High School category, Page 201
Highlands dominates short-handed Southmoreland in 1st round
A football playoff victory and an eight-win season have eluded Southmoreland for years. Against Highlands in Friday’s WPIAL Class 3A first-round playoff game, the Scotties were impacted by a variety of maladies. Southmoreland had eight players inactive for illness, injury or ineligibility. Quarterback Anthony Smith was cleared from concussion protocol,...
WPIAL singles champ, 2 doubles teams move into state tennis semifinals
The WPIAL Class 2A singles champion and two pairs of district doubles champs are two wins away from a state title. Gabriella Dusi of Belle Vernon and the teams of Jackie Tang and Michelle Yang of Mt. Lebanon and Kirsten Close and Avery Allan of Quaker Valley won two matches...
Top-seeded Moon expects to get all it can handle from underdog Franklin Regional in 3A boys soccer final
Franklin Regional might be the bottom dog in this matchup, but it is far from moonstruck. The Panthers are beaming with confidence, yes. But they also are trying not to peek at Moon’s undefeated record, its bevvy of talent or its goals-against average. Top-seeded Moon is 21-0 and will look...
Fox Chapel, South Fayette both vying to defend WPIAL girls soccer titles
When the Fox Chapel and South Fayette girls soccer teams meet for the WPIAL Class 3A championship Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium, a back-to-back champion is guaranteed to be crowned. The Foxes (18-2-1) made a magical run last year as the No. 6 seed in the Class 4A bracket and...
No. 9 Burrell looks to cap run of upsets with 1st WPIAL girls soccer title
The Burrell girls soccer team made history Tuesday with its dramatic, down-to-the-wire WPIAL Class 2A semifinal victory over South Park at North Allegheny. The 3-2 win put the ninth-seeded Bucs in the WPIAL title game for the first time in program history. Burrell (14-5-1) has the chance to add on...
WPSCA announces all-state boys soccer selections
Thirteen players from the WPIAL were named to the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list. The selections include: • Roman Agostoni, Sr., MF, Latrobe • Danny Battista, South Park • Milo Chiu, Sr., MF, Fox Chapel • Aedan Costa, Sr., MF, Moon • Nathan Katari, Sr., MF, North Allegheny...
WPIAL girls volleyball championship preview: North Allegheny, Beaver look to defend titles
Four champions will be crowned Saturday at the 2024 WPIAL girls volleyball championships at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. Below is a look at the teams competing. Check out a feature on the Class A matchup between Frazier and Greensburg Central Catholic here. Class 4A 1-North Allegheny (16-1) vs. 3-North Catholic...
2024 WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship breakdown: South Park vs. Avonworth
WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship 1-South Park (19-1-1) vs. 2-Avonworth (17-2-2) 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Highmark Stadium Tickets: $10 general admission Coaches: Jon Cantwell, South Park; Tom Angell, Avonworth Players to watch: Danny Battista, South Park; Rowan Carmichael, Avonworth WPIAL titles: South Park 4 (2005, ‘06, ‘14, ‘23); Avonworth 1...
5 things to watch in WPIAL opening round: Wild card decisions under scrutiny
Did the WPIAL football committee get the wild cards right? Opinions surely vary, but teams that narrowly missed the playoffs are surely left with some questions. Rather than use tiebreaking formulas, the WPIAL broke with tradition this year and let its 10-person committee choose qualifiers. That leaves their picks open...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 31, 2024
High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs At Washington & Jefferson Saturday’s schedule Championship Class 3A Pine-Richland (19-0) vs. Mt. Lebanon (12-4), 4 p.m. Class 2A Fox Chapel (10-6-1) vs. Peters Township (15-3), noon Class A Shady Side Academy (14-4) vs. Aquinas Academy (8-3-3), 2 p.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A...
Bentworth switches goalkeepers for shootout, gets past OLSH to repeat as WPIAL champs
After 110 minutes of soccer couldn’t decide a winner in Thursday night’s WPIAL Class A boys soccer championship between No. 1 Bentworth and No. 3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Bentworth coach Nick Malarbi elected to make an interesting decision heading into penalty kicks. Andrew Vipperman had played in...
High school roundup for Oct. 31, 2024: North Catholic girls earn state playoff berth
Simone Sharpless had a hat trick and added an assist to lead sixth-seeded North Catholic to a 5-1 victory over No. 4 South Park (15-6-1) in the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer third-place match Thursday night. Kathleen Virostek had a goal and an assist and Sara Zagrocki also scored for...
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...
Frazier, Greensburg Central Catholic square off for WPIAL Class A girls volleyball title
WPIAL CLASS A GIRLS VOLLEYBALL FINAL 3-Greensburg Central Catholic (16-3) vs. 1-Frazier (15-3) 11 a.m. Saturday, AHN Arena, Peters Township WPIAL titles: GCC (2012, 2014, 2016); Frazier (2010, 2022) Will the third time be the charm for Greensburg Central Catholic? Or does No. 1 Frazier just have the Centurions’ number...
Trib HSSN game-by-game high school football playoff preview for 2024 Week 10
Usually, you can feel a distinct chill in the air for November football where the spotlight is brighter and the stakes are simple: win and advance or lose and go home. However, there is no chill this year where these past few days have felt more like heat acclamation week....
Belle Vernon soccer coach Al Yeschenko resigns
With his son, Brandon, set to begin his college soccer career, Al Yeschenko would have been torn between coaching Belle Vernon’s boys and following Pitt-Greensburg. Rather than juggle a crowded schedule, Yeshchenko resigned from his post at Belle Vernon. He guided the boys for four years as head coach and...
Thomas Jefferson finds ‘true identity’ ahead of WPIAL playoff test vs. West Allegheny
It’s tough to win in November as a WPIAL football team with an identity crisis. “That’s when they’re trying to do everything and they’re average at everything,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak, whose Jaguars don’t have that problem. They’ve got a talented passer, but they’ve also long established themselves...
4 girls soccer finalists named for Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player of the Year award
For the sixth consecutive year, the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player of Year award will go to the top girls soccer player in the WPIAL. For the first time, there are four finalists. The players were announced Thursday. They are: • Morgan Gesinski, Jr., F, Mt. Pleasant • Molly Kubistek,...
2024 WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer championship breakdown: Peters Township vs. Seneca Valley
WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer championship 1-Peters Township (18-0-1) vs. 2-Seneca Valley (14-2-2) 6 p.m. Friday, Highmark Stadium Tickets: $10 general admission Coaches: Pat Vereb, Peters Township; Mark Perry, Seneca Valley Players to watch: Taylor McCullough, Peters Township; Madeline Marcotte, Seneca Valley WPIAL titles: Peters Township 2 (2010, ‘12); Seneca...
Through the Years: Apollo-Ridge earned 2nd playoff win in ’14
Each week throughout the high school football season, the Valley News Dispatch will take a look at the players, coaches and events that shaped our scholastic history. Jonah Casella ran for four touchdowns, and Tre Tipton and Duane Brown added two more each as Apollo-Ridge won its second WPIAL playoff...
With painful losses in rearview mirror, Plum, Fox Chapel ready to duke it out in WPIAL finals
Plum and Fox Chapel have a similar story entering the WPIAL boys soccer championship game. Both have seen their share of heartache in the postseason, but that came to an end Tuesday with wins in the semifinals. Now, the Alle-Kiski Valley schools separated by 10 miles will meet in the...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Short-handed Southmoreland could be without 8 starters
Southmoreland could be down eight starters for Friday’s WPIAL playoff opener. The eighth-seeded Scotties (7-3) have been gutted by injuries, illness and transfer ineligibility on the eve of their Class 3A first-round home game against No. 9 Highlands (5-4). “We’re trying to get 11 healthy bodies out there who are...
Franklin Regional boys soccer notebook: Red card keeps key player out of WPIAL final
Franklin Regional will be without one of its top players in Saturday’s WPIAL 3A championship game. Senior all-WPIAL midfielder Jovan Sankoorikal will miss his second consecutive playoff game as he sits through a two-game suspension, the result of a red card violation in a quarterfinal upset of Thomas Jefferson. “We...
Veteran goalkeeper gives Franklin Regional a puncher’s chance in WPIAL finals vs. Moon
Having already appeared in eight playoff games in his career, including a few as a defender, Franklin Regional goalkeeper Noah Walker brings experience to his first WPIAL soccer championship game. His coach believes Walker gives the Panthers a shot at their third WPIAL title in six years. “He is the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Oct. 30, 2024
High schools Field hockey WPIAL playoffs At Washington & Jefferson Saturday’s schedule Championship Class 3A Pine-Richland (19-0) vs. Mt. Lebanon (12-4), 4 p.m. Class 2A Fox Chapel (10-6-1) vs. Peters Township (15-3), noon Class A Shady Side Academy (14-4) vs. Aquinas Academy (8-3-3), 2 p.m. Football WPIAL playoffs Class 6A...
