Bill Beckner stories, Page 7
Westmoreland high school soccer playoff preview capsule for Oct. 27, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Girls Class 4A Semifinals 3-Norwin (15-3) vs. 2-Seneca Valley (11-3-2) 6:30 p.m. Monday, North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, McCandless Winner plays: Winner of 1-Peters Township (15-2-2)/5-North Allegheny (15-3-2) in championship (time, date TBD) at Highmark Stadium Coaches: Ashley DeVito, Norwin; Mark Perry, Seneca Valley Players to watch: Neeve...
Plum boys outlast Norwin in penalty shootout to advance to soccer semifinals
As Norwin shooters made the long walk from midfield and stepped to the penalty spot, Chase Eber saw something, felt something. His instincts were tingling. “Their kids looked like they had just seen a ghost,” the Plum goalkeeper said. “I had faith in every single one of my shooters. I...
Norwin girls shake off adversity on road to WPIAL semifinals
Adversity can come at teams without warning in the WPIAL soccer playoffs. There are yellow cards and ill-timed fouls, short benches, cramps and injuries. The Norwin girls encountered their share of misadventure Thursday in the quarterfinals before Leesia Phetsomphou’s clutch winner inside the final minute of the second overtime produced...
Norwin soccer teams relish home playoff games before stadium remodel
Both Norwin varsity soccer teams had a chance to give ole Knights Stadium a playoff sendoff. A benefit of earning a higher seed in the WPIAL soccer postseason is getting a home game for the first two rounds — pending an opening win, of course. The Norwin girls (14-3) were...
Franklin Regional boys soccer bolstered by high seed in WPIAL playoffs
When Franklin Regional reached the WPIAL boys soccer finals last season, the Panthers were slight underdogs as the No. 7 seed. If they get back to Highmark Stadium, it won’t be as much of a surprise. The Panthers were awarded the No. 3 seed this time in what appears to...
Big night for the big guys as Derry linemen spark playoff-clinching win over Yough
Derry lineman Levi Haase hadn’t played since the third game of the season with a knee injury, but, as recovery time and luck would have it, he suited up for senior night. He never thought he’d provide such a spark in a playoff-clinching victory. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior intercepted a...
Westmoreland high school soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 25, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 4A Quarterfinals 6-Norwin (11-5-3) at 3-Plum (14-2-2) 2 p.m. Saturday, Mustang Stadium, Plum Winner plays: Winner of 10-Pine-Richland (6-10-2)/2-Fox Chapel (14-2) in semifinals (date, site TBD) Players to watch: Ian Natale, Norwin; Austin Kolankowski, Plum Throw-ins: Norwin shook off a slow start to blank Woodland...
Freshman helps Norwin to 2OT playoff win over Mt. Lebanon
Norwin wasn’t about to let Mt. Lebanon end its season again. And it wasn’t interested in settling things in a penalty round, either. Leesia Phetsomphou saw to that. No, the freshman got her kicks in the waning seconds of double overtime and extended her team’s season. A WPIAL 4A quarterfinal...
Norwin set for one last football game before massive stadium renovation
It won’t be long before much of Norwin Knights Stadium is a pile of rubble, the home-side bleachers, press box and back-of-house areas torn down, the turf and track ripped up to make room for the next “Castle.” The new place is expected to look like a million bucks. OK,...
Westmoreland County high school soccer notebook: Norwin boys ready to take best shot at Plum
Playing Plum again was on Norwin’s short list of goals, but the Knights are not overthinking their third matchup with the Mustangs. No. 6 seeded Norwin (15-5-3) will visit No. 3 Plum (14-2-2) for a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Plum won the first meeting,...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Playoff berths on the line in Week 9
The WPIAL will release football playoff brackets about 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon, but not before the playoff field is filled out Friday night. Qualifiers from Westmoreland County so far are Penn-Trafford (8-1) in Class 5A, Southmoreland (8-1) in 3A and Jeannette (6-3) in A. Several others are on the bubble....
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 23, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals 5-Mt. Pleasant (15-4) at 4-Avonworth (16-2-1) 7 p.m. Thursday, Lenzner Field, Emsworth Winner plays: Winner of 9-Beaver (14-4)/1-South Park (18-1) in semifinals (date/time/site TBD) Players to watch: Grant Zahrobsky, Mt. Pleasant; Nate Kline, Avonworth Throw-ins: Mt. Pleasant, fresh off its first section title...
Cruise Lamanna’s goal in 2OT lifts Franklin Regional past Chartiers Valley in WPIAL quarters
Returning to the WPIAL boys soccer semifinals was far from easy, even though Franklin Regional got there on Cruise control. Senior forward Cruise Lamanna made a sensational volley on a setup by junior Rory Bayne and scored a golden goal 1 minute, 38 seconds into the second overtime as the...
Norwin boys take care of Woodland Hills, set up showdown with Plum
Norwin will get another shot to finally solve pesky Plum. After a 4-0 first-round win over Woodland Hills on Tuesday night, the sixth-seeded Knights (11-5-3) will play their section rivals — Plum (14-2-2) is the No. 3 seed — for a third time this season in Saturday’s WPIAL Class 4A...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsule for Oct. 22, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A Quarterfinals 6-Chartiers Valley (11-4-1) at 3-Franklin Regional (16-3) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 7-Mars (12-5-2)/2-Bethel Park (13-2-3) in semifinals (date, site TBD) Players to watch: Thomas Bridges, Franklin Regional; Vinny Dipietro, Chartiers Valley Throw-ins: Franklin Regional blanked Montour in...
Mt. Pleasant boys show ‘blond ambition,’ edge Elizabeth Forward in WPIAL 1st round
With players’ and coaches’ hair dyed blond, Mt. Pleasant pushed on in its quest for soccer gold. “That’s what we do at playoff time,” said Vikings coach Floyd Snyder, referring to a hair-coloring tradition that began years ago in the program. The fifth-seeded Vikings kept their heads Monday night to...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 21, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 4A First round 11-Woodland Hills (7-7) at 6-Norwin (10-5-3) 8 p.m. Tuesday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: At 3-Plum (14-2-2) Saturday in quarterfinals Players to watch: Andrew Bingham, Woodland Hills; Ryan Schoemer, Norwin Throw-ins: Woodland Hills returns to the WPIAL playoffs for the...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant grad Rylin Bugosh makes quick impact at W&J
As Rylin Bugosh becomes more comfortable with college soccer and her surroundings at Washington & Jefferson, the soccer ball is finding the back of the net more often. The freshman striker out of Mt. Pleasant scored a goal in the season opener in August and went scoreless in eight of...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Several contenders prepare for state golf tournament
There have only been three PIAA boys golf champions from Westmoreland County in the 87-year history of the state championships. The PIAA finals are set for Oct. 20 at Penn State, and the county will be well represented as several players eye the title. Latrobe senior Jack Sacriponte, senior Max...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 20, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 2A First round 12-Elizabeth Forward (11-7) at 5-Mt. Pleasant (14-4) 6:30 p.m. Monday, Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant Winner plays: Winner of 13-McGuffey (12-6)/4-Avonworth (15-2-1) on Thursday in quarterfinals Players to watch: Aiden Davis, Elizabeth Forward; Tyke Snyder, Mt. Pleasant Throw-ins: Elizabeth Forward is the third-place...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Derry’s Pitzer unleashes inner child after win over Mt. Pleasant
It was youth night at Derry on Friday. After a dominating 33-13 victory by the Trojans against Mt. Pleasant, pint-sized football players and cheerleaders huddled on the tamped-down grass to celebrate at Trojan Stadium. Suddenly, someone cut in to join the fun. A large figure cast a shadow as he...
Michael Hillebrand continues scoring streak for Franklin Regional in playoff win over Montour
Michael Hillebrand has been on an offensive tear since he returned from an ankle injury that cost him four games around midseason. He hadn’t scored before he was sidelined Sept. 11 against Allderdice and sat for two weeks but returned to net a pair of goals Sept. 25 at Latrobe....
Derry executes on both sides of ball for win over Mt. Pleasant
Ask Derry coaches and players what their team’s identity is, and you’ll get different answers. Some say it’s hands in the dirt, ground-and-pound football. Others think the passing game might be underrated and consider the entire unit to be well-balanced. Or maybe it’s just the physical brand of football and...
Westmoreland County soccer playoff preview capsules for Oct. 18, 2025
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A First round 14-Montour (9-8) at 3-Franklin Regional (15-3) 1 p.m. Saturday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 11-Trinity (10-5-1)/6-Chartiers Valley (10-4-1) on Wednesday in quarterfinals Players to watch: Brayden Borris, Montour; Mike Hillebrand, Franklin Regional Throw-ins: Montour took fourth in a tough Section...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: 3 teams 1 win from clinching
Win and you’re in. That is as simple as it gets this week for three local teams looking to clinch WPIAL playoff berths. Many playoff spots will not be decided until next week, but a few Westmoreland County teams can take care of business Friday night. Penn-Trafford (7-1, 3-1) secures...
