5A Boys Basketball First Round Recap

BOYS BASKETBALL

5A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND

Mars 76, Bethel Park 40

7th-seeded Mars (15-8) made a big time statement to the rest of 5A as they were able to jump out to a 23-9 lead after a quarter of play and get the running clock going in the second half en route to a 76-40 victory over 10th-seeded Bethel Park (13-9) on Friday night at North Hills High School.

Tasso Sfanos was his usual self, going for 26 points for Mars while Ryan Ceh added 18 of his own. Ben Guffey had 14 points for Bethel Park while Nick Brown had 12 points.

Mars will advance to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will match up with Penn Hills on Wednesday.

South Fayette 34, Shaler 33

Elijah Hill hit the go-ahead shot for 8th-seeded South Fayette (14-9) with eight seconds remaining to defeat a pesky 9th-seeded Shaler (16-7) team 34-33 at home on Friday night.

After a tight first quarter, South Fayette made the first move of the game going on a 14-0 run that would span from late in the second quarter to late in the third quarter, giving the Lions a 24-16 lead. Shaler would score their first points of the second half with four seconds left in the third quarter.

South Fayette got the lead all the way up to 28-19 when Shaler would go on a 10-0 run and take the 29-28 lead with three minutes left in the game. Shaler would keep the lead at 33-30 when South Fayette got a steal with 45 seconds left and turned it into a quick layup cutting the lead to one. Shaler then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 which set the stage for Hill to be the hero, scoring and coming away with the 34-33 victory.

Michael Plasko finished with 19 points for South Fayette. Kaden Orga led Shaler with 11 points. South Fayette advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals and will take on top-seeded Peters Township on Wednesday.

Penn Hills 38, Trinity 29

15th-seeded Trinity (10-13) battled all night but 5A’s top defense was at it again as 2nd-seeded Penn Hills (18-3) didn’t have the offense they usually do, but the defense was there for them to pull out a 38-29 win at home.

While Trinity hung around all night, Penn Hills never lost the lead as they were able to keep it from midway through the first quarter until the final buzzer. Daemar Kelly had 21 points including 13/14 from the free throw line.

Penn Hills advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will take on Mars on Wednesday.

Fox Chapel 62, Thomas Jefferson 45

The defending 6A WPIAL Champions may have been the No. 11 seed and had to go on the road in the WPIAL 5A First Round but their playoff experience showed big time Friday night as they were able to handle 6th-seeded Thomas Jefferson (15-8) 62-45.

Fox Chapel (14-9) and Thomas Jefferson kept it close early each getting their leading scorer going early, Jefferson Moorefield-Brown for Fox Chapel and Evan Berger for Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had a 10-9 lead late in the first quarter but a little 4-0 run by Fox Chapel gave them the 13-12 lead after a quarter.

Thomas Jefferson would again fight back to take the 22-21 lead but a 9-0 Fox Chapel run to finish the second quarter would give the Foxes a 30-22 lead but a half-court buzzer-beater by Noah Prosser gave Thomas Jefferson a little momentum, even though they trailed 30-25 at the half.

Fox Chapel started to get separation in the third quarter as they outscore Thomas Jefferson 16-9 and got the lead to double digits at 46-34 heading into the fourth quarter. Trailing by double digits in the fourth, Thomas Jefferson was forced to press and Fox Chapel continued to pour on the points, rolling to a 62-45 victory.

Kam Greil led Fox Chapel with 20 points. Moorefield-Brown had 16. Berger had 16 points for Thomas Jefferson.

Fox Chapel advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will take on North Hills on Wednesday. This is a rematch of last year’s WPIAL 6A Championship.

Peters Township 66, Penn-Trafford 55

When they teams met in December, it was all Peters Township (20-3) as the Indians won by 29 points. 16th-seeded Penn-Trafford (7-16) was much different this time around playing a much more competitive contest that Peters Township would ultimately win 66-55.

Things stayed tight throughout the first half with top-seeded Peters Township being able to get a little bit of separation in the second quarter and took a 40-28 lead into halftime. Penn-Trafford would fight back in the second half and only trailed 52-46 early in the fourth quarter. A 4-0 run would put Peters Township back up by double figures and Penn-Trafford would never get closer than nine points after that.

Brendan McCullough had 17 points for Peters Township. Jack Dunbar had 13 points, Jake Ziegler added 12 points and Nate Miller pitched in 10. Tyler Freas had 18 points for Penn-Trafford while Brayden Stone contributed 13 points.

Peters Township advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will take on South Fayette on Wednesday.

North Hills 76, Kiski Area 71

14th-seeded Kiski Area (11-12) exploded offensively and had the lead over 3rd-seeded North Hills (18-5) through three quarters of play, but the Indians who were last year’s 6A runner-up was able to work their way back into the lead and hold off Kiski Area 76-71 at home on Friday night.

It was nothing but offense for both teams in the first quarter as Kiski Area jumped out to a 29-24 lead after a quarter of play. Things remained the same in the second quarter with Kiski Area continuing to hit from deep and they were actually able to extend their lead to 49-42 at the break.

North Hills started to make their move in the third quarter as they were able to get the deficit down to 61-60 heading into the fourth quarter. Kiski Area tried to slow things down in the final frame but North Hills picked up the defensive pressure. North Hills got a huge basket from Jake Pollaro that would spark an 8-0 run and give North Hills the lead. Kiski Area trailed 74-71 but a three-point attempt to tie fell short, Logan Johnson was fouled and hit the free throws, and North Hills escaped with a 76-71 win.

Royce Parham continued to show why he was 5A’s leading scorer this season dropping 30 points. Eric James had 18 in his playoff debut. Noah Thimons was huge for Kiski Area off the bench with 21 points and Isaiah Gonzales added 16.

North Hills advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will take on Fox Chapel. This is a rematch of last year’s WPIAL 6A Championship.

Gateway 55, Woodland Hills 40

4th-seeded Gateway (16-5) pulled away from 13th-seeded Woodland Hills (14-9) in the final seven minutes of the game to come away with a 55-40 victory in the WPIAL 5A First Round.

Gateway had a big time first half offensively, shooting 57% from the field and 5/8 from three-point land taking a 32-21 lead into the locker room at halftime. Woodland Hills started to work the ball inside to Lamar Williams in the third quarter and they start to cut into Gateway’s lead.

Woodland Hills got the deficit all the way down to 40-36 with seven minutes remaining and trailed by five with five minutes remaining but a 15-4 run for the Gators would be all they needed to seal a first round victory 55-40 over Woodland Hills.

Jaydon Carr had 20 points for Gateway. He was 9/10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter including 7/8 in the final four minutes. Kaleb Pryor added 11 points. Chaz Cobbs led Woodland Hills with 13 points. Williams added 12 points and Shanier Pinkney pitched in 11 points.

Gateway advances to the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals where they will take on McKeesport on Wednesday. The two teams are both out of Section 3-5A and split the regular season series.

2022 4A Boys Soccer All-Section Teams Announced

4A Boys Soccer Photo Gallery

SECTION 1
FIRST TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Will BrunoSeneca ValleyForwardSenior
Colin ZvejnieksPine-RichlandForwardSenior
Pablo LinzoainFox ChapelMidfieldSophomore
Beaux LizewskiSeneca ValleyMidfieldSenior
Connor OrosSeneca ValleyMidfieldSenior
Aidan Dyga North AlleghenyDefenderSenior
Colin WesterbergFox ChapelDefenderSenior
John Paul BrachFox ChapelAt-LargeSenior
Josh JashinskiShalerAt-LargeSenior
Cody LubinskyButlerAt-LargeJunior
Ben RishelPine-Richland At-Large Senior
Cadan Bennett Pine-Richland GoalkeeperJunior
COACH OF THE YEAR
Troy MohneyButler
SECOND TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Cole KamarecSeneca ValleyForward Junior
George TaborFox ChapelForwardSenior
Cale KlaffPine-Richland MidfieldSenior
Max MarcotteSeneca ValleyMidfieldSenior
Danny Stevens North AlleghenyMidfieldJunior
Jeremiah LaslavicSeneca ValleyDefenderSenior
Andrew Lucas Butler DefenderJunior
Ben ChristianNorth Allegheny At-LargeSenior
Drew KnightButler At-LargeJunior
Colin Lazzara Fox ChapelAt-LargeJunior
Gavin LoyaSeneca ValleyAt-Large Senior
Ryan KrumenackerSeneca ValleyGoalkeeperSenior
HONORABLE MENTION
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Ben HankinsonSeneca ValleyDefenderSenior
Nick KilgoreButlerDefenderJunior
Kevin Luo North AlleghenyDefenderSenior
Ben RandallSeneca ValleyDefenderSenior
Michael ShinFox ChapelDefenderJunior
Lance WoessnerShalerDefenderSenior
SECTION 2
FIRST TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Anthony BellinoCanon-McMillanForwardSenior
Tyler RiemerUpper St. ClairForwardSenior
Milo LarsonTaylor AllderdiceMidfieldSenior
Jacob GlancyCanon-McMillanMidfield Senior
James IvanovMt. LebanonMidfield Senior
Jordan KatreebCanon-McMillanDefenseSenior
Baden FridayUpper St. ClairDefenseSenior
Anthony ScaliseNorwinGoalkeeperJunior
Liam DonahueTaylor AllderdiceAt-LargeSenior
Vincent LombardiMt. LebanonAt-LargeSenior
Owen ChristopherNorwinAt-LargeJunior
Roman MilaniPeters TownshipAt-LargeSenior
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob DyerPeters Township
SECOND TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Alex BrownNorwinForwardJunior
Blake GabelhartPeters TownshipForwardJunior
David GoldbergUpper St. ClairMidfieldSenior
Mason LewisPeters TownshipMidfieldSenior
Ezra DubowitzTaylor AllderdiceMidfieldSenior
Steven SuchkoPeters TownshipDefenderSenior
Connor Hoye Peters Township DefenderSenior
Jonathon HevekerHempfieldGoalkeeperSenior
Daniel MaddockNorwin At-LargeSophomore
Andrew PoppUpper St. ClairAt-LargeSenior
Cole LangUpper St. ClairAt-LargeSenior
Jackson Sirianni NorwinAt-LargeSenior
HONORABLE MENTION
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Nick MageePeters TownshipForwardSenior
Ryan HiggsUpper St. ClairForwardSenior
Tate CampbellTaylor AllderdiceForwardSenior
Ryan GalicacCanon-McMillanMidfieldJunior
Parker WeissPeters TownshipMidfieldSophomore
John HamiltonMt. LebanonMidfieldSenior
Braden CroweHempfield MidfieldFreshman
Brady LisakUpper St. ClairDefenderSenior
Josh KnightBaldwinDefenderSenior
Cole BartonMt. LebanonGoalkeeperSophomore

Boys Soccer Class 4A All-Section Teams Announced

First-Team Photo Gallery

2020 Boys Soccer Class 4A All-Section Teams

SECTION 1
FIRST TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Landon MohneyButlerForwardJunior
Nate LazzaraFox ChapelForwardSenior
Evan AndersonNorth AlleghenyForwardJunior
Kensly OwensNorth AlleghenyForwardSenior
Zack LaValleSeneca ValleyForwardSenior
Evan FetterButlerMidfieldSenior
Will SangpachatanarukPine-RichlandMidfieldSenior
Beaux LizewskiSeneca ValleyMidfieldSophomore
Ross HartleyShalerMidfieldSenior
Ashton SchutzmanFox ChapelDefenderJunior
Chase ThomasSeneca ValleyDefenderSenior
Adam DaviesSeneca ValleyGoalkeeperSenior
COACH OF THE YEAR
George WilliamsSeneca Valley
SECOND TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
David MerrimanFox ChapelForwardSenior
Nathan EastgateSeneca ValleyForwardSenior
Anthony ShinFox ChapelMidfieldSenior
Zoha PetersonNorth AlleghenyMidfieldSenior
Jonathan SwannNorth AlleghenyMidfieldSenior
Mason BaldwinSeneca ValleyMidfieldSenior
Brian SeidlShalerMidfieldSenior
Tyler GillisButlerDefenderSenior
Jack NuryFox ChapelDefenderSenior
Max KressNorth AlleghenyDefenderSenior
Jacob CiganikShalerDefenderJunior
Alex MarencelNorth HillsGoalkeeperSenior
HONORABLE MENTION
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Sean AhiaFox ChapelForwardJunior
AJ DeLeonibusShalerForwardSenior
Cody LubinskyButlerMidfieldFreshman
Will StaskoNorth AlleghenyMidfieldSenior
Brandon McEwenNorth HillsMidfieldJunior
Cale KlaffPine-RichlandMidfieldSophomore
Kyle MajeskiSeneca ValleyMidfieldSenior
Ryan OscheNorth HillsDefenderSenior
Sam DeFabboSeneca ValleyDefenderSenior
Clayton HumbertFox ChapelGoalkeeperSenior
SECTION 2
FIRST TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Joey MoellerBaldwinForwardSenior
Kalala IraqiBrashearForwardJunior
Andrew MassucciPeters TownshipForwardJunior
Jack MeyersUpper St. ClairForwardSenior
Joey FonagyCanon-McMillanForwardSenior
Ben BacdayanUpper St. ClairMidfieldSenior
Zach NellasMt. LebanonMidfieldSenior
Zac D'AlesandroMt. LebanonMidfieldJunior
Austin MarmolPeters TownshipMidfieldJunior
Owen MaherCanon-McMillanDefenderSenior
Dominic SambucoPeters TownshipDefenderSenior
Kaiden ReamerCanon-McMillanGoalkeeperSenior
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bobby DyerPeters Township
SECOND TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Anthony BellinoCanon-McMillanForwardSophomore
Deepan MagarBrashearMidfieldSenior
Luke HolmesPeters TownshipMidfieldSenior
Zach StewartBaldwinMidfieldSenior
Ethan DonovanBethel ParkDefenderSenior
JJ CuddyUpper St. ClairDefenderSenior
Jake HarringtonBethel ParkDefenderSenior
Michael FrancusBethel ParkGoalkeeperSenior
Derek LiguoriPeters TownshipGoalkeeperSenior
SECTION 3
FIRST TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Brendan AshNorwinForwardSenior
Nolan AgostoniLatrobeForwardSenior
Lucas HammerleConnellsvilleForwardSenior
Nate SchlessingerPenn-TraffordForwardSenior
Zachary KautterCentral CatholicForwardSenior
Caleb YurichaNorwinMidfieldJunior
Luqman SabreeAllderdiceMidfieldSenior
Neel WillisAllderdiceMidfieldSenior
Gino DiMatteoCentral CatholicMidfieldSenior
Nate BownNorwinDefenderSenior
Christopher HallCentral CatholicDefenderJunior
Andy YanezNorwinGoalkeeperJunior
COACH OF THE YEAR
Scott SchubertNorwin
SECOND TEAM
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Riley ZimmermanNorwinForwardJunior
Robert PhelpsAllderdiceForwardJunior
Ian BrownNorwinMidfieldSenior
Nico LorenziLatrobeMidfieldJunior
Nate MyersLatrobeMidfieldSenior
Ben KissellHempfieldMidfieldSenior
Seth BasingerConnellsvilleMidfieldSophomore
Nick KorbAllderdiceDefenderSenior
Logan BrinkoPenn-TraffordDefenderSenior
Lucas KillenPenn-traffordDefenderSenior
Will CaseyLatrobeAt-LargeJunior
Owen KelleyHempfieldGoalkeeperSophomore
HONORABLE MENTION
NAMESCHOOLPOSITIONGRADE
Justin NovotenyHempfieldForwardJunior
Milo LarsonAllderdiceMidfieldSophomore
Ethan RiceConnellsvilleMidfieldSophomore
Owen ChristopherNorwinDefenderFreshman
Giovanni FragolaPenn-TraffordDefenderSenior
Matthew SchearerCentral CatholicDefenderJunior
Ben HamatyLatrobeAt-LargeJunior

Seneca Valley Captures First State Soccer Title

The Seneca Valley boys soccer program made its second trip to Hershey for the PIAA championship, and came away with its first title.

It took a little extra time, as the Raiders defeated District 1 champion Neshaminy, 2-1 in double overtime, in the Class 4A championship.

Zach Lavalle scored 36 seconds into the second overtime to walk off the championship for Seneca Valley, who finished the season 17-1-1.

The Raiders were in trailing for the majority of regulation after Neshaminy scored the opening goal eight minutes into the game.

Seneca Valley got the equalizer from Nathan Eastgate 9:29 into the second half, assisted by Lavalle.

The game remained tied until Lavalle’s heroics in the second time. Luke Simpson assisted on the championship-winning goal for the Raiders.

Seneca Valley Boys Soccer Advances To PIAA Championship Game

For the first time since 2015, the Seneca Valley boys soccer team will be traveling to Hershey to compete in the Class 4A PIAA Championship Game.

On a snow covered field at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona, the Raiders came away with a 1-0 victory against District 3 champion, Cumberland Valley.

Nathan Prex scored the game-winning goal with 23:22 left in the first half, assisted by Mason Baldwin.

Stellar defense and goaltending by Adam Davies preserved the lead for the remainder of the game.

Seneca Valley will face District 1 champion, Neshaminy, on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Hershey for the state title.

Seneca Valley Boys Soccer Cruises Into PIAA Semifinals

It took them a half to find the back of the net, but when they did, WPIAL champions Seneca Valley scored in bunches, dispatching District 6 champion State College, 6-0, in the Class 4A PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday at home.

Zach Lavelle scored the first two goals of the game for the Raiders. Beaux Lizewski, the hero from the WPIAL Championship Game, scored again to make it 3-0.

Seneca Valley continued to pour it on in the second half with goals from Nate Eastgate, Connor Schmidt, and Jonathan Pruce.

The Raiders advance to play District 3 champion, Cumberland Valley, tonight at 7 p.m. at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.

Seneca Valley Boys Soccer Rallies For WPIAL Championship

For the second time in three years, the Seneca Valley boys soccer team will enter the Class 4A PIAA playoffs as the WPIAL champions.

It wasn’t easy, but the No. 2 Raiders knocked off top-seeded Peters Township, 4-3 in double overtime, at North Allegheny on Saturday.

Sophomore Beaux Lizewski registered a hat trick, including the game-winning goal with 4:40 left in double overtime to propel the Raiders.

Lizewski opened up the scoring with his first goal with 27:47 left in the first half.

After that, Peters Township took a commanding lead, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 halftime lead.

The Raiders comeback started when Nathan Eastgate cut the deficit in half with 30:03 left in the game.

It was all Lizewski from there. Lizewski scored the equalizer with 16:19 remaining in regulation, before knocking in the before mentioned game-winner in double overtime.

Seneca Valley will face District 6 champion, State College on Saturday in the PIAA Quarterfinals.

Peters Twp. Advances To WPIAL Final With Another Double OT Win

For the second time in as many home playoff games, the top-seed in the Class 4A boys soccer bracket, Peters Township, advanced with a 2-1 win in double overtime.

This time, the Indians knocked off No. 4 Fox Chapel to advance to their first title game since 2017.

Fox Chapel got on the board first and held a 1-0 lead at halftime.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Andrew Massucci tied the game, sending it to overtime.

After a few close calls from both teams in the overtime sessions, Massucci played hero once again, scoring the game-winning goal with 49 seconds left in the overtime period. Dominic Sambuco set up the game-winning goal.

Peters Township will play No. 2 Seneca Valley, who defeated No. 3 Norwin, 5-1, on Saturday at North Allegheny High School at 3 p.m.

Top-seed Peters Township survives Baldwin in Double OT

It’s always tough to beat a team three times in one season, and that seemed to be the case on Saturday at Peters Township.

The top-seeded Indians, who swept No. 9 Baldwin in the regular season, went to double overtime in their Class 4A WPIAL quarterfinal game before coming out victorious, 2-1.

Andrew Massucci scored the game-winning goal with 10:52 left in the second overtime. Massucci also assisted on the Indians’ first goal, scored by Alex Grim. Grim’s goal tied the game in the first half.

Peters Township will be making its first WPIAL semifinal appearance since 2017 when they host No. 4 Fox Chapel, who defeated Upper St. Clair, 6-0.

The semifinals will be on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Butler Survives Canon-Mac in Penalty Kicks

The No. 10 Butler Golden Tornado boys soccer team advanced to the Class 4A WPIAL quarterfinals with a 2-1 win in penalty kicks on Tuesday night at No. 7 Canon-McMillan.

After a scoreless first half, the Big Macs got on the board first with a goal from Owen Maher.

With 12:34 remaining in the game, Tyler Gillis tied the game for Butler, and the score would remain tied for the remainder of regulation and through two overtimes but Butler won the game in penalty kicks.

Butler advances to its fourth straight WPIAL quarterfinals, losing the last three times. They will face No. 2 Seneca Valley on the road on Saturday at noon.

They split the regular season series with the Raiders, with both teams winning at home.