Hometown Boys Soccer Recap – Upper St. Clair Panthers – 10/08/2015

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, October 8, 2015 | 9:20 PM

Logan Brinsky’s goal in the 45th minute lifted Peters Township (9-3-2, 6-2-1) to a 1-0 victory over Upper St. Clair (8-5-1, 6-3-0) in Class AAA’s Section 5 on Thursday night.

Brinsky, who had a number of scoring chances throughout the night, would finally capitalize just moments after a near miss, taking a long pass in the middle of the field, sneaking behind the Panthers’ back row and tucking a shot inside of the far goal post, just out of the reach of Upper St. Clair goalkeeper Mack Dominick.

Without Dominick, the match would likely have been far more lopsided, as the junior netminder made a variety of difficult saves during the course of a physical and chippy game.

The loss was an even more costly one for the Panthers, who lost Junior Midfielder Ryan Mertz to an apparent ankle injury in the first half. Mertz, who scored the lone goal in Upper St. Clair’s 1-0 victory over Peters Township on September 22, would leave the field on crutches and in a walking boot. The Panthers also appeared to lose another Junior Midfielder in Tanner Alauzen to injury as well.

The victory was the first regular season over Upper St. Clair for the State juggernaut and defending WPIAL and PIAA Champion Indians. Since 2011, the Panthers were 10-2-1 against Peters Township, with the Indians’ two wins coming in the last two WPIAL AAA Championship Games.

Additionally, the victory moves Peters Township into second place in AAA Section 5, behind Canon-McMillan (11-2-0, 7-2-0). Those two teams will meet on Tuesday in a battle for the Section 5 title before the Indians finish with non-section matchups against McGuffey and Ringgold. Upper St. Clair will meet non-section rival Mt. Lebanon on Saturday on MSA before their final section contest on Tuesday at Brashear and a non-section game at Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Thursday.

Tags: Upper St. Clair