Jerin Steele stories, Page 20
A year after covid cancellation, Riverhounds get another crack at Birmingham
Sometimes the soccer gods give a second opportunity. A year after having to bow out of the USL Championship playoffs due to covid cases within the team, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have the exact same matchup in the first round at Birmingham Legion FC they would’ve had last season. The match...
Kiski Area battle-tested heading into WPIAL boys soccer playoffs
Kiski Area boys soccer coach Sean Arnold knew his team had the experience and talent to have a special fall. The one unknown was how his group would handle an adverse situation. He got his answer Sept. 29 in a game against defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champ Hampton....
Pine-Richland boys soccer sees hard work rewarded with playoff berth
After a long road, the Pine-Richland boys soccer team got its moment. With a 3-0 win over North Hills on Oct. 11, the Rams clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2018. It’s been a four-year effort for Rams coach Jordan Wiegand and his team, and it was...
Pine-Richland notebook: Senior golfer makes states
With an 11th-place finish at the WPIAL Class 3A boys golf championship, Pine-Richland senior Blaise Masciantonio qualified for the state tournament. The PIAA Class 3A championships were scheduled for Oct. 17-18 at Penn State’s White Course in State College. Masciantonio is the first Rams golfer to qualify for states since...
Riverhounds give ‘best performance’ in topping Oakland; playoffs up next
Over the last month, Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley felt his team was trending in the right direction even if the results hadn’t necessarily showed it. Saturday night, the Hounds finally got tangible evidence to prove their progress. Toby Sims, Russell Cicerone and Kenardo Forbes scored, and the Hounds topped...
East Allegheny denies Deer Lakes chance to clinch playoff spot with runaway win
A large crowd lined the streets for the annual homecoming parade and then filed into Lancer Stadium hoping to watch the Deer Lakes football team clinch a playoff berth for the third time in program history. But East Allegheny and its duo of Michael Cahill and Amir Rollins had other...
Burrell junior shares love of hockey with Kenyan kids on mission trip to Africa
John Lukac has a burning passion for hockey and an equal desire to help people. He recently got the chance to incorporate both on a special journey that he will remember for a lifetime. Lukac, a junior at Burrell, volunteered for a 12-day mission to Kenya last month with the...
Pine-Richland notebook: After big win, girls soccer team in thick of playoff race
The Pine-Richland girls soccer team finds itself in an intense playoff race in Section 1-4A and scored a big win on Oct. 3 that will help its cause. The Rams defeated Fox Chapel, 1-0, in overtime on a game-winning goal by St. John’s recruit Stephanie Cornelius. The goal was assisted...
Revamped Pine-Richland hockey roster looks to get up to speed
When last season ended, the Pine-Richland hockey team said goodbye to its top four point-getters in standout forwards Alex Erlain, Carson Kalpakis and Michael Megine and defenseman Esai Morse. That leaves the Rams with some scoring to replace, but they have some returners and new faces looking to make their...
Haden Sierocky’s big plays help Ligonier Valley defeat Burrell
Haden Sierocky’s teammates have given him the nickname “Mr. Big Play.” He certainly lived up to it Friday night. Sierocky rushed for two scores, caught a touchdown pass, had a long kickoff return to start the second half and made a crucial interception in the end zone in the fourth...
Ryan Palmieri boosts Pine-Richland with whatever-it-takes attitude
Ryan Palmieri’s mindset is doing everything he can to help the team win. That’s a goal shared by many high school football players, but Palmieri’s actions throughout his career at Pine-Richland show that he is committed to do anything he’s asked to do. Last year, when Cole Boyd went down...
Pine-Richland’s Jessica Albertson presses fast forward on field hockey career
Four years ago, Jessica Albertson found her passion with field hockey. Now she’s found her position on the field. Albertson moved from midfield to forward for Pine-Richland this season and has been filling up the cage. She’s had a five-goal game, a four-goal game and a hat trick. It’s been...
Riverhounds concede another late goal as home winless streak extends to 6
For the majority of Bob Lilley’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, three points at home was the norm. Highmark Stadium was a fortress in a sense, but lately there have been cracks, and it’s likely going to cost them a home playoff game. The Hounds conceded a late goal for...
Key goal-line stand highlights Avonworth’s hard-fought win over West Mifflin
It wasn’t a pretty start for Avonworth, but it turned into a beautiful ending. After getting zero points on three trips into the red zone in the first half and trailing late into the third quarter, the Antelopes were able to put a pair of drives together for touchdowns and...
Pine-Richland sophomore Kendall Kirkland finds success in singles tennis
Kendall Kirkland played second doubles for Pine-Richland as a freshman, and after getting a feel for varsity tennis she spent the offseason trying to improve her game. Her goal was to become a singles player, and the work she put in paid off. Not only did she reach her goal,...
Pine-Richland golfer makes clutch putt to qualify for WPIALs, erase bad memory
Toby Kitay stood over a 10-foot putt needing to sink it to qualify for the WPIAL tournament. It was an all too familiar feeling for the Pine-Richland senior. “My sophomore year I was in the same situation and missed a 5-foot putt,” Kitay said. This time he got his revenge....
Riverhounds yield late goal, settle for disappointing draw at home
For 89 minutes, it looked as if the Pittsburgh Riverhounds were going to secure three important points. Instead, they were left with another disappointing home draw against a bottom-of-the-table team. Milan Iloski scored in the 90th minute for Orange County for the tying goal in a 1-1 draw Saturday night...
Seneca Valley excels on offense, defense to defeat Mt. Lebanon
It was the performance Seneca Valley coach Ron Bustchle has been waiting for. A havoc-wreaking defense that forced six turnovers and an offense that took advantage of its opportunities combined for a dominant performance for the Raiders in a 24-6 win at Mt. Lebanon on Friday night in a clash...
Buzzer-beating goal highlights strong start for Deer Lakes boys soccer
For a high school athlete who plays both soccer and basketball the first buzzer-beater typically comes on the hardwood. For Nate Litrun, however, his first one came on the pitch. Litrun scored in the waning seconds of double overtime to propel Deer Lakes to a 1-0 win over Shady Side...
Pine-Richland girls volleyball raises funds, awareness during ‘Spike Out Cancer’ event
Angela Seman coached nine individuals affected by cancer. Kaili Doctor played for her aunt and grandfather, who both passed away from cancer. Those are just two anecdotes of many between the Pine-Richland and North Allegheny girls volleyball programs of knowing someone affected by a disease that has impacted so many...
Team captains guide Pine-Richland boys soccer toward playoff berth
In seventh grade, Ben Rishel took a year off from playing for the Pine-Richland middle school boys soccer team, but he caught wind of a new player who was turning heads. “I heard through the grapevine of some amazing player that had just moved in from Virginia,” Rishel said. That...
Highlands stifles North Catholic, ends Trojans’ conference winning streak
All week, Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski told his team the Greater Allegheny Conference opener with North Catholic was a statement game. Statement made. The Golden Rams were dominant on defense and made key plays on offense on their way to a 17-7 win over the Trojans on Friday night at...
Treesdale, Westwood golf teams capture regional titles
For the second year in a row, a group of local youth golfers made their mark on a national stage. The 17U Northern golf team from Treesdale Golf Club in Gibsonia won the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League 17U Regional Championship over Labor Day weekend at Milham Park Golf...
Returning runners step into key roles for Pine-Richland cross country team
The Pine-Richland girls cross country team graduated two runners who are now competing at NCAA Division I schools, but there’s still a wealth of talent in the program. There’s four returning varsity runners and some youth with good resumes. The two runners who graduated are Meredith Price (Utah State) and...
Riverhounds play Louisville to scoreless draw, gain ground in race for home playoff game
Not all draws are equal. After a pair of disappointing draws to teams at the bottom of the table in their previous two home games, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds faced off against the top team in the Eastern Conference, Louisville City, and went toe-to-toe with them. The only thing they didn’t...
