High School category, Page 201
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...
High school roundup for Oct. 30, 2024: Beaver sweeps into WPIAL girls volleyball finals
Kailyn Connelly had 12 kills and a block and Jaedyn Brown collected nine kills, 10 digs and three aces to lead top-seeded Beaver to a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Hampton (13-6) in the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball semifinals Wednesday night. Set scores were 25-20, 25-17 and 25-20. Aubrey...
Mars earns spot in 2nd WPIAL volleyball final with 5-set win over Freeport
Before the beginning of the fifth set, the Mars girls volleyball players looked into a packed grandstands and started waving their arms up and down to pump up the crowd. Then they gave their fans plenty to cheer about. Lily Javor had five kills, and Cecilia Christy had two in...
A-K Valley high school football players to watch for 2024 Week 10
Player of the week Jake Fleischer Deer Lakes, sr., QB After making his varsity starting debut in Week Zero and helping lead the Lancers to a tie for the most wins — eight — in a single season in program history, Fleischer will get his first chance to perform in...
Freeport faces familiar challenge against Mt. Pleasant in opening round of playoffs
The Mt. Pleasant and Freeport football teams are no strangers to one other. The Vikings and Yellowjackets met as nonconference foes the past two seasons and as members of the same conference as recently as 2019. The teams again will be back together on the same field Friday evening in...
A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2024 Week 10
Class 3A first round 9-Highlands (5-4) at 8-Southmoreland (7-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Russ Grimm Field, Alverton Last week’s results: Highlands 56, Valley 0; Greensburg Salem 28, Southmoreland 21 Winner plays: 1-Imani Christian (10-0) 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at UPMC Graham Field in quarterfinals High-scoring Highlands ended up fourth in the...
Get a little stitious with The Birdie’s playoff picks in A-K Valley football
Last week: 10-1 Season: 81-22 (78.6%) The Pittsburgh Steelers, with their six Lombardi trophies and 676 all-time victories, haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. The Pittsburgh Penguins, with their five Stanley Cup championships and 2,030 all-time victories, haven’t won a playoff series since the 2018 season. There...
2024 Western Pa. high school football schedule for Week 10
WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Nov. 8 Seneca Valley (3-6) vs. Central Catholic (8-2) at West Mifflin, 7 p.m. Mt. Lebanon (3-7) at North Allegheny (9-1) Class 5A First round Friday’s schedule Franklin Regional (7-3) at North Hills (8-2), 7 p.m. Latrobe (5-5) at Bethel Park (8-2), 7 p.m. Moon...
