Bill Beckner stories, Page 169
North Allegheny girls soccer looks sharp in shutout win over Norwin
Rain can create rust on untreated metal. Too much down time can have the same effect on soccer teams. The sharper team after considerable time away from live action was going to win Thursday night when Norwin and North Allegheny met in the WPIAL Class 4A girls quarterfinals. Fifth-seeded North...
Anthony DiFalco, Franklin Regional too much for Indiana in Class 3A WPIAL soccer quarters
At a time when most people are talking about the presidential election, Indiana coach Todd Myers might have cast his vote for boys soccer player of the year. Franklin Regional junior Anthony DiFalco continues to showcase his talent for the No. 2-seeded Panthers, not only as a goal scorer but...
Military parents of Franklin Regional, Indiana soccer players watch playoff match together overseasVideo
Parents of opposing players watched Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class 3A boys soccer playoff game in Murrysville from more than 6,500 miles away — in Kuwait. Megan Dawson, the stepmother of Franklin Regional sophomore midfielder/defender Sam Dawson, and John Fefolt, the father of Indiana senior goalkeeper Sam Fefolt, are stationed at...
WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 29
Today’s games Girls Class 4A Quarterfinals 5-North Allegheny (8-2) at 4-Norwin (9-2-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon Winner plays: Winner of 1-Peters Township (10-1-1) vs. 8-Seneca Valley (8-3) in semifinals 6:30 p.m. Monday (site TBD). Hat tricks: Norwin, seeking a sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals, is...
Top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer empties bench, survives scare
The way Tyler Solis sees it, what happened Tuesday night was a win-win-win situation for his Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer team. For one, the Centurions won their first-round playoff game to advance in the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Secondly, Solis got to empty his bench and give younger players...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Rematches loom for playoff teams
Rematches always are something to look forward to in the WPIAL football postseason. Westmoreland County teams could get their share of them in the coming weeks. While coaches don’t like to look ahead — some bristle at the thought — they had to glance farther down the brackets to see...
Burrell beats buzzer to take OT win from Mt. Pleasant in WPIAL girls soccer playoffs
Despite being the higher seed, Burrell could not play at home in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer playoffs due to a track renovation at Buccaneer Stadium. Instead, the Lady Bucs’ opening matchup against Mt. Pleasant was moved to their opponent’s home field. Burrell, though, still...
Upper St. Clair field hockey forfeits playoff game after covid exposure
Upper St. Clair has forfeited its WPIAL Class AA field hockey semifinal to Penn-Trafford after a person associated with the Panthers’ team tested positive for covid-19. The team will quarantine immediately. The match was scheduled for Tuesday night at Penn-Trafford. Upper St. Clair athletic director Dr. Kevin Dietrick said no...
Greensburg Central Catholic opens football coach position
Greensburg Central Catholic opened its head football coaching position, consequently parting ways with Bret Colbert after two seasons. Colbert had a record of 9-9, including 2-5 this season as the Centurions tied for sixth place in the WPIAL Class A Eastern Conference with Imani Christian. GCC, which began the season...
WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules: Oct. 28
Boys Class AAA Quarterfinals 10-Indiana (9-4-2) at 2-Franklin Regional (14-2) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 6-Moon (12-3) at 3-West Allegheny (14-1) 6:30 p.m. Monday in semifinals (site TBD) Hat tricks: Indiana staved off No. 7 Belle Vernon (14-3) in a shootout (4-3) Saturday, and Josh...
Fearless Franklin Regional edges South Fayette in WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer first round
South Fayette pressed Franklin Regional from the start Monday night, but the Panthers tried to overcome the Lions’ push-back speed with patience, waiting for quality scoring opportunities. Panthers first-year coach Scott Arnold said he kept using the same word over and again as his team tried to flip the pace...
Westmoreland campus clippings: GCC grad Mort scores for No. 1 Pitt men’s soccer
Standing on the sidelines as a member of a No. 1 ranked college soccer team is nice, but seeing the field and contributing to a victory is much better. Just ask Luke Mort. A redshirt freshman forward and Greensburg Central Catholic graduate for top-ranked Pitt, scored his first college goal...
WPIAL soccer playoff capsules for games of Tuesday, Oct. 27
Here are WPIAL soccer playoff preview capsules for Tuesday’s games involving teams from Westmoreland County and the A-K Valley: Boys Class 4A First round 12-Latrobe (6-2-1) at 5-Upper St. Clair (7-5-1) 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Upper St. Clair Stadium, Upper St. Clair Winner plays: At 4-Fox Chapel (10-3), noon Saturday Hat...
Westmoreland high school notebook: PIAA playoffs beckon for trio of teams
A trio of WPIAL championship teams from Westmoreland County will compete this week for state titles. The Franklin Regional boys and Greensburg Central Catholic girls golf teams, and the Latrobe girls tennis team are in the PIAA postseason. Franklin Regional, which captured its first WPIAL title last week as it...
Battle-tested Penn-Trafford girls soccer grows into playoff contender
It has been decades since Penn-Trafford missed the WPIAL girls soccer playoffs. This was not going to be the year the run ended. While the Warriors had to grind a little more than usual to lock down a postseason spot, the team looks to have grown along the way. Tight...
WPIAL soccer playoff capsules: Oct. 26
Boys Class 2A First round 11-Burrell (7-4) at 6-Mt. Pleasant (11-1) 6:30 p.m., Monday, Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant Winner plays: Winner of 14-Leechburg (7-6) at 3-North Catholic (12-1-1), 6 p.m., Monday, Mars Athletic Complex, Mars Hat tricks: Mt. Pleasant has allowed two goals all season and has 11 shutouts. Charleroi...
Norwin notebook: Krevokuch earns walk-on offer from Pitt
Norwin senior tight end and defensive end Tanner Krevokuch has been in contact with Pitt coach Tim Salem of late and the conversation sparked greater interest. After sending some highlights, Krevokuch (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) received a preferred walk-on opportunity with the Panthers. Central Michigan had offered him last year, but...
Norwin golfers relish 1st trip to WPIAL championship
As Sal Cerilli walked up the 18th fairway on the Gold course at Cedarbrook, he felt a sense of finality kick in. The Norwin senior, while enjoying the sights and sounds of the Knights’ maiden trip to the WPIAL Class AAA boys golf championship, knew this was the end of...
Team effort helped Franklin Regional secure 1st WPIAL golf title
A statistics teacher who doubles as the boys golf coach at Franklin Regional, Jeff Traphagen often looks at life through numbers. At the WPIAL Class AAA team golf championship, he threw around the term “standard deviation” a lot. “We were between 78 and 85; Our standard deviation was better than...
Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon get home games for WPIAL football playoffs
When the WPIAL announced higher-seeded teams will get to play at home through the semifinals of the football playoffs, a number of coaches had reason to smile. Penn-Trafford was one of them. The WPIAL announced playoff pairings Saturday night, and Penn-Trafford (5-1, 4-0) got a home game after finishing first...
Penalty kick gives Indiana boys soccer 1st-round win over Belle Vernon
Josh Glaser said three words ran through his head as he set up for the final penalty kick. “Don’t miss it.” “If you think you’re going to miss, you’ll miss,” the Indiana senior forward said. “You have to think you’re going to make it.” The confident Glaser fired low and...
Penn-Trafford scores every which way, routs Franklin RegionalVideo
Penn-Trafford won’t be recognized as a conference champion but the Warriors sure played like one in their regular-season finale. And these Warriors showed what they can do with a full week of practice. Fourth-ranked Penn-Trafford did a little of everything, executing offensively, defensively and on special teams, on the way...
Westmoreland WPIAL soccer playoff capsules
WPIAL soccer playoffs preview Boys Class AAA First round 15-Knoch (7-8) at 2-Franklin Regional (13-2) Noon Saturday, Panthers Stadium, Murrysville Winner plays: Winner of 10-Indiana (8-4-2) at 7-Belle Vernon (14-2), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (site TBD) in quarterfinals Hat tricks: Franklin Regional, which has won the last two WPIAL titles, has...
Monessen, football coach Shane Swope part ways after 1 season
Monessen and Shane Swope are going separate ways after a college try of a 2020 football season. The school announced Friday that it is parting company with Swope, the Greyhounds’ first-year head coach. Swope called the decision a “mutual break-up,” and said there are no hard feelings on either end....
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 7
Class 6A Norwin (1-5, 1-5) at No. 5 Canon-McMillan (2-3, 2-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Canon-McMillan Stadium, Canonsburg Despite a big performance by senior receiver Connor Chrisman, Norwin dropped its second straight conference game, 48-12, to No. 2 Mt. Lebanon. Chrisman returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score and caught...
