Norwin claims 1st WPIAL soccer championship with PK shootout win over North Allegheny

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, November 4, 2023 | 9:25 PM

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When Norwin started a group chat in the preseason, they called it “Road to Highmark.”

When they rattled off back-to-back playoff upsets, they changed the name to, “Highmark.”

Maybe now the Knights will label the ongoing text chain, “WPIAL champs.”

George Bunovich scored the clinching penalty kick in a shootout as No. 8 seed Norwin won its first WPIAL boys soccer championship with a 2-1 (5-3 PKs) victory over No. 2 North Allegheny on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.

“This doesn’t feel real,” Norwin goalkeeper Anthony Scalise said. “Taking down the 1 and the 2 (seeds) on PKs is unheard of.

“This shows so much about our character and who we are.”

Norwin (15-5-1) edged the Tigers (16-2-3) in a classic Class 4A district final as Owen Christopher, Alex Brown, Daniel Maddock and Chase Molinaro also all scored in the shootout after the teams tied 1-1 in regulation and played to a stalemate in 30 minutes of overtime.

“I knew I was going to be the fifth shooter coming in, so I took 100-plus PKs before our first playoff match,” Bunovich said. “This is the best feeling in the world.”

His goal into the lower-left corner sent Norwin into a frenzy.

Lucas Henderson, Noah Hutter and Arnav Patel scored in the shootout for the Tigers.

Scalise, who made eight saves, deflected the most important one on North Allegheny’s third attempt, by Nathan Katari.

Dante Accamando made 10 saves for the Tigers in a showcase of goalkeeping talent.

“Dante made some huge saves,” Scalise said. “When we play together (on the same Beadling team), we better not allow any goals.”

Norwin had not been to the finals since 2018 and, before that, 1989.

Luke Brady gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute as he crashed the net and took a touch wide, turning his momentum into a goal that rattled off the crossbar and over the line.

North Allegheny clutched the lead for 60 minutes before Norwin broke through for the equalizer.

Quiet offensively for much of the night, Norwin awoke in the 73rd minute.

Maddock, in deep in the goal area, bumped in a header off a well-placed corner kick to make it 1-1.

“Our guys showed so much heart,” said Norwin interim coach Carter Breen, who was filling in for Scott Schuchert, the head coach who was serving a two-game suspension because of two yellow cards in the quarterfinals. “To fight back the way they did, it’s just amazing.”

Schuchert was not at Station Square like he talked about earlier in the week. Instead, he watched the game at his grandmother’s house, a Norwin assistant said.

“Scotty played here and wanted to win this since he was a player,” Christopher said. “After the first five minutes, (North Allegheny) dominated us. They were very physical and had us on our heels. I hate to keep saying it, but we took offense to being the No. 8 seed and the momentum stayed with us.”

North Allegheny was seeking its 10th WPIAL title and first since 2017.

“We had some really good moments and some good opportunities,” North Allegheny coach Manny Montero said. “Credit to Norwin for creating havoc.”

Both teams will open the PIAA playoffs Tuesday.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny, Norwin