Josh Rizzo stories, Page 44
North Allegheny boys ready to dig in on defense
Keith Noftz knows this version of the North Allegheny boys basketball program may take time to grow up. The Tigers don’t return a roster long on varsity experience, but Noftz believes North Allegheny can compete. Starting at the Hempfield Tournament on Dec. 6 against Penn-Trafford, the Tigers will compensate for...
New Shaler wrestling coach ready to take on challenge
Ethan Swope knows his first head coaching opportunity will be more about development than team success. Swope, Shaler Area’s first-year wrestling coach, will take over a Titans roster with 10 wrestlers. Having low numbers will make it difficult to compete in dual meets, which feature matches in 14 weight classes....
Talented veteran Shaler indoor track team sets sights high
Shawn Ryan wants everything to be on the right course for the Shaler Area indoor track team. The Titans have a number of returning state qualifiers pursuing school records and state medals. Shaler will have about 30 athletes competing during the winter season, including a travel roster of about 20....
Shaler notes: Duquesne-bound Cam Mbalo among Shaler athletes making college choices
Four Shaler Area athletes signed national letters of intent last Wednesday. Cam Mbalo, who set the Titans’ record in the triple jump and won the WPIAL Class AAA title last season, signed with Duquesne University. Mbalo, who also qualified for the indoor state championship last season, competed in the New...
Oakland Catholic’s Taylor Cigna commits to Colgate volleyball
Taylor Cigna didn’t expect to hear everything she wanted when she visited Colgate. The 5-foot-9 Oakland Catholic senior didn’t want the coaches there to tell her how great she was. Cigna, a Shaler Township resident, wanted a school and athletic program which would challenge her. When Colgate’s volleyball coaches were...
Pitt men’s basketball brought back to earth with loss to Nicholls State
Jeff Capel doesn’t expect anyone to be lauding the Pitt men’s basketball program. The second-year Panthers coach knows adjustments will be necessary after losing to Nicholls State on Saturday at Petersen Events Center. Pitt looked uneasy on offense and played with a general malaise during a 75-70 loss. Any goodwill...
Shaler runners savor PIAA cross country experience
Shaler Area sophomore runner Tyler Paszkowski was happy to have an opportunity to run in the PIAA Class AAA cross country championships earlier this month in Hershey. For the first-time state qualifier, it was an opportunity for him to take everything in. One thing that stood out was the speed....
Late-season success boosts confidence for Shaler football
Once the Class 5A football playoffs started, things got ugly for the WPIAL’s Northern Conference. While the conference had the most playoff participants, as Fox Chapel snagged the wild card, only Penn Hills remained after the smoke cleared. The other five teams lost by a combined margin of 28.6 points...
North Allegheny girls soccer continues to find success
Facing a team with more experience in the PIAA Class AAA playoffs wasn’t a big issue for the North Allegheny girls soccer program. If the Tigers lined up against any program, they would have approached things the same way. North Allegheny took 85 minutes, but ultimately found the back of...
North Allegheny volleyball shakes off WPIAL title loss, turns focus to states
Seeing a 65-match losing streak end wasn’t ideal for North Allegheny girls volleyball coach Heidi Miller. It wasn’t a crushing blow for the Tigers, either. North Allegheny, which dropped a five-set match to Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL Class AAAA finals, bounced back in the first round of the PIAA tournament...
Shaler runners make impact at postseason cross country meets
Tyler Paszkowski, Dalton Kalbaugh and Samantha Hennen have developed into great examples for Shaler Area cross country coach Justin Eskra. Put time and effort into the sport and future Titans can follow their lead. The trio made a big splash at the WPIAL Class AAA cross country championships, turning in...
Shaler girls volleyball goes down swinging in WPIAL playoffs
The Shaler Area girls volleyball team didn’t concede much ground to Canon-McMillan during the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals last Tuesday night in Canonsburg. While the host and third-seeded Big Macs were able to complete a 3-0 sweep of the sixth-seeded Titans, Canon-McMillan had to work in every set. Shaler lost...
Riverhounds beat Birmingham for club’s 1st playoff win since 2004
Neco Brett’s goal in the 71st minute was one of many indelible moments created by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium. The Riverhounds ended a 15-year drought without a playoff victory in style, crushing 10th-seeded Birmingham Legion, 7-0, in the USL Championship Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Brett, a...
Shaler caught in crowded Northern Conference playoff picture
Keeping track and making sense of the WPIAL’s Class 5A Northern Conference football standings required a lot of extra attention. Other than the two teams at the top, Penn Hills and North Hills, and the one at the bottom, Armstrong, the other five teams have flip-flopped nearly every week. Shaler...
North Allegheny enters girls volleyball playoffs as dangerous as ever
Pointing out a 63-match winning streak for the North Allegheny girls volleyball program somehow feels like underselling the Tigers’ story. The two-time defending PIAA and WPIAL Class AAA champions have labored to stack up victories. When the undefeated, top-seeded Tigers opened the playoffs Oct. 28 against Seneca Valley, they earned...
Unflappable approach carries Shaler volleyball to playoff season
Dealing with the nerves of being in a playoff match didn’t seem to rattle the Shaler Area girls volleyball program. Opening the WPIAL Class AAA tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Penn-Trafford fit with the narrative the Titans have tried to build around the program. “We played a calm, but...
North Allegheny girls soccer reaches new heights with undefeated section season
Knocking down every obstacle on the way to a Section 1-AAAA crown wasn’t a one-year process for the North Allegheny girls soccer program. The Tigers, who wrapped up their first-ever unbeaten section record by beating North Hills 8-1 on Oct. 14 at Newman Stadium, have been working toward this for...
Shaler girls soccer sticks together through difficult season
Sticking together was the most important concept for the Shaler Area girls soccer team this season. Not a lot of things went right for the Titans. When Ashley Venezia scored Oct. 10 in Shaler’s 1-0 win over North Hills at Martorelli Stadium, it was a big lift. Jocelyn Schwartz made...
Shaler boys soccer sets tone with strong finish to season
If everything breaks a certain way, Shaler Area boys soccer coach Adam Hunter could see the program dropping to Class AAA when the WPIAL determines the next two-year enrollment cycle in November. Even if the Titans have to stay up and trade punches with the AAAA heavyweights, Hunter believes how...
North Allegheny’s Walter upholds lofty girls golf standards
Isabella Walter continued the legacy of North Allegheny girls golf program by putting in overtime. Fortunately for the Tigers senior golfer, she was well-equipped for a playoff. Walter won the Class AAA championship Oct. 2 at Diamond Run Golf Course by winning a two-hole playoff with Fox Chapel’s Nina Busch....
Shaler Area girls volleyball finding stride, clinches playoff spot
Developing a more unpredictable offense was the focus for the Shaler Area girls volleyball team. The Titans didn’t have one standout hitter who would carry the offense. Developing a diversified approach took time but led to Shaler putting together a winning streak that culminated in a WPIAL Class 4A playoff...
Shaler football stays in WPIAL playoff race
Shaler Area senior running back Jake Miller appreciates how the Titans handle adversity. While there have been bumps in the road for the Titans, Shaler has found ways to bounce back. Most recently, the Titans rebounded from a Northern Conference loss to Mars by pasting Armstrong, 46-13, on Oct. 4....
Attacking style has North Catholic girls soccer in line for share of section title
Emily Karr wasn’t sure what to expect after a year away from the North Catholic girls soccer program. Karr had an idea of what she wanted the Trojanettes to do when she returned as coach. “I went into the season with the style I like to play,” Karr said. “We...
Fall tournament win provides spark for Shaler softball
Tom Sorce would have liked it if the Shaler Area softball team started the season right after the Battle of the Boulevard Tournament ended last week. The Titans coach was pleased with what he saw from the team at the event hosted by Avonworth. Shaler lost once, a 4-2 decision...
With experience, Shaler hockey team able to add to gameplan
Shaler Area hockey coach Steve Stayduhar enjoyed this offseason much more than the last one. Instead of worrying about how he would would guide a Titans’ roster which lacked numbers or experience, Stayduhar was able to work on more complex subjects. Some of those intricacies showed up in Shaler’s opener,...
