Josh Rizzo stories, Page 2
Fox Chapel runners enthusiastic after productive cross country season
The Fox Chapel cross country program should be more energized going into the indoor track season after having a strong fall. The girls team won its first section title since 2023 and qualified for states as a team. On the boys side, the Foxes won their seventh consecutive section title...
Fox Chapel notebook: Former Foxes soccer star returns to Riveters
Kate Friday will be coming back for a second season with the Pittsburgh Riveters. The team recently announced Friday, a Fox Chapel graduate, will be back to build on the pre-professional team’s success during their first season in the USL-W. Friday, who plays for Florida Gulf Coast University, appeared in...
Fox Chapel girls enjoy championship season, gear up for return to Class 4A
Carlo Prati didn’t want to take the Seneca Valleys and North Alleghenys of the world off of the Fox Chapel girls soccer schedule. The Foxes coach knew that their stay in Class 3A may not be very long. Fox Chapel finished this season 20-2-1, winning its second WPIAL title in...
Shady Side Academy junior reflects on rewarding cross country season
Charlotte Barker chose to come back to cross country as a junior because she wanted to compete for a state title. The Shady Side Academy runner was able to leave a strong first impression, as an individual and with the Bulldogs collectively. “It was my first season, obviously,” Barker said....
Laurel stuns 2-time defending WPIAL champ Fort Cherry in Class A semifinals, ending Matt Sieg’s career
Jack Miles felt good about Laurel’s chances to unseat two-time defending WPIAL Class A champion Fort Cherry all week. The Spartans senior linebacker/running back knew that wasn’t a sentiment shared outside of Lawrence County. Laurel rolled up its sleeves and used its power running game to eliminate Fort Cherry with...
Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer advances to USCAA tournament
Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer coach Mark Duffield didn’t look but could only imagine the heart rate level charted by his fitness watch during the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference championship game. Few things went right for the local Lions before Armstrong graduate Tanner Stockdill scored in overtime to...
Burrell, Freeport girls soccer teams meet again, this time with spot in state final on line
The Burrell and Freeport girls soccer teams challenged some of the best squads in the state in the first two rounds of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs. After both programs collected a pair of wins, the road to the state championship game led back to each other. The Buccaneers and...
Herald notebook: Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel field hockey bow out of state playoffs
The most challenging sports for teams coming out of the WPIAL to compete with teams out east may be field hockey. All three WPIAL champions — Pine-Richland, Fox Chapel and Shady Side Academy — were all shut out in the first round of states. The Foxes lost to Hershey, 2-0....
With patience, determination, Fox Chapel girls march into state playoffs
The Fox Chapel girls soccer team hasn’t had to worry about battling through another version of the WPIAL tournament through the first few rounds of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. That’s exactly how Foxes coach Carlo Prati prefers things to shake out. Fox Chapel knocked off District 10 champion Harbor...
Pair of Fox Chapel players cap season with all-conference honors
The Fox Chapel football program has many markers it would like to hit on its way back to respectability. Foxes coach Dave Leasure was happy to cap the season, where Fox Chapel finished 3-7 overall and 0-5 in the Northeast Conference, with Harran Zureikat and Max Melocchi earning all-conference honors....
Playoff goal still remains for improving Penn Hills boys soccer program
Kevin Truman wanted to find a way to help the Penn Hills boys soccer program find a way back to the WPIAL playoffs. While the Indians’ coach felt like they had made tremendous progress, they couldn’t find enough punch on offense to emerge from Section 1-4A. What Penn Hills hopes...
Shady Side Academy girls focus on team success, win program’s 1st cross country state title
Shady Side Academy girls cross country coach Jeff Perlis talked to Charlotte Barker and Josephine Lenart the night before the PIAA Class A championship race to discuss strategy. Both girls were among the favorites to cross the finish line first. Lenart and Barker had traded wins at meets back and...
Freshman QB sparks Western Beaver past Apollo-Ridge in WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals
Western Beaver freshman Amari Marshall didn’t expect to be a quarterback coming into the preseason. But when the program lined up for its first night WPIAL Class 2A postseason game, Marshall was under the gun and ready to try and help the Golden Beavers make history. No. 2 Western Beaver’s...
Cohesive, mature Apollo-Ridge ready to challenge No. 2 Western Beaver in quarterfinals
Apollo-Ridge lineman Connor Bogdanski and his teammate sent a signal in early August that they were ready to show off everything they had learned during a difficult 2024 season. The Vikings won a big-man challenge event against competitors from Fox Chapel and Knoch. After Apollo-Ridge finished with one win last...
Deer Lakes resets after WPIAL title, beats Harbor Creek in PIAA 1st round
Coming back down from the high of winning the WPIAL Class 2A championship was a weird feeling for Deer Lakes keeper Wesley Boyle. The Lancers are excited to pursue a state championship, but they understand nothing about moving on in the PIAA playoffs is easy. Peyton Kushon headed in a...
Led by stellar senior class, Beaver sweeps Oakland Catholic for WPIAL 3A volleyball crown
Susan Pollins has spent nine years with the seniors on the Beaver girls volleyball team. The Bobcats coach believes any group coming behind them will have a high hurdle to clear to match what they’ve accomplished. Beaver, the No. 2 seed, swept Oakland Catholic 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 27-25) in the...
No. 11-seeded Avonworth caps playoff run with WPIAL Class 2A volleyball championship
Julia Cernich had enough of the five-set wars. If No. 11 seed Avonworth was going to win its first WPIAL Class 2A girls volleyball title Saturday against top-seeded Hopewell, the Antelopes wanted to do so in tidy fashion in the fourth set. Avonworth had a dream start, rolling off the...
Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy runners find stride at WPIAL cross country meet
Fox Chapel girls cross country coach Tom Moul hoped the Foxes would make steady improvement throughout the season. Had you asked him if the team would reach the PIAA Class 3A championships as a team, Moul wouldn’t have necessarily anticipated that. During the WPIAL Class 3A championships at White Oak...
Neshannock uses fast start, tough defense to bounce Leechburg in WPIAL 1st round
Neshannock quarterback Jino Mozzocio felt the Lancers’ football season hasn’t been quite to his liking so far. He wanted to start writing a different story against Leechburg during a WPIAL Class A semifinal Friday at Veterans Memorial Field. No. 9 Neshannock took that first step by blasting the Blue Devils,...
In WPIAL final, Fox Chapel seeks 3rd win of season vs. Seneca Valley
Fox Chapel boys soccer coach Erik Ingram doesn’t always get bogged down by tactics when the Foxes play section rival Seneca Valley. Many times, Ingram gets caught up in being a spectator. Ingram appreciates competing against the Raiders because he admires the program they’ve built. Seneca Valley will be the...
Deer Lakes battles past Beaver to win 3rd WPIAL boys soccer championship
Zane Spence cradled the WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship trophy Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium, ignoring the steady rain that was streaming down. The Deer Lakes senior defender was too proud continuing a family and program tradition to be brought down by the weather. Spence headed in a shot...
Fox Chapel ousts Plum to keep WPIAL repeat bid alive
The Fox Chapel boys soccer team prides itself on having variety in its attack. The Foxes leaned on that versatility to put themselves in position to win a seventh WPIAL title. The Foxes produced goals two minutes apart in the first half during a 2-0 win over Plum in a...
Deer Lakes boys carry confidence into WPIAL Class 2A final against Beaver
Deer Lakes boys soccer team forward Collin Rodgers has a good feeling about the team going into the WPIAL Class 2A final. The Lancers have demonstrated in the playoffs that they are comfortable when things aren’t going their way. Sixth-seeded Deer Lakes trailed No. 2 Quaker Valley at halftime in...
Deer Lakes uses quick-strike offense to down Quaker Valley in clash of elite 2A programs
The Deer Lakes boys soccer program already has built the foundation of its burgeoning blue blood reputation. The Lancers added another story on top of it during a 2-1 WPIAL Class 2A semifinal win over Quaker Valley on Monday at Fridley Field. Collin Rodgers scored twice in the first 10...
Penn Hills middle school swim team reaching new heights
Mark Spinola was happy to say every swimmer who competed at the middle school championships saw a significant drop in their times. The Penn Hills middle school swim coach is pleased the program is trending in the right direction. “The team has come a long way,” said Spinola, who has...
