Bill Beckner stories, Page 98
Greensburg Central Catholic girls have shot at playoff revenge
Another day, another rematch for Greensburg Central Catholic in the state soccer playoffs. After taking down section opponent Springdale, 3-1, in Saturday’s PIAA quarterfinals, GCC (15-5) will get another shot at WPIAL champion Freedom (19-4) in the Class A semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway’s Pete Antimarino Stadium in...
Sites set for PIAA soccer semifinals; 7 WPIAL teams still in hunt for state title
Seven teams from the WPIAL remain in the hunt for state soccer titles. They will continue postseason runs Tuesday in the PIAA semifinals. The most notable girls matchup for local fans is a WPIAL finals rematch between Moon (22-0) and Mars (19-1). The teams will play at 6:30 p.m. at...
Westmoreland High School Athletes of the Week: Week ending Nov. 13, 2022
Morgan Gesinski School: Mt. Pleasant Year: Freshman Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: With her team clinging to a one-goal lead, Gesinski was fouled at the top of the box and calmly sank the penalty kick to give Mt. Pleasant some breathing room on the way to a 2-0 victory over...
Ligonier Valley has long, strange trip to WPIAL football quarterfinals
Ligonier Valley football players sat quietly in the pitch black of a locker room with no power Friday night at Reeves Field on the campus of Geneva College. “When it’s game time, I take all their cell phones,” Rams coach Roger Beitel said. “So they were sitting in the dark...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls top Springdale, reach PIAA semis for 4th straight year
An early deficit might dampen a team’s spirits in the state soccer playoffs. It incentivized Greensburg Central Catholic on Saturday against rival Springdale. The Centurions’ play picked up. Scoring opportunities opened. And they chased down their reward: a fourth consecutive trip to the semifinals. Sophomore Riley Kerr scored two goals,...
Franklin Regional notebook: Ex-Panthers make mark in college soccer
Colleges have a soccer pipeline going to Franklin Regional, and the recruits are producing at the next level. Sophomore Blake Cooper has been one of the top offensive threats in the AMCC for Penn State Behrend. The midfielder had a team-best 10 goals and six assists for 26 points through...
Norwin notebook: Defender makes all-WPIAL list
Girls soccer talent is bubbling over in Westmoreland County, as evidenced by postseason playoff runs, career scoring milestones and Division I commitments. The proof also lies in the All-WPIAL list, which was released last week. Norwin senior Reagan Casper was one of 17 defenders to make the list. Mt. Pleasant,...
Beaver Falls shuts out Ligonier Valley in WPIAL quarters
Tasked with running a hurry-up offense, the likes of which they had never seen before, Ligonier Valley and Beaver Falls had to pack up and move their WPIAL Class 2A football game to another site Friday night shortly after warm-ups when a blown transformer caused a power outage at Geneva...
Beaver Falls-Ligonier Valley game delayed by power outage, moved to Blackhawk
The WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal football playoff game between Ligonier Valley and Beaver Falls has been moved from Geneva College to Blackhawk High School. Kickoff was delayed after a tree fell into a transformer and caused a power outage at Geneva. With power not set to come on until after...
Westmoreland PIAA girls soccer playoff capsules: Games for Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022
Today’s games Class 2A Quarterfinals Mt. Pleasant (20-2) vs. Fort LeBoeuf (15-1-2) Noon, Wright Field at Newman Stadium, North Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of 9-1 Clearfield (21-1)/10-2 General McLane (14-5-1) Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) District finish: Mt. Pleasant 7-2; Fort LeBoeuf 10-1 First round: Mt. Pleasant 2, Bedford...
Alle-Kiski Valley soccer playoff preview: Game of Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022
Today’s game Class A PIAA quarterfinals Greensburg C.C. (14-5) vs. Springdale (17-4) Noon, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 9-1 Karns City (18-4)/7-1 Freedom (18-4) Tuesday in semifinals (time, site TBD) District finish: Greensburg Central Catholic 7-3; Springdale 7-2 First round: Greensburg Central Catholic 3, Windber 2...
Boys All-WPIAL soccer teams, players, coaches of year announced
The Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association announced its All-WPIAL lists for each classification. Here are this year’s selections, along with players and coaches of the year: Class 4A Anthony Bellino, Sr., F, Canon-McMillan Cadan Bennett, Jr., GK, Pine-Richland John Paul Brach, Sr., F, Fox Chapel Will Bruno, Sr., F, Seneca...
Veteran trio corrals talented young Mt. Pleasant team
With only two seniors in the starting 11, one might think Mt. Pleasant lacks veteran leadership. That this team is just a bunch of whiz kids running around aimlessly. But that could not be farther from the truth for the Vikings (20-2), who sit two wins away from a trip...
Greensburg C.C. girls soccer gets rival Springdale at Norwin stadium, where Centurions are 9-0 since 2014
As if playing Springdale for a third time this season wasn’t enough to pique their interest, the site for Saturday’s PIAA Class A girls soccer quarterfinal has Greensburg Central Catholic and coach Kara Batey beaming. The WPIAL section rivals will play at Norwin Knights Stadium in North Huntingdon. “I can’t...
Fralic Award finalists to be announced Monday
Finalists for the fourth Bill Fralic Award will be announced Monday at a special press conference. For the first time, the announcement will come from the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center, where William P. Fralic Foundation organizers and WPIAL officials will unveil the top candidates for...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Sophomore QB sparks Latrobe
When Ron Prady took over the Latrobe football program, he already knew many of the players because he teaches in the district. One was John Wetzel, his sophomore quarterback. “We have a lot of faith in Johnny,” Prady said. “We trust him to run the offense. He can take off,...
Latrobe lineman Calabrace wins ‘NFL Way to Play Award’ for excellent technique
Latrobe senior lineman Daniel Calabrace was the NFL Way to Play Award recipient for Week 8. Calabrace’s defensive technique, particularly one play where he rips through a double-team and wraps up a running back near the line of scrimmage against Trinity, was lauded by Playfootball.nfl.com. NFL analyst Brian “Baldy” Baldinger...
After making statement with playoff win, Ligonier Valley runs into powerful Beaver Falls
Ligonier Valley celebrated its first WPIAL playoff win last Friday night — on the bus ride home. It was loud. It was a good time. The bus was rocking as it pulled out of the parking lot at Offutt Field in Greensburg and made its way eastbound on Route 30....
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer tops Bedford to earn 1st PIAA win in school history
JOHNSTOWN — Maddie Barrick could see the ball come to her. She could see the ball go into the net. And she could see her team celebrate its first-ever win in the state playoffs. About a month ago, the Mt. Pleasant sophomore midfielder could barely see at all. She was...
Norwin’s JJ Matijevic to get ring after Astros’ World Series win
The World Series had a nice ring to it for JJ Matijevic. The former Norwin star who had multiple call-ups from Triple-A to the major leagues this season, was a member of the World Champion Houston Astros’ taxi squad. That meant he was in the building during home games and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: UPG women’s soccer wins AMCC title
Scoring on a trio of set pieces, the Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer team became conference champions for the second time in three years. UPG defeated Penn State Behrend in overtime, 3-2, to claim the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title. The Bobcats (15-3-1, 7-0) receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division...
Westmoreland PIAA soccer preview capsules: Games on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022
Class 3A First round Latrobe (12-4-2) at Moon (20-0) 7 p.m. Tuesday, Moon Stadium, Moon Winner plays: Winner of Warren (9-9)/Plum (17-2) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) District seeds: Latrobe 7-4; Moon 7-1 Last year’s PIAA finish: Latrobe DNQ; Moon Class 4A champion Throw-ins: Latrobe will continue its historic...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Franklin Regional soccer alums shine at next level
Colleges have a soccer pipeline going to Franklin Regional and the recruits are producing at the next level. Sophomore Blake Cooper has been one of the top offensive threats in the AMCC for Penn State Behrend. The midfielder had a team-best 10 goals and six assists for 26 points through...
PIAA announces state soccer playoff pairings
The PIAA announced opening-round pairings, times and sites for the state soccer playoffs, which are set to begin Tuesday. The matchups involving WPIAL teams are as follows: Boys First round Class 4A 3-4 Warwick (11-7-2) at 7-1 Pine-Richland (15-4-1), 5:30 p.m. 7-2 Seneca Valley (18-1-1) at 6-1 State College, 6...
Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe girls soccer enter territory very familiar to Greensburg CC: PIAAs
For one local girls soccer team, the PIAA playoffs are old hat. For two others, the experience is new. Perennial state qualifier Greensburg Central Catholic (Class A) will join newcomers Mt. Pleasant (2A) and Latrobe (3A) in the PIAA playoffs beginning Tuesday with first-round games. All three teams will be...
