Greg Macafee stories

Mars senior Max Davis has attempted several bicycle kicks during his high school career. He’s come close a few times but never put the ball in the back of the net. Until Saturday. With his team trailing by a goal in its WPIAL Class 3A first-round matchup against No. 10...

For the first time in 21 years, the Highlands boys soccer team is heading to the WPIAL playoffs. The Golden Rams received the No. 15 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs Wednesday and will travel to Leetsdale to take on No. 2 Quaker Valley at 6:30 p.m. Monday. “We’re...

As the boys soccer regular season inches toward the end, teams around the Alle-Kiski Valley are preparing for their postseason run or looking to secure their spot in the WPIAL playoffs. Four teams — Plum, Fox Chapel, Deer Lakes and Springdale — have qualified for the postseason. Plum (14-2-1, 8-0-1)...

The Deer Lakes boys soccer team entered the 2025 season with a talented senior class that contributed to its success over the past three years, and, through their first 11 games, that experience showed. The Lancers (10-3-1, 8-1-1) won nine of those games with their only two losses coming against...

Heading into the 2025 season, Springdale boys soccer coach Mario Liberati and the Dynamos had some work to do. A year after going 14-5 and suffering a shootout loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, the Dynamos were tasked with replacing 10 seniors...

The Pirates couldn’t secure a three-game sweep of the Reds on Thursday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati but did clinch their first 90-loss season since back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2021-22. A two-run fifth inning by the Reds was too much for the Pirates to overcome as they dropped...

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes missed out on earning his 11th win of the season Wednesday night in Cincinnati at the Great American Ball Park, but the Pirates did continue to spoil the Reds’ playoff hopes. After Skenes threw six shutout innings for his 14th outing of the season without...

Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Hunter Barco took a few steps out of the bullpen at the Great American Ball Park on Tuesday and took the opportunity to look around. “I was like, ‘Whoa, all right. We’re here,’” Barco said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. Barco, who is the Pirates’ fourth-ranked...

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo delivered his longest outing of the season Thursday afternoon at Camden Yards in Baltimore, but the Orioles made a late charge to hand the Pirates their sixth straight loss 3-2. Oviedo struggled through the first two innings of his sixth start, allowing two earned runs on...

Another dominant start from Paul Skenes was wasted Wednesday night at Camden Yards in Baltimore as the Pirates lost to the Orioles in extra innings for the second straight night, 2-1. With the bases loaded in the 10th inning, Orioles right fielder Dylan Beavers squared up a 3-2 fastball on...

Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows have shown the Pirates what they are capable of during their rookie seasons. The two right-handers have produced ERAs of 2.47 and 3.99, respectively, while taking the ball in a multitude of situations. Burrows, who was called up April 24, has started 17 games and...

At the end of a tightly contested, 11-inning affair, Tuesday night’s game between the Pirates and Orioles at Camden Yards was decided by a crew chief challenge. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th, Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo drove home the game-winning run with a pop fly...

At this point in the season, teams around the WPIAL are still developing their “brand,” or the style of soccer that allows them to play at their highest level when the games matter most. That often involves moving players around, trying new things, focusing on fundamentals and getting comfortable with...

Coach Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt Panthers won’t be taking Duquesne lightly when the two square off at noon Saturday at Acrisure Stadium in the first City Game since 1939, but they are still looking to answer a few questions. During his final news conference of the week Thursday, Narduzzi...

Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler is checking off boxes and he’s doing it quickly. Chandler, the top pitching prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, picked up his first major-league win Wednesday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis as the Pirates held off the Cardinals to earn a 2-1 win,...

The Pirates offense scored early and often Tuesday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, collecting eight hits in the first three innings, including a Henry Davis home run, to cruise to an 8-3 win over the Cardinals. Jared Triolo extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single...

No lead was safe Monday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Pirates and Cardinals each gave up multi-run leads in the series opener of their four-game set, but the Cardinals got the last laugh as first baseman Alec Burleson connected on a 1-1 slider from Pittsburgh reliever Dennis...

As the Pittsburgh Pirates inch toward September, Jared Triolo is making the most of his opportunities on the field. Since the July 31 trade deadline, Triolo has seen an uptick in playing time to prove he could be a viable option for the team’s future. In 18 games, he’s slashed...

Last season didn’t go as planned for the Brashear football team, but there’s excitement surrounding the program heading into the 2025 season. After a year in which they battled with low numbers and took just 24 players to their Week Zero matchup against Cornell, coach Andrew Moore and the Bulls...

Allderdice’s players and coaches were left with a bad taste in their mouths after the 2024 season. The Dragons started 4-1, earning wins over Fox Chapel, Perry Traditional Academy, Uniontown and Brashear by a combined score of 115-24 while pitching two shutouts. Their only loss in that stretch came against...

The Carrick football team is looking to build off its best season in quite some time, but the Raiders will have to address some holes left by a large and talented senior class. The Raiders won three games last season, beating Brashear and Brownsville by a combined score of 80-2...

The Westinghouse Bulldogs may have lost starting quarterback Khalil Green and a talented senior class that helped them capture their 40th City League title and fifth in the past six seasons, but don’t expect them to take a step backward. The Bulldogs have reloaded and are preparing to put together...

The University Prep Panthers felt like they were on the verge of accomplishing something special a year ago. They put together a 4-6 overall record and went 3-1 in City League play. However, an unfortunate incident in their final regular season game against Westinghouse, which resulted in several University Prep...

Perry Traditional Academy didn’t have the success it would’ve liked last season, but the Commodores are ready to build on what they did accomplish. Perry (1-6, 1-3) was shut out in two of its first three games and scored just six points. In their final three games, the Commodores scored...

Over the last seven years, the Deer Lakes boys soccer program has found a way to insert itself into the WPIAL championship conversation on an annual basis. First, it was the trio of Michael Sullivan, Colton Spence and Devin Murray — who’s now an assistant coach with the program —...