Michael Love stories, Page 71

Grace Gent led Springdale in scoring during the regular season with 23 goals. The Springdale junior forward added her 24th as part of a strong effort by the No. 2 Dynamos in a 3-2 Class A quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Seton LaSalle last Wednesday at Steel Valley’s Campbell Field....

The Gateway girls soccer team hoped for a longer stay in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, but coach Kelly Bender said she was happy with her team’s effort in the 3-0 first-round loss to South Fayette on Oct. 25. “It was a tough loss, but my girls gave it their...

The Plum slow-pitch softball team entered the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League single-elimination playoffs Oct. 23 hoping to make a run to the title game. As the No. 6 seed, the Mustangs did just that. Plum upended No. 11 Penn-Trafford, 21-12, in the first round, scored an 11-5 win over...

Burrell entered Friday’s Allegheny Seven Conference finale with Valley at Buccaneer Stadium needing a win and a Deer Lakes loss to make the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. The Bucs got the win they needed, 19-14 over the Vikings. They also got the Lancers loss necessary. Deer Lakes fell to Freeport,...

The WPIAL cross country championships return to Cal (Pa.) on Thursday after a one-year covid hiatus, and the Knoch girls team hopes to be a major factor in the team and individual standings. Five of six runners from last year’s Class AA fifth-place team are back, and coach Wess Brahler...

Today’s games Girls Quarterfinals Class 4A 9-Fox Chapel (9-7-1) at 1-North Allegheny (16-0-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Newman Stadium, McCandless Winner plays: Winner of 4-Seneca Valley (14-3-2)/5-Norwin (13-4) on Monday in semifinals (site and time TBD) Notes: Fox Chapel, the third-place team from Section 3 behind Latrobe and Norwin, secured a...

Class 5A Northeast Conference Penn Hills (5-3, 3-1) at Kiski Area (6-3, 1-3) 7 p.m. Friday, at Richards Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township Penn Hills can clinch a share of the conference championship with a win Friday. The Indians put themselves in position last Friday with a 40-3 victory over Shaler....

Devin Beattie Burrell, So., RB/DB Beattie is one the many young players who have helped keep the Bucs alive for a WPIAL playoff spot heading into the final week of the regular season. Last week against Derry, he ran nine times for 82 yards and scored two touchdowns in a...

The Freeport girls volleyball team feels right at home in the WPIAL playoffs. The Yellowjackets haven’t missed the postseason in close to two decades, and they find themselves the hunted as the No. 1 seed in Class AAA as they shoot for their second WPIAL championship in three years, their...

After a regular season full of positive outcomes for the Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team, the Lions turn their attention to a quest for gold this week at the Penn State University Athletic Conference tournament. PSNK (11-4 overall) finished conference play 8-2 and will be the No. 3...

The WPIAL playoff brackets are set and the postseason matches begin this week. The Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final girls rankings and players of the week Monday. North Allegheny (Class 4A), Freeport (Class 3A), North Catholic (Class 2A) and Bishop Canevin (Class A) own the top spots...

There will be a new WPIAL champion in boys Class 2A. East Allegheny sophomore midfielder Ryan Nichol scored off a rebound 24 seconds into overtime to lift No. 10 East Allegheny past defending champion Deer Lakes, 2-1, in a first-round game Monday at Lancers Stadium. “That felt amazing,” Nichol said...

Summer Raymer is busy in the water getting ready for competitions with her Racer-X club team and also for her final season with the Gateway swim team. But the Gators senior standout also has her eyes focused on the future after high school. Raymer recently set her course for college...

The Gateway ice hockey program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and alumni president Stefan Biancaniello said there are a lot of positive vibes surrounding what will be a year-long celebration. “From humble beginnings in 1972 to undefeated WPIHL AA champions in 1976 to WPIHL AAA champions in 1996...

The Plum varsity hockey team won just one game last year in a 2020-21 season that was unlike any other in the history of the PIHL with delays, restrictions and numerous changes overall because of the covid pandemic. But a new season with new opportunities has begun for the Mustangs,...

Leechburg traveled Route 66 on Friday to face Imani Christian and wrapped up its first trip to the WPIAL playoffs since 1988. The Blue Devils (7-2, 4-2) snapped the longest playoff drought in the WPIAL with 40 first-quarter points en route to a 66-6 Eastern Conference victory. “This is really...

The Kiski Area football team needed a win Friday at Pine-Richland to keep its WPIAL playoff hopes alive in the Northeast Conference. But for the Cavaliers, it wasn’t to be. Trailing by six in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, a fumbled snap and Pine-Richland recovery by defensive lineman...

The Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League will host the PA Golden Gloves Western Regional Finals on Saturday at Gloria’s Gym on the second level of the Monroeville Mall. Eight bouts will be contested. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and bell time is 6. The 16 boxers who will compete for...

Class 5A Northeast Fox Chapel (4-3, 2-1) at North Hills (5-3, 2-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Martorelli Stadium, Ross Township Both teams are locked in a four-way tie for the top spot in the conference with Pine-Richland and Penn Hills. … The Foxes saw a two-game win streak snapped with a...

Garrett King Freeport, Sr., RB/QB/DB Back in the lineup after missing all of last season, King has taken advantage of his opportunity with strong play for the surging Yellowjackets. He owns 39 tackles, a sack and an interception for the Freeport defense, while he has proven to be a threat...

The Springdale and Plum girls soccer teams each captured section championships in the regular season, and both the Dynamos and Mustangs lead the Alle-Kiski Valley with No. 2 seeds for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. The pairings for each of the four boys and four girls tournaments were released Wednesday afternoon....

The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League playoff tournament will be Saturday and Sunday, and all 12 teams will take part. The brackets were released Tuesday morning, and Bethel Park, which finished first in the regular-season standings with an 11-3 mark, owns the No. 1 seed for the single-elimination event. No....

The Valley girls soccer team came into Monday’s Section 2-2A finale against Freeport at Valley High Memorial Stadium needing to defeat the Yellowjackets to clinch a WPIAL playoff spot for the first time since 2016. But Freeport had other ideas. Katie Borromeo scored from 28 yards off an assist from...

After a two-week hiatus from the top spot, Thomas Jefferson again was the No. 1 team in Class 3A when the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s Week 7 WPIAL girls rankings were released Monday morning. The Jaguars lead Section 3 with a 10-0 record after a 3-0 nonsection win over...

The Riverview girls soccer team lost its first three games of the season and was outscored 30-7. But coach Sean Abraham said he looked at the positives from those challenging contests against Greensburg Central Catholic, Serra Catholic and Apollo-Ridge in Section 1-A. He said the girls did as well, and...