Michael Love stories, Page 125
Mars is last obstacle in way of Plum girls soccer’s first WPIAL titleVideo
Earlier this season, the Plum girls soccer team ventured to Highmark Stadium for a matchup with section rival Oakland Catholic. The result wasn’t what the Mustangs had hoped for as they suffered a 3-1 loss to the Eagles. But almost two months from that Sept. 7 game, Plum still only...
Knoch, Thomas Jefferson to collide in WPIAL girls volleyball title match
Knoch and Thomas Jefferson were the top two ranked girls volleyball teams in WPIAL Class AAA throughout the season, and they were rewarded with the top two seeds in the playoff bracket. The No. 1 Knights (17-0) and No. 2 Jaguars (18-1) turned away challengers through the first three rounds,...
Freeport rallies to knock off Avonworth in WPIAL volleyball playoffs
The Freeport girls volleyball team hadn’t faced adversity this season like it did Thursday in a WPIAL Class AA semifinal match against Avonworth at North Allegheny. The Yellowjackets had lost only one game through their first 16 matches, but they stared in the face of a 2-0 deficit against the...
Fox Chapel and Knoch tennis players set their sights on PIAA titles
After helping Fox Chapel win its first PIAA Class AAA team tennis title since 2004, No. 1 singles player Charlotte James will turn her attention to the state singles tournament in Hershey this weekend. After winning doubles titles as a freshman and a sophomore with teammate Amanda Nord, the 2019...
A-K Valley runners on quest for medals at PIAA cross country meet
A contingent of Alle-Kiski Valley cross country teams and individuals hope to build on performances from WPIALs as they run against the state’s best Saturday at the PIAA championships in Hershey. Fox Chapel seniors Grace Sisson and Brooke Krally are used to running with a full team at states, but...
Knoch girls volleyball tops Franklin Regional, reaches WPIAL finals
The Knoch girls volleyball team will play for a third straight WPIAL Class AAA championship. The Knights swept past Franklin Regional on Wednesday in a semifinal match at North Allegheny, winning games 25-23, 25-17 and 25-18. “I am really proud of their effort,” Knoch coach Diane Geist said. “We’re hoping...
Knee injury behind her, Freeport senior ready for ‘high-pressure situations’ in WPIAL volleyball playoffs
Tori Radvan ended her sophomore volleyball season on the court at Johnstown’s Richland High School celebrating a state championship with her Freeport teammates. Her junior year began with promise as she hoped her veteran on-court presence would be an added benefit to another solid campaign for the Yellowjackets. But her...
A-K Valley football players to watch in the first week of WPIAL playoffs
Ryan Creehan Fox Chapel, Jr., TE/LB Creehan has been a key defender for the Foxes over the past several weeks. He led the way last Friday against Shaler with a team-best 12 tackles. He added 13 combined stops in wins over conference foes Mars and Armstrong to help Fox Chapel...
A-K Valley girls soccer capsule for Oct. 30
WPIAL Class AA Third-place consolation 8-Freeport (16-5) vs. 3-South Park (13-4-1) 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mars Winner plays: The District 5 or 6 champion Nov. 5 in the first round of the PIAA tournament Coaches: Brittni Grenninger, Freeport; Shelly Thropp, South Park Players to Watch: Aleah Parison, Fr., F, Freeport;...
Knoch girls volleyball digs deep, overcomes injuries to advance in WPIAL playoffs
Having two all-state volleyball players missing from a rotation might derail any number of teams, but the Knoch girls squad has used its depth and veteran leadership to stay in the WPIAL playoff mix. Playing without seniors Hannah Rowe and Kennedy Christy, their two top hitters, because of injury, the...
Freeport sweeps past Hopewell to earn spot in WPIAL semifinals
The Freeport girls volleyball team keeps on rolling. The Yellowjackets, the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, punched their ticket to the semifinals for the seventh straight season with a dominant 3-0 victory over No. 10 Hopewell on Tuesday at North Hills. Freeport held off the Vikings...
Freshman McKenzie Pritts scores twice, Yough blanks Freeport to reach WPIAL title game
The Yough girls soccer team recorded only two shots on goal over the first 43 minutes of its WPIAL Class AA semifinal against Freeport on Monday at Mars. But the Cougars made both shots count as they built a two-goal advantage. Yough added a goal later in the second half...
Surprising Freeport girls ‘want it all’ entering WPIAL soccer semifinalsVideo
Akina Boynton scored 11 goals during the regular season to help the Freeport girls soccer team to a 14-4 overall record, a runner-up finish in Section 2-AA and the No. 8 seed for the WPIAL playoffs. But perhaps none of those goals had the pressure or impact as the one...
A-K Valley girls soccer preview capsules: Games of Monday, Oct. 28, 2019
Monday’s games Girls Semifinals Class AAA 3-West Allegheny (15-2) vs. 2-Plum (16-1-1) 8 p.m. Monday at Mars Winner plays: Winner of 1-Mars (16-0-1)/5-Belle Vernon (16-3) in the championship at Highmark Stadium (time, date TBD). Coaches: Dave Tissue, West Allegheny; Jamie Stewart, Plum Players to Watch: Mackenzie Taranto, Jr., F, West...
A-K Valley football notebook: Late-season surge gets Kiski Area in playoffs
A series of playoff scenarios were on the table in the Class 5A Northern Conference entering Friday’s Week 9 games. First and foremost on Kiski Area’s mind was a win over rival Armstrong in its regular-season finale. Secondary was what Mars and Fox Chapel did in their games. The main...
Leechburg holds off Springdale in ’emotional’ victoryVideo
Last year, Leechburg defeated Springdale to cap its first non-losing season since 1991. The Blue Devils faced a similar scenario at home Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium as they needed to beat the Dynamos to finish at .500. The Eastern Conference rivals lit up the scoreboard throughout the 48 minutes,...
PIAA girls tennis roundup: Fox Chapel, Knoch, Sewickley Academy advance to semifinals
The Fox Chapel girls tennis team remained alive for a PIAA championship Friday with a 3-2 victory over District 1 champion Unionville at Hershey Racquet Club. The Foxes (16-2) advance to Saturday’s semifinals and will face District 3 champion Manheim Township at 9:30 a.m. They are the only WPIAL team...
Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson betters own course record, captures first WPIAL titleVideo
Patrick Anderson started this season by setting a course record at the Marty Uher Invitational on the Roadman Park course at Cal (Pa.). He turned in a time of 15 minutes, 54.40 seconds that day in late August. Anderson bettered that time in a return to Roadman for last week’s...
Knoch girls cross country team makes leap forward at WPIAL meet
Sammy Jo Barnes qualified for the PIAA cross country championships individually the past two seasons. The Knoch senior made it three in a row Thursday at Cal (Pa.) with a fifth-place finish (20 minutes, 27 seconds) in the Class AA girls race. Barnes was hoping for a little bit more,...
A-K Valley campus clippings: PSNK soccer team cruises into semifinals
The Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team, seeded third in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Tournament, rolled into the semifinals with a 7-1 victory Wednesday over Penn State Scranton. Sophomore Nolan Johngarlo (Kiski Area) had a goal and an assist, and junior Mitchell Kuczynski (St. Joseph) scored. Johngarlo...
A-K Valley football players to watch in Week 9
Jake Blumer Leechburg, sr., RB/LB The Blue Devils’ workhorse ball carrier ran wild against Bentworth to the tune of 242 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in last Friday’s dominant 46-13 victory. For the season, Blumer has 822 yards and 14 scores on 131 rushing attempts. Jack Dykes Kiski...
A-K Valley don’t-miss football matchups for Week 9
Class 5A Northern Armstrong (1-7, 0-6) at Kiski Area (4-5, 3-3) 7 p.m. Friday at Richard J. Dilts Field, Allegheny Township Last week: Fox Chapel 41, Armstrong 14; Kiski Area 10, Mars 7 Coaches: Frank Fabian, Armstrong; Sam Albert, Kiski Area Players to watch: Cole Brown, Armstrong (Jr., 6-1, 170,...
A-K Valley WPIAL girls soccer capsules: Games of Oct. 24, 2019
Girls soccer Quarterfinals Class AAAA 9-Fox Chapel (10-7-1) at 1-Norwin (16-1) 8 p.m. Thursday Winner plays: Winner of 4-Moon (15-2-1) and 5-Seneca Valley (12-3-2) on Monday in the semifinals Coaches: Peter Torres, Fox Chapel; Lauren Karcher, Norwin Players to watch: Lucy Ream, Jr., F, Fox Chapel; (Katelyn Kauffman, So., MF/F,...
Riverview ready to take a run at WPIAL cross country favorites
The Riverview boys cross country team finished runner-up to Winchester Thurston in Class A at WPIALs each of the past three seasons. The Raiders, led by juniors Mason Ochs and Gideon Deasy, would like to overtake the Bears on Thursday as the championships return to the Roadman Park course at...
Burrell girls soccer continues dominance with easy win over Mt. Pleasant
The Burrell girls soccer team’s dominance in the regular season extended to Monday’s WPIAL Class AA first-round game against Mt. Pleasant at Kiski Area. The undefeated fourth-seeded Bucs led 4-0 at halftime and cruised to a 5-0 victory over the 13th-seeded Vikings. “We will take this win and move forward...
