North Allegheny & Shady Side Academy Back on Top in WPIAL Girls Field Hockey

The two most successful and decorated girls field hockey programs in Southwestern Pennsylvania are adding more gold to the trophy case Tuesday night. North Allegheny captured its 12th WPIAL Class AAA championship and first since 2010 with a victory over defending champ Fox Chapel. In Class AA, Shady Side Academy won a title for the 13th time in district history and three straight crown with a victory over Winchester Thurston. Here are recaps from the title matches and ALL of the results from the 2013 WPIAL Girls Field Hockey Playoffs.

2013 WPIAL GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:

North Allegheny Tigers 2 – Fox Chapel Foxes 1  (MSA)

North Allegheny junior Jessie Brandon scored two goals to help the Lady Tigers top the Fox Chapel Foxes, 2-1, in the WPIAL Class AAA Field Hockey Championship.  Last season, Fox Chapel ended North Allegheny’s season with a 1-0 win in the semifinals en route to a WPIAL title.  With revenge in mind, the Lady Tigers downed the reigning champions for their first WPIAL crown since 2010. In Tuesday night’s rematch, Brandon gave North Allegheny the early edge with a tally with 9:33 on the first half clock to make the score 1-0, Tigers.  Brandon struck again 9:32 into the second half for a 2-0 Tigers lead, giving the NA forward 14 goals on the year. However, the defending champs would not go away quietly as Fox Chapel converted a penalty corner into a goal by Nicole Susi, her team best 11th goal of the season, with 4:56 to play to trim the score to 2-1, Tigers.  North Allegheny held on in the remaining minutes to claim its 12th WPIAL Field Hockey title. The Tigers advance to the PIAA Play-in game on Thursday night against the District 6 champion.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Semifinals:

North Allegheny Tigers 1 – Peters Township Indians 0 in Overtime  (MSA)

Fox Chapel Foxes 1 – Pine-Richland Rams 0 in Overtime

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2013 WPIAL GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY CLASS AA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:

Shady Side Academy Indians 2 – Winchester Thurston Bears 1 in Overtime  (MSA)

With one minute to play in overtime, Shady Side Academy’s Corby Wolfe scored the game winning goal to lift the Indians to a 2-1 win over Winchester Thurston in the Class AA Field Hockey Championship on Tuesday night at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium.  The 5’3 Wolfe had just enough reach to tip a shot past Bears goalie Anastasia Landman and tuck the ball just inside the left post for the game winning marker.  While Wolfe managed to get the final shot by Landman, Winchester Thurston’s junior net minder played a fantastic game and turned the Indians away on numerous scoring chances throughout the night.  Vying for its first ever WPIAL crown, Winchester Thurston scored first on a top shelf redirect by Sophie Burkholder to put the Bears in front, 1-0, with 23:46 to go in the first half.  Shady Side’s Sarah Anania evened the score at 1-1 with a goal coming with 9:05 remaining in the second half, ultimately forcing overtime. That set the stage for Wolfe’s game winning tally in the extra period to vault Shady Side Academy to their third straight WPIAL championship and 13th Class AA title all-time.

WPIAL CLASS AA Semifinals:

Winchester Thurston Bears 3 – Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 1

Shady Side Academy Indians 2 – Ellis School Tigers 1 in Overtime Penalty Shots (2-0)