace of the game early, but the Raiders cracked the scoresheet first. With 4:50 left in the first half, Tyler Prex fielded a ball via a free kick near midfield from Sami Malkamaki and found the back of the net.

North Allegheny came out of the gates fast in the second half behind the strong play of senior Nathan Katari. In the 48th minute, Katari received a pass from junior Kevin Chen and shot it past the Seneca keeper to tie the game. Three minutes later, Katari blew past multiple defenders on a breakaway to score and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Seneca Valley used a corner kick to score the equalizing goal less than 10 minutes later. Senior Mick Denysenko rang a shot off the right post less than a minute later.

The Tigers took control of the game in the final 12 minutes with two critical goals. In the 69th minute, Denysenko fed a pass to senior Zach Nash who faked out the defender and blasted a shot from 12 yards out to retake the lead 3-2. In the 71st minute, Senior Caleb Rumberger nailed a free kick towards the Seneca goalkeeper, hitting off his hands and finding the back of the net with backspin.

Senior Ryan Young earned the win in net for NA, making a few critical saves throughout the contest. Katari earned Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels for his tw0-goal performance.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 6-2-1 overall with a 3-1-0 section record. The Tigers are back in action on the road Thursday with a section match against Fox Chapel at 7:00 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER SUMMARY VS SENECA VALLEY, 9-17-24

SCORE BY HALVES	1st	2nd	FINAL
Seneca Valley	1	1	2
North Allegheny	0	4	4