Bill Beckner stories, Page 47

Late Saturday night at Highmark Stadium, with the twinkle of the Pittsburgh skyline reflecting off the Monongahela River, Rick Zappone wasn’t sure if going to penalty kicks favored his Norwin team or North Allegheny more. After all, both teams were exhausted, drained by unrelenting yet superior soccer that still left...

Anthony Giansante and Jackson Pruitt were supposed to be playing college football this fall. Giansante should be a redshirt sophomore and Western Carolina, Pruitt a redshirt junior at Youngstown State. But instead, the former high school standouts found football fulfillment on the coaching staff at Norwin. “You don’t get the...

Eva Denis School: Greensburg Central Catholic Class: Junior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Denis, who contributes in several ways to the Centurions’ rotation, helped the team reach the WPIAL Class A semifinals. In a 3-2 loss to Serra Catholic, she had 17 kills and five blocks. GCC finished fourth in...

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...

Establishing a running game, hitting some long scoring plays and sending a message early on defense, Greensburg Central Catholic erased a nuisance of a playoff drought. Speaking of nuisances, West Greene played that part well in the WPIAL Class A first round. No. 8 seed GCC took a big lead...

Already a world-class athlete, Bridget (Guy) Williams became a world champion with a victory at the Pan Am Games. The Hempfield and Virginia alum soared to a gold medal in the pole vault Friday at Julio Martinez Pradanos National Stadium in Santiago, Chile with a vault of 4.6 meters (15...

North Allegheny and Butler engaged in some chippy final minutes in the WPIAL boys soccer semifinals. There was physical play, even some shoving, which resulted in yellow cards and a red card on Butler. Tigers second-year coach Manny Montero doesn’t condone that level of aggression, but he wasn’t completely put...

Greensburg Central Catholic versus West Greene. Truth be told, there isn’t very much green to this WPIAL Class A first-round playoff matchup. GCC (7-3) defeated West Greene (8-2) earlier in the season 48-30 and will look to make it back-to-back wins over the Pioneers when the teams play at 7...

Eleven games into his senior season, big-gloved Anthony Scalise was batting away shots, deflecting crosses and spoiling corner kicks with regularity. There weren’t many goalkeepers better than him in the state’s largest classification. But then came a freak disruption. The Norwin senior tore a groin muscle against rival Penn-Trafford in...

Robin Reilly was one of the top goal scorers and set-up midfielders in Class 3A this season. An All-WPIAL selection, the junior from Latrobe is up for the top award in the WPIAL game. Reilly is a finalist for the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player of the Year Award, which...

Class 5A quarterfinals 8-Franklin Regional (6-4) at 1-Peters Township (10-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Confluence Financial Partners Stadium, McMurray Last week: Penn-Trafford 27, Franklin Regional 14; Peters Township 68, Bethel Park 28 Winner plays: Winner of 5-Moon (5-5)/4-Gateway (5-5) in semifinals Nov. 10 (time, site TBA) These teams are meeting for...

A referee saw Carter Breen jogging across the field during pregame warmups Tuesday night at Hampton and stopped him. “He asked me if I was one of the players from Norwin,” Breen said. “I laughed. I’m like, ‘No, I’m the coach.’ ” Still looking the part of a youthful player,...

Moon senior goalkeeper Serayah Leech was selected to play in the 11th annual Girls’ Soccer High School All-American Game, set for Dec. 9 at Wando High School in Charleston, S.C. Moon’s Bill Pfeifer was already slated to coach the East team so he will join Leech in the prestigious event....

Anyone wearing a Halloween mask was not permitted to enter Hampton’s Fridley Field on Tuesday night. Anyone wearing a Norwin boys soccer jersey didn’t want to leave. There was plenty of celebrating to be done by the No. 8-seeded Knights after they clipped No. 5 Fox Chapel, 2-1, to continue...

Fourteen boys soccer players from the WPIAL were named to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list. Five coaches from Distict 7, meanwhile, garnered coach of the year honors by the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association. The all-state honorees include Tyler Prex (Seneca Valley), Tristan Ralph (Plum), Kaiden Fischer (South...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A Consolation game Franklin Regional (12-8) vs. Montour (15-5) 6 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny Players to watch: Jovan Sankoorikal, Franklin Regional; Jaxson Camp, Montour Throw-ins: The winner qualifies for the PIAA playoffs, and the loser’s season is finished. … Both teams have short weeks...

Ross Township’s Nathan Smith, a decorated amateur golfer and six-time USGA champion, is going to get used to having the word captain in front of his name. Smith was selected as captain of the East team for the 2024 East West Matches to be played Nov. 1-3, at Maridoe Golf...

Music thumped and blared from the Hampton locker room as Luke Fiscus was about to be interviewed after the game. “Want me to go in and turn that down?” the Talbots senior midfielder asked. And break the mood? Fiscus and his teammates had the volume on full blast most of...

Franklin Regional boys soccer coach Lukas Petersen is stepping down after this season, which isn’t over yet. Petersen, whose wife, Leslie Carrese, is taking a new job in Baltimore, told the team before the playoffs began that he was leaving but revealed it in an interview Monday night. The Panthers...

WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 4A Semifinals 8-Norwin (13-5-1) vs. 5-Fox Chapel (12-4-2) 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hampton Winner plays: Winner of 3-Butler (14-2-3)/2-North Allegheny (15-1-2) 5:45 p.m. Saturday in championship at Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh Players to watch: Anthony Scalise, Norwin; Colin Lazzara, Fox Chapel Throw-ins: Norwin pushed its way...

Norwin will make its first WPIAL boys soccer semifinal appearance since 2020 on Tuesday night, but the Knights will be without coach Scott Schuchert, who has to sit out after receiving two yellow cards — the equivalent of a red card — in the quarterfinal upset of No. 1 seed...

Three finalists were announced Monday for the Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player of the Year Award, now in its fifth year. The award recognizes the top girls soccer player in the WPIAL. A watch list was put together in August, and a committee of organizers, coaches and media pared it...

The All-WPIAL girls soccer list was announced Monday. The coaches’ selections are as follows: Lola Abraham, Sr., MF, Riverview Abigail Allan, Sr., MF, South Allegheny Gianna Babusci, Sr., F, Avonworth Shaye Bailey, Sr., F, Freedom Brooklyn Baldensperger, Jr., F, Elizabeth Forward Grace Bannon, Jr., MF, Montour Jillian Botti, Jr., D,...

Greensburg’s Mark Goetz is through to the next stage of qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour, a minor-league type feeder to the PGA Tour. Goetz, 25, finished tied for 10th at a first-stage tournament last week at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove-Crossings in Semmes, Ala. with...

When it comes to Conlan Greene, Temple can keep its redshirt. The former Penn-Trafford standout, who played quarterback and defensive end last season in the WPIAL, is suddenly starting for the Owls at defensive tackle. Injuries to teammates turned Greene into the next man up. According to 24/7 Sports, defensive...