High School category, Page 1001
Breaking down the 2020 WPIAL football playoffs
Here’s a class-by-class breakdown of the WPIAL football playoff brackets: Class 6A Favorite: North Allegheny was the only undefeated team in WPIAL Class 6A this season, but the Tigers did miss three conference matchups because of covid-19 shutdowns by opponents. That included a Week 1 matchup with Seneca Valley that...
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...
WPIAL reveals 2020 football playoff brackets
The WPIAL promised its football teams weeks ago that if they canceled games for covid-19, those decisions wouldn’t hurt their qualifying chances come playoff time. The WPIAL kept it word. In playoff brackets released Saturday night, the WPIAL included a couple of teams that played only four regular-season games as...
High school roundup for Oct. 24, 2020: South Fayette opens soccer playoffs with OT stunner
Chad Eldridge scored the game-winning goal in the third minute of overtime as No. 13 South Fayette (10-4-1) secured a 2-1 upset win over No. 4 Plum (13-2) in a Class 3A boys soccer first-round playoff match Saturday. Sammy Orecchio scored early in the second half to give South Fayette...
WPIAL football rankings for Week 7
Class 6A 1. North Allegheny, 5-0, 1 2. Mt. Lebanon, 4-2, 2 3. Central Catholic, 4-2, 3 4. Seneca Valley, 4-2, 4 5. Canon-McMillan, 3-3, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Pine-Richland, 6-0, 1 2. Gateway, 4-0, 2 3. Peters Township, 6-0, 3 4. Penn-Trafford, 5-1, 4 5. Upper St....
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...
No. 8 Hampton tops Kiski Area to advance to WPIAL boys soccer quarterfinals
Through 40 minutes Saturday at Fridley Field in Allison Park, No. 8 Hampton and No. 9 Kiski Area were scoreless, but as the first half turned to the second, the game opened up and the scoring started. Hampton (11-4-1) scored three goals, and the Cavaliers (11-5-1) only managed one as...
North Catholic boys varsity soccer team cleared to play in first round of playoffs
After having to quarantine for 14 days because of a coronavirus exposure during one of their final matches, the North Catholic boys varsity soccer team has been cleared to play in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round matchup against Leechburg on Monday. North Catholic athletic director Brian Miller said the team...
Trib HSSN to unveil WPIAL football playoff pairings
Anticipation for the WPIAL football playoffs has been building for weeks. Tonight on the TribLive High School Sports Network, high school football fans will learn if their favorite team has advanced to the postseason, players will begin plotting their path to a championship and coaches will start working on their...
Fox Chapel field hockey prepares for first postseason appearance since 2017
For the first time since its undefeated regular season in 2017, the Fox Chapel field hockey team is headed back to the WPIAL playoffs. Since that storied season three years ago, when the Foxes won all 12 of their regular-season games and then dropped a 1-0 contest to North Allegheny...
Quaker Valley soccer teams kept out of WPIAL playoffs
The Quaker Valley boys soccer team didn’t lose often this season, but one opponent kept the Quakers out of the WPIAL playoffs — the coronavirus. School officials elected to close the high school and middle school buildings Oct. 17 after a covid-19 outbreak in the district. Recent exposure to the...
Gateway girls soccer navigates tough stretch of schedule to make playoffs
The Gateway girls soccer team finished its regular season with seven games in 11 days as a stretch of time off because covid issues within the school district created a stretch run more compact than normal. Coach Kelly Bender said she couldn’t have been more proud of the way her...
Strong finish lifts Gateway boys soccer into playoffs
The Gateway boys soccer team last week finished its mission of returning to the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2016. Needing a strong stretch run to earn a berth to the postseason, the Gators won their final three section games, including a 4-0 victory Oct. 20 over West...
Shaler girls soccer looking to future after pair of positive late-season results
The back half of Section 1-4A play didn’t go how Shaler Area girls soccer coach Craig Wilkins hoped it would go. The Titans were outscored 42-4 over their final five section games, including a 6-0 season-ending loss to Seneca Valley on Oct. 19 at home. But Wilkins was encouraged by...
Chartiers Valley soccer teams aiming for return to playoffs in 2021
The Chartiers Valley soccer programs were riding high four years ago. The boys team beat Mars for the WPIAL Class 3A championship and reached the PIAA quarterfinals during an 18-win season. The girls team won 11 games, finished tied for third place in their section and lost to Class 3A...
Optimism abounds for Bishop Canevin boys, Carlynton girls soccer programs
Sometimes in sports, a small snow ball rolls to the point it becomes an avalanche. A tough early loss rolls into another, then another, and, eventually, the season is in the rear-view mirror. The wins are few and far between. Such was the case for the Bishop Canevin boys soccer...
Thomas Jefferson girls ride momentum into WPIAL soccer playoffs
Thomas Jefferson posted a sparkling 10-2 record in league play in Sean Richter’s first season as head coach. Unfortunately, both losses were to Section 3-3A champion Plum, which finished undefeated at 12-0. The Jaguars ended up 13-2-1 and took an 11-game unbeaten streak into the WPIAL playoffs. “Hopefully, we can...
Scoring surge lifts Thomas Jefferson boys soccer team into WPIAL playoffs
Thomas Jefferson’s boys soccer team exudes confidence. One reason behind it is the offensive punch displayed by the Jaguars in 2020. TJ racked up an 11-4-1 regular-season record and a third-place finish in Section 3-3A behind co-champs Belle Vernon and Trinity. The Jaguars were confident they will enjoy a successful...
Penn-Trafford girls soccer team plays through challenging season
It has been a challenging and unusual season for the Penn-Trafford girls soccer team. The team was hit hard by graduation, they were placed in a different section, they have a new coach, and they had to deal with a pandemic. Penn-Trafford finished the regular season with a 5-5-2 record...
Penn Hills girls soccer makes major strides to return to postseason
Coach Ashley DeVito has preached to her Penn Hills girls soccer team the importance of playing the game as a team. With the mix of returning starters and an influx of new faces, the Indians bought into DeVito’s coaching and clinched a WPIAL playoff berth for the first time in...
Penn Hills boys soccer ends season on strong note
After a tough loss to powerhouse Franklin Regional on Oct. 12, coach Ryan Hankey challenged his Penn Hills boys soccer team by creating a short season in its final three games. The young Indians answered the bell and ended the season on a positive note, going 2-0-1 with back-to-back shutouts...
Pine-Richland field hockey’s Rylie Wollerton fills stat sheet, win column
Rylie Wollerton is like the last side of a Rubik’s Cube that can’t be solved no matter how much opponents try to twist and turn her away from the cage. Recently named the September Player of the Month by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, she shows how difficult she...
Longtime friends, teammates Nichols, Viszlay lead Hampton soccer into postseason
Hampton’s Liam Nichols and Gabe Viszlay are dynamic teammates on the field and the best of friends away from it. They connected playing recreational youth league soccer about six years ago. Since then, the two have been teammates on Hotspurs club soccer, Hampton middle school and the high school program....
WPIAL bracketology: Chris Harlan, Don Rebel make final predictions for football pairings
This was a football season unlike any other. Coaches, players, administrators and fans endured covid-19 concerns and cancellations, but for the most part, WPIAL teams successfully completed the regular season, an achievement that shouldn’t go overlooked. Now, it’s playoff time. The WPIAL will reveal its six playoff brackets at 7...
Washington shows playoff form in clinching win over Frazier
Frazier coach Greg Boggs knew his team had to play mistake-free football for a chance to win Friday at Washington and secure a playoff spot. Instead, the Commodores had two turnovers that resulted in touchdowns, helping the Prexies earn a playoff spot from the Century Conference with a 43-6 victory....
