Ted Sarneso stories, Page 8
Franklin Regional zeroes in on best plan to try to upset top-seeded Pine-Richland
When asked what his team needs to do to have success against top-seeded Pine-Richland on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, Franklin Regional coach Luke Getsy was clear and direct. “We have to be able to control the ball to keep their offense off the...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Plum’s Rylan Schoonover
For Plum hockey coach Jon Gratton, it is nice to have a calming influence for a team that has struggled out of the gate the past couple of seasons. Last year, the Mustangs started 2-4 before rallying to make the Penguins Cup playoffs, and this year, they have gotten off...
Clutch goal helps Pine-Richland get past Mt. Lebanon for 6th straight WPIAL field hockey title
The WPIAL Class 3A field hockey title game was a tale of two halves for both No. 2 seed Mt. Lebanon and top seed Pine-Richland on Saturday. In the first half, chances were even between the squads as both goalkeepers did outstanding jobs to thwart any second or third opportunities...
Shady Side Academy earns 2nd straight WPIAL Class A field hockey championship
When field hockey season started for Shady Side Academy coach Elizabeth Patterson, she knew she would have five returning players from the team’s 2023 championship winning squad. How the rest of the roster would fill out remained a mystery. “Last year we had lower numbers, one or two subs, so...
Suffocating defense powers Peters Township to WPIAL Class 2A field hockey title
Peters Township’s defense learned its lesson from the last time the Indians played Fox Chapel. On Oct. 7, the Foxes squeaked out a 1-0 win off a breakaway goal. “They had one or two breakaways, and they executed them well,” Indians senior forward Serafina Forlini said. Peters Township was determined...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Springdale’s Carissa Walsh, Fox Chapel’s Carson Krushansky
Carissa Walsh School: Springdale Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Walsh had two goals within six minutes to propel Springdale past Winchester Thurston in the WPIAL Class A title match Thursday. The win gave Springdale its first WPIAL championship since 2009, when the school won the Class 2A title...
Peters Township prevails in penalty kicks to beat Seneca Valley for WPIAL Class 4A crown
Peters Township sophomore defender Cailin Martin didn’t score a goal in the regular season, but she delivered two huge goals for the Indians in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. On Monday, Martin scored the golden goal against North Allegheny in the semifinals to send top-seeded Peters Township to the Class...
Springdale surges past Winchester Thurston to win 1st WPIAL soccer title in 15 years
How fitting that on Halloween night, it was the team clad in orange and black that earned the victory and its first WPIAL championship in 15 years? Top-seeded Springdale scored three goals in six minutes to break a second-half tie and defeat No. 6 Winchester Thurston, 5-3, in the WPIAL...
Springdale brings potent, balanced attack to Class A girls soccer final
Coming into this year’s playoffs, there were only four girls soccer teams across the WPIAL who had more than 90 goals for and fewer than 20 against: South Fayette in Class 3A, South Park and Mt. Pleasant in Class 2A and Springdale in Class A. Out of those four, only...
Quaker Valley battles past Southmoreland to advance to Class 2A volleyball finals
On the surface, the WPIAL Class 2A semifinal between top-seeded Quaker Valley and No. 5 Southmoreland appeared to be a battle throughout. However, neither coach was happy with how their team played. “We just need more energy on the court,” said Southmoreland coach Michelle Pergar. “I think that’s something we...
Franklin Regional advances to 3A boys soccer championship with 2-1 win over Mars
Franklin Regional boys soccer coach Nick White admitted his team came out in its WPIAL Class 3A semifinal matchup with Mars with a little bit of nerves. Three minutes in, his team would settle in after an absolute beauty of a diving save by senior goalkeeper Noah Walker. “Noah is...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Springdale’s Brooke Taliani
Brooke Taliani’s high school soccer career did not get off to the best of starts. As a freshman, she missed most of the season after having knee surgery. Then, after she recovered, she twisted both of her ankles. In her sophomore year, Taliani struggled to come back from those injuries,...
Chartiers Valley slugger Lily Duffill commits to No. 1 college choice, Penn State
Chartiers Valley junior Lily Duffill always had the goal of playing Division I softball. It’s an added bonus that she will get to do so at her No. 1 school. The catcher announced earlier this month that she would be continuing her academic and athletic career at Penn State. “They...
After undefeated season, Chartiers Valley hockey still has unfinished business
Anyone affiliated with the Chartiers Valley hockey team will tell you they expected to improve in 2023-24 after winning only six games the prior season. No one, however, expected the season to unfold the way it did. “We were a lot deeper, played a lot of young guys,” said coach...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Riverview’s Hannah Hudack, Deer Lakes’ Collin Rodgers
Hannah Hudack School: Riverview Class: Sophomore Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Hudack scored the game-winning goal with under 12 minutes left to go in No. 10 Riverview’s WPIAL Class A first-round upset win against No. 7 Waynesburg on Tuesday night. What was your reaction to scoring the game-winning goal on...
Deer Lakes cruises past Burrell, ties school record for most wins in a season
Deer Lakes already had clinched a playoff berth before its game against Burrell began Friday. The only question that remained was where the Lancers would finish in the conference. The Lancers’ victory, coupled with Imani Christian’s win over Freeport, gave them second place in the Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference....
Westinghouse, Allderdice to collide again with City League championship on the line
There will be no surprises when Allderdice (5-4) and Westinghouse (7-1) meet in the City League championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Cupples Stadium. The schools have faced each other a lot over the last few years. It will be the third time in four years they have met...
Deer Lakes boys shut out North Catholic again, advance to WPIAL semifinals
It’s always tough beating a team three times in a season. But the Deer Lakes boys soccer team did it against North Catholic on Thursday with a WPIAL Class 2A semifinals berth on the line. The third-seeded Lancers beat the sixth-seeded Trojans, 3-0, at Lancer Stadium in West Deer. Earlier...
Fox Chapel ends field hockey reign of 8-time defending WPIAL champ Penn-Trafford
With four minutes to go in a tense tie game, Fox Chapel sophomore forward Emma Srodes brought the ball through the Penn-Trafford zone on a change of possession and fired a shot from 10 yards. “We’ve been practicing that shot a lot in practice, the shot when I take the...
Mt. Pleasant girls roll past McGuffey in soccer playoffs, get rematch with Burrell
When the final horn sounded on the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer victory over McGuffey on Tuesday night, there wasn’t much in the way of celebration from the Vikings bench. The players had the look of determination, that this win was just a box checked on their journey to the WPIAL...
Deer Lakes settles in after ‘nervous’ first half, shuts out Hopewell in boys soccer playoffs
For three consecutive years, Deer Lakes and Hopewell have faced each other in the first round of the WPIAL boys soccer playoffs, with each team taking a victory. In the third rendition Monday night at Lancer Stadium in West Deer, the No. 3 Lancers (16-2-1) shut out No. 14 Hopewell...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Freeport’s Ben Brestensky
Ben Brestensky is a young man of few words. When asked about the Freeport boys cross country team winning the title at the Bald Eagle Invitational at White Oak Park on Oct. 5, the senior gave a very short answer: “It felt really good to win.” Even though he’s a...
A-K Valley high school athletes of the week: Week ending Oct. 20, 2024
Kate Giannetta School: St. Joseph Class: Junior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Giannetta, a setter for the Spartans, produced 17 kills and had nine aces in her team’s win over Riverview on Tuesday. She followed that performance with 12 kills and five aces on Thursday in a victory against Apollo-Ridge....
Freeport football team clinches playoff spot, stomps East Allegheny
Freeport knew what was on the line Friday against East Allegheny Friday night. Win, and it would be in the playoffs. Lose, and the picture would get muddy. From the jump, the Yellowjackets were determined to make it to the playoffs for a 34th time after missing out on the...
Mt. Lebanon wins 15th WPIAL girls tennis team title, North Catholic earns 1st
For the second time in three years, the Class 3A WPIAL girls tennis team championship came down to the match involving Mt. Lebanon junior Michelle Yang. Just like 2022, Yang came through, although in different circumstances, to give the top-seeded Blue Devils a 3-2 win over defending champion and No....
