Sports
Dominant Norwin Wins WPIAL Girls AAA Title
November 7, 2015
The top-seeded Norwin Knights continued their incredible defensive run with a dominatin 3-0 over the Upper Saint Clair Panthers at Highmark Stadium at Station Square Friday night to win their first WPIAL girls soccer championship since 1997. The Knights dominated throughout finally cracking the scoreboard in the 21st minute of play when Emily Harrigan headed a perfect cross from Lexie Kolano to the upper left hand corner of the goal behind USC keeper Nikki Gibbons for a 1-0 lead. As has been the case 18 times this season, that single goal would be all the Knights needed. The goal for Harrigan was her 19th of the season.
Highway to Heinz – First Round Recaps
The cones were removed and the pylons picked up as the ribbon was cut Friday at 7:30pm to open up the 2015 version of the Highway to Heinz. Like many motorists who have been frustrated by ramp closures to the Parkway recently, there was a logjam at the first exit as 32 teams were forced to exit. You can listen to any of the 32 archives on MSA Sports or check out any of the 32 recaps from the First Round of the WPIAL Football Playoffs.Scholastic Notebook – 11/06/2015
November 6, 2015
The WPIAL football playoffs start Friday night. Does that mean the Tri-County South Conference turns into the Tri-County Sour bunch once again? The Tri-County South in Class A hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season. Since then, Tri-County South teams are 0-16 in the postseason. But maybe there is hope to end the postseason drought this year. Frazier finished the regular season with a 9-0 record and the Commodores were given the No. 4 seed. Frazier led the entire WPIAL in fewest points allowed this season and it plays host to South Side in a first-round game.WPIAL Friday Football Scores – 11/06/2015
There are no more second chances. There are no more 'we'll get them next week'. There are no tomorrows...unless of course you were victorious. It is win and advance time as the large field of 64 was sliced in half to 32 by the end of opening night. Cruel and unfair? Perhaps. but those are the road rules for the chosen who make the yearly trip on the Highway to Heinz. Here are the First Round scores of all 32 games, ALL of which were heard exclusively on the MSA Sports Network. WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round: Woodland Hills Wolverines 41 - Hempfield Spartans 7 (F) Bethel Park Black Hawks 34 - Kiski Area Cavaliers 26 (F) North Allegheny Tigers 56 - Norwin Knights 17 (F)2015/2016 PIHL Hockey Standings
November 5, 2015
Here are the latest 2015-2016 standings for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League. You can follow the PIHL high school hockey regular season with weekly audio and video broadcasts, plus the PIHL Notebook with classification previews every Monday in October and the PIHL Power Play Show on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm starting in December ONLY here on the MSA Sports Network. * = Clinched a Penguins Cup Playoff Spot x = Eliminated from Penguins Cup Playoff Chase PIHL CLASS AAAWPIAL Girls Volleyball Semifinals Recaps 2015
The unkindest cut of all is a loss in the Semifinals of any tournament. You're so close to reaching your ultimate goal of playing for a title that was made long before the season even began. All of the workouts and practices and you just fall short. No gold, no silver, no championship match feel. However the season is not over. For the winners, it's on to the district finals, but even for the losers, its a spot in the consolation match or a berth in the state playoffs. Here are recaps from all of the thrills on Semifinals Thursday in WPIAL Girls Volleyball. A special thanks to Cory Campano, James Dotson, Lee Mohn, Randy Gore, Sam Hall and Greg Kuntz for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAA Semifinals:Chicks Picks – Week 10 – 2015
Welcome to Week 10 of the high school football season. As a veteran prognosticator, Chick’s Picks has received countless commendations over the years. None of these honors, however, were quite as prestigious as the one earned this week. Chick’s Picks received an anonymous phone call early Sunday morning. The caller, a woman, told Chick’s Picks that her presence was requested by The Committee on Monday afternoon. Confused, Chick’s Picks inquired further as to which committee the woman was referring. The woman simply said, “Report to the Double Tree Hotel in Greentree at noon tomorrow. Bring your crystal ball. All of your questions will be answered there.”WPIAL Big Game Hunting – First Round
The Highway to Heinz begins this week, a very exciting time in southwestern Pennsylvania and at the MSA Sports Network. We have been stretched to the max by the fall championship season but with one final tug we found a way to carry every single WPIAL football playoff game yet again. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Most years I fall in love with 8 v 9 games, but this year was different for me. Looking through the brackets I found myself most fascinated by three of the 7 v 10 games. Hey at this point they’re all big games, so easy pickins as we go post season Big Game Hunting. Class AAAA:District College Football Preview for November 7th
November 4, 2015
The first week of November sees a ton of early games. The PSAC West ends it’s schedule with four games. In the PAC, a battle for the top spot in Cleveland as both Thomas More and Case Western are unbeaten. Here are previews of ALL THE GAMES. Edinboro(0-9) at Seton Hill(2-7) Noon The Fighting Scots are 0-6 in the West Division. Darren Massey is second in the PSAC with 73 catches but only has 5 touchdowns. Edinboro is the least penalized team in the PSAC at 53 yards per game.Fox Chapel Ousts North Allegheny as WPIAL AAA Field Hockey Champ
Fox Chapel won its second WPIAL Class AAA crown in the last four seasons by defeating the defending champion North Allegheny Tigers, 2-0, at Newman Stadium at North Allegheny High School on Tuesday night. The Tigers were trying for a three-peat and were facing a Fox Chapel team that had defeated them in the season opener, 4-0. The rematch was a more tightly contested affair thanks to a North Allegheny defense that was able to thwart an unrelenting Fox Chapel attack throughout the entire first half. Fox Chapel outshot North Allegheny, 15-3 on the night and dictated the pace of the game, but the Tigers managed to stymie the Foxes for a while thanks to the play of goalie Katie Shideler.Ellis School Upsets Shady Side to Repeat in WPIAL AA Field Hockey
In a WPIAL title game rematch, the Ellis School Tigers won their second straight Class AA crown with a 1-0 triumph over the Shady Side Academy Indians. The game was very similar to last year’s title tilt and again came down to a second half goal by Ellis School as the deciding factor. The Tigers had the advantage in penalty corners, 9-3, and had three consecutive corner opportunities to end the first half. Ellis was unable to capitalize on their corner tries before halftime and the game remained scoreless deep into the second half.WPIAL Girls Volleyball Quarterfinals Recaps 2015
Upsets in this years district girls volleyball postseason have been as frequent as tumbleweeds blowing down the streets of Pittsburgh. Ten of the twelve winners in Round Two were higher seeds as Montour and South Fayette in Class AA are the lone exceptions to Top Four Seeds heading into the Final Four on Thursday. Here are recaps from Quarterfinals Tuesday in the 2015 WPIAL Girls Volleyball Playoffs. A special thanks to Cory Campano, Greg Kuntz, Sean Meyers, Bob Orkwis, Rob Longo, Brandon Showers, Sam Hall, James Dotson and Dave Floyd for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:2015 WPIAL GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY RESULTS
November 3, 2015
One of the shortest team tournaments in the WPIAL turned out to be a golden two rounds of success for the two #2-seeds. Both Fox Chapel in Class AAA and The Ellis School in Class AA upset the top seeds North Allegheny and Shady Side Academy in the district championship matches to win field hockey crowns. The title is the second for the Foxes in school history and first since 2012. Meanwhile the Tigers enjoy their sixth WPIAL field hockey championship and second straight golden stick. Ellis School won back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003 as well. Here are ALL the results from the 2015 WPIAL Girls Field Hockey Playoffs. 2015 WPIAL GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:WPIAL Plays of the Week – Week Nine 2015
The 2015 WPIAL football regular season came to a dramatic conclusion, with countless teams jockeying for playoff positioning, while other squads were fighting just to qualify for the postseason. This past Friday, one crucial play likely determined the top seed in Class AAA, while a thrilling shootout in Class A led to a record-setting performance. Also, the unpredictable Allegheny Conference produced more fireworks, with longtime rivals squared off with home-field advantage on the line in the Eastern Conference. Here are the best of the best from the final week of the campaign. 1. Central Valley 23, West Allegheny 13WPIAL Soccer Semifinals Recaps
On one side, the girls held serve as all three top-seeds and a pair of #2-seeds have advanced through the first three rounds to lead to three anticipated title matches. On the other side of the pitch, it has been a great postseason to be a #4-seed as all three upset the top-seeds in the Semifinals and are one victory away from district gold. Here are ALL of the summaries from the twelve district boys and girls Semifinals contests from Monday in the WPIAL Soccer Playoffs. A special thanks to Rob Longo, Mike Azadian, Lee Mohn, Randy Gore, Adam Hoerner, James Dotson, Matt Vandriak, Brandon Showers, Greg Kuntz and Kyle Dawson for their help on these recaps. WPIAL CLASS AAA BOYS Semifinals:
