High school roundup for Nov. 5, 2019: West Allegheny rallies from three goals down to win PIAA opener

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 | 11:48 PM

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Caleb Miller had a hat trick and freshman goalkeeper Thomas Higgins was perfect in a relief appearance as West Allegheny (15-6-1) rallied from three goals down to defeat Hollidaysburg 5-3 in a PIAA Class AAA first-round boys soccer match Tuesday night.

West Allegheny, the WPIAL runners-up, fell behind 3-0 in the first 25 minutes of the game. Miller’s second goal tied the score 3-3. Connor Blazer followed with the game winner. Fletcher Amos also scored for West Allegheny, which will meet District 3 champ Lower Dauphin in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Franklin Regional 6, Bradford 2 — Anthony DiFalco scored twice as WPIAL champion Franklin Regional (20-0-1) beat Bradford in a PIAA Class AAA first-round match. Zack Lorenz, Blaker Cooper, Garrett Beaver and Zach Johnston also scored for the Panthers, who will meet Erie Cathedral Prep in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Erie Cathedral Prep 4, Blackhawk 0 — Jack Foht had a hat trick as Cathedral Prep (22-0-0) blanked Blackhawk (13-5-4) in a Class AAA first-round match.

Mt. Lebanon 3, Altoona 1 — Danny Simboro scored a pair of goals to lead Mt. Lebanon (16-5-1) past Altoona in a PIAA Class AAAA first-round match. Brady Napoleon also scored for the Blue Devils, who will meet Central Bucks West in the quarterfinals.

Palmyra 1, Canon-McMillan 0 — Matt Hines scored on a first-half header and Palmyra (18-2-2) made it stand up for a PIAA Class AAAA first-round win over WPIAL champion Canon-McMillan (15-4-1).

Quaker Valley 3, Fairview 1 — Fritz Reiter had two goals and an assist as WPIAL champion Quaker Valley (21-2-0) topped Fairview. Franky Fernandez also scored. Rowan Kribel had two assists. Quaker Valley will meet Punxsutawney in the quarterfinals.

Mercyhurst Prep 2, Shady Side Academy 1 — John Kerner had a goal and an assist, netting the game winner with less than 10 minutes to play, to lead Mercyhurst Prep (18-5-0) past Shady Side Academy (15-4-1) in a PIAA Class AA match. Jack Naughton scored for Shady Side. Mercyhurst Prep will meet Deer Lakes in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Winchester Thurston 7, Bishop Carroll 0 — Beck Buchanan and Grant Robinson scored less than a minute apart in the first half to lead Winchester Thurston (17-2) to a convincing PIAA Class A first-round victory.

Springdale 3, Brockway 0 — Mike Mitchell scored a pair of goals and Springdale avenged a playoff loss from two years ago with a PIAA Class A first-round victory over District 9 champion Brockway. Alex Barch also scored for the Dynamos (17-4), and Lian Dale added an assist. Andrew Haus made nine saves to record the shutout. Brockway defeated Springdale 2-1 in the 2017 PIAA quarterfinals. Springdale will meet WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Girls soccer

North Allegheny 1, Cumberland Valley 0 — Ava Ruppersberger scored with less than five minutes left in regulation to lead WPIAL champion North Allegheny (18-2-1) past Cumberland Valley (17-3-2) in a PIAA Class AAAA first-round match. North Allegheny will meet Boyertown in the quarterfinals.

Mars 6, Warren 1 — Taylor Hamlett opened the state playoffs in impressive fashion, recording three goals and two assists to power Mars (19-0-1) past Warren in a Class AAA first-round match. Ellie Coffield scored twice for Mars. Londynn Gonzalez added a goal and two assists. Mars will meet West Allegheny in the quarterfinals.

West Allegheny 2, Hollidaysburg 1 — Mackenzie Evers broke a 1-1 tie with her second goal of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, leading West Allegheny (17-3-0) past Hollidaysburg in a PIAA Class AAA first-round match.

Manheim Central 2, Plum 1 (SO) — Manheim Central topped Plum in a penalty kick shootout in a Class AAA first-round match at Cedar Crest High School.

“I told the girls how much I am proud of them,” Plum coach Jamie Stewart said. “It’s a long ride out here to Cedar Crest, and the girls got off the bus, and they played extremely well. We had a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we went to PKs, and it’s a horrible way to lose.”

Makenna Copley, Isabella Wendler and Hannah Adair scored for Manheim Central through the first three rounds of the shootout, and Tylee Stauffer clinched it with a score in Round 4. Katie Patton scored for Plum in the third round. Gina Proviano hit the crossbar in the first round, and Emily Kirkpatrick was stopped by Barons goalkeeper Mia Reed in the second round.

Plum, in the PIAA playoffs for the first time in program history, concluded its season at 17-3-1.

Both teams finished with eight shots through regulation and overtime. Each team scored once, with Reed and Plum keeper Erica Taylor recording seven saves apiece.

Manheim Central took a 1-0 lead with about 20 minutes left in the second half on a goal from Adair off an assist from Copley.

Undaunted, Plum answered four minutes later as junior midfielder Jamie Seneca tallied her 11th goal of the season with an assist coming from Proviano.

North Catholic 3, Mercyhurst Prep 0 — WPIAL champion North Catholic (15-4) blanked Mercyhurst Prep in a PIAA Class AA first-round match. North Cathlic faces District 6 champ Bald Eagle Area in the quarterfinals.

Bedford 1, South Park 0 (OT) — Sophomore Sydney Taracatac scored on a long-range shot from the right hash mark with 4 minutes, 6 seconds left in the second overtime to lift defending PIAA champion Bedford (19-0-1) over South Park (14-5-1) in a rematch of their 2018 semifinals marathon, also won by Bedford on penalty kicks, 5-4. District 5 champion Bedford will meet Villa Maria in the quarterfinals.

Villa Maria Academy 4, Yough 2 — Morgan Harrington had a goal and an assist as Villa Maria Academy defeated Yough (17-3-1) in a PIAA Class AA first-round match. Ella Raimondi and McKenzie Fletcher scored as Villa Maria jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Yough senior Justine Appolonia, the program’s all-time leading goal scorer, answered to make it 2-1, but Villa Maria pulled away on goals by Harrington and Moira Thunell. Natalie Vilchek also scored for Yough.

Shady Side Academy 9, Everett 0 — Callie Davis had a hat trick and Molly Skvorak made five saves to record the shutout as WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy (18-1-0) rolled to a PIAA Class A first-round victory.

Freedom 6, Conemaugh Township 1 — Renae Mohrbacher scored five goals to lead Freedom (22-1-0) to a PIAA Class A first-round victory and a quarterfinal rematch with Greensburg Central Catholic. The Centurions beat Freedom 4-3 in overtime in the WPIAL semifinals.

Greensburg Central Catholic 8, Brockway 3 — Sam Nemeth scored four goals as Greensburg Central Catholic (15-4) bounced back from a loss in the WPIAL finals to record a convincing victory over District 9 champion Brockway in the first round of the PIAA Class A tournament. Sarah Felder added two goals for the Centurions. Sam Felder and Bethany Winnor also scored.

Girls volleyball

Franklin Regional 3, Conneaut 1 — Aly Kindelberger had 17 kills and five blocks to lead Franklin Regional (18-2) to a PIAA Class AAA first-round win, the first state tournament victory in program history. Franklin Regional dropped the first set, 30-28, then won the next three, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20. Hannah Flick had nine kills and Renee Baldy and Alexa Feorene had seven kills apiece. Liz Sarneso led the team with 26 assists. Piper Toto added 14.

Class AAAA — A WPIAL finals rematch between Canon-McMillan and North Allegheny won’t happen. Champion Canon-McMillan (17-3) lost in five games to District 6 champ State College (19-0). Runner-up North Allegheny (20-1) swept District 10 champ Erie McDowell.

Class AAA — Three WPIAL teams moved on to Saturday’s quarterfinals. WPIAL champ Knoch (22-1) swept South Fayette (16-3). Runner-up Thomas Jefferson (19-2) swept District 9 champ DuBois (18-2). Third-place finisher Franklin Regional (18-2) topped District 10 champ Conneaut in four games. Knoch will meet Franklin Regional in the quarterfinals. TJ will face District 3 champ Palmyra.

Class AA — Three of four WPIAL teams emerged from the first round of the PIAA bracket. Champion Freeport (19-0) beat Brookville in three games. Runner-up North Catholic (20-1) swept Corry. Fourth-place finisher Beaver (17-2) beat North Star in four games. Third-place finisher Avonworth (15-7) was swept by District 6 champ Bald Eagle Area.

Class A — All three WPIAL teams in the field were ousted in the first round. Champ Bishop Canevin (20-3) lost to Bishop Carroll in four games. Runner-up Fort Cherry (15-6) lost to North Cambria in four games. Third-place finisher Geibel (16-3) was swept by Berlin Brothersvalley.

Field hockey

Hershey 6, Pine-Richland 0 — Ashley Arnold scored four times to lead Hershey (17-6) past Pine-Richland (18-3) in a PIAA Class AAA first-round game.

Wilson 7, Peters Township 0 — District 3 runner-up Wilson (22-3) blanked Peters Township (10-4-1) in a PIAA Class AAA first-round game.

Twin Valley 7, Penn-Trafford 2 — Allyson Doran scored a pair of breakaway goals, but Penn-Trafford (4-8) saw its season end in a PIAA Class AA first-round match against Twin Valley (17-8) for the second consecutive season. Last year, Twin Valley came away with a 9-1 win. Penn-Trafford, the four-time defending WPIAL champ, loses only one senior from this year’s team, but it won’t be an easy starter to replace: standout goalie Samantha Doherty.

Boiling Springs 1, Shady Side Academy 0 (OT) — Lexi Hanlin scored the winning goal to break a scoreless tie in the second overtime, leading Boiling Springs (19-3-1) past WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy in a PIAA Class A first-round matchup.

Hockey

Fox Chapel 3, Westmont Hilltop 2 — Colby Zmenkowski broke a tie in the third period with his fourth goal of the season to lift the Foxes (2-2-0-1) to a PIHL Class A victory at Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville. Danny Downey and Will McNamara also scored for Fox Chapel, and Zmenkowski, Jack Rice and Quentin Miske assisted on goals. Nash Wedner posted 32 saves in the victory. Kobe Rickabaugh and Nick Rozich scored for the Hilltoppers (1-2-0-1), and Ian Amaranto made 36 stops.