Colonials upend Laurel Highlands, 2-1
The Albert Gallatin boys soccer team upended Laurel Highlands Tuesday night, 2-1, in Section 3-AAA action.
The play was chippy at times with four yellow cards awarded in the match.
Sam Skala spotted the Colonials the early lead when he converted a cross from Kevin Thompson into a goal with 15:58 left in the first half.
The Mustangs (6-5, 8-7) tied the game with 31:07 remaining in the game with Nico Johns’ goal.
Christian Hicks was fouled in front of the Laurel Highlands goal and Christian Steeber found the back of the net on the penalty shot for the game-winning goal.
Nate McCusker earned the win for the Colonials.
Southmoreland 6, Brownsville 3 — Southmoreland responded with two goals in the second half for a Section 3-AA road victory at Brownsville.
The playoff-bound Scotties improve to 7-4 in the section and 7-8 overall. The Falcons’ had their playoff hopes crimped with the loss, going to 5-5-1 in the section and 7-6-1 overall.
Nate Kovscek converted a Preston Frost pass into a 1-0 lead for the home team at 35:59.
Southmoreland countered with a pair of goals by Brendan Moore and one by Andrew Rodriguez for a 3-1 lead. The Falcons’ Thomas Ruffcorn scored on a penalty kick just 32 seconds after the Rodriguez goal.
Noah Kinter’s goal at 17:18 gave the visitors a 4-2 lead at halftime.
Ruffcorn’s second goal, from Quinton Biddings, cut the deficit to a goal at 33:42.
Southmoreland responded with a pair of goals. Moore completed the hat trick and Rodriguez scored the final goal on a penalty kick at 10:50.
Bryce Fisher started in goal for Brownsville, allowing four goals on three shots before exiting with an injury. Kovscek replaced Fisher, allowing two goals on seven shots.
Alec DeWitt made 11 saves to preserve the win.
Belle Vernon 4, Greensburg Salem 1 — Daniel Sassak scored a hat trick to carry Belle Vernon to a Section 3-AAA victory over visiting Greensburg Salem.
The Leopards improve to 10-1 in the section and 14-1 overall. The Golden Lions go to 3-8 in the section and 4-11 overall.
Sassak scored the lone goal of the first half and added a pair in the second half. Niko Apodiakos also scored in the second half.
Chartiers-Houston 5, California 0 — Matt Bucha scored a hat trick to lead the visiting Bucs to a Section 4-A victory over the Trojans.
California slides to 0-11 in the section and 2-14 overall, while Chartiers-Houston improves to 6-3-2 in the section and 10-5-2 overall.
Ringgold 1, Trinity 0 — Andrew Bottino scored late in the second half to lift the Rams to a key Section 3-AAA victory over the visiting Hillers.
Ringgold improves to 7-4 in the section and 9-6 overall, and clinches its 10th consecutive playoff berth. Trinity goes to 7-3 and 9-4.
Brandin Jaki assisted on the game-winning goal. Jeremy Mullen made two saves for his third shutout of the season.
Girls volleyball
Elizabeth Forward 3, Yough 0 — The Elizabeth Forward girls rolled to a victory at Yough in Section 3-AAA action.
The Lady Warriors (8-3, 9-3) won by the scores, 25-10, 25-10, 25-22.
Sarah McCall led Elizabeth Forward with 28 assists and four aces. Leah Fournier (8 kills), Kaitlin Fournier (4 aces, 6 kills, 4 blocks), Abby Bickerton (9 kills), and Lilly Barker (5 kills) also contributed to the win.
Albert Gallatin 3, Belle Vernon 2 — The Albert Gallatin girls managed to fend off Belle Vernon in the fifth set for a road victory in Section 3-AAA action.
The Lady Colonials (6-5, 9-6) came out strong with wins of 25-15 and 25-22. The Lady Leopards (3-8, 4-9) bounced back to tie the match with set wins of 25-23 and 25-17.
Albert Gallatin secured the win by carrying the fifth set, 15-10.
Noelle Hall finished with a team-high 25 assists for the Lady Colonials. Kaylin Rhodes added 12 assists. Odessa Hillard finished with 18 kills and seven blocks. Elizabeth Murtha (6 kills, 6 aces), Paige Bogozi (6 kills, 6 aces), and Autumn Switalski (7 digs) also contributed to the victory.
Gianna Anderson had a team-high 19 digs for Belle Vernon. Mandy Fine finished with 12 service points, and Ashlyn Ayersman had eight kills.
Frazier 3, Beth-Center 0 — The Frazier girls cruised to a Section 3-AA victory at Beth-Center.
The Lady Commodores (9-0, 11-2) won by the scores, 25-16, 25-10, 25-13.
Alexis Lovis had a double-double for Frazier with 11 service points and 11 assists. Logan Hartman had seven assists. Sierra Twigg had six kills, while Kaelyn Shaporka finished with five kills and three blocks. Kathryn Barch had a team-high 15 digs.
Geibel Catholic 3, Jefferson-Morgan 0 — Geibel Catholic remained undefeated with a Section 2-A victory over visiting Jefferson-Morgan.
The Lady Gators (11-0, 11-0) won by the scores, 25-16, 25-10, 26-24.
Shannon Watkins was solid in the win with 26 assists, 10 service points, four aces and five kills. Lauren Tomasko was tough at the net with 18 kills. Hannah Geary finished with 11 service points and four aces. Kennedi Stockey had nine service points, four aces and six kills.
Caitlyn Dugan led the Lady Rockets (7-4, 9-5) with 13 digs and four kills. Abby Ankrom added 10 digs. Jessica Torres finished with three kills.
Carmichaels 3, West Greene 0 — Carmichaels remained a game behind Geibel Catholic in the Section 2-A standings with a victory over visiting West Greene.
Carmichaels won by the scores, 25-12, 25-6, 25-15.
The Lady Mikes improve to 10-1. The Lady Pioneers are 3-9 in the section and 8-9 overall.
Jersey Wise and Olivia Kiger both had 15 kills for West Greene. Paige Taylor and Anna Durbin contributed four kills apiece. BreAnn Jackson had five assists.
Alie McGee had a solid all-around performane for the Lady Mikes with 17 assists, 20 service points and five aces, as did Abbey Fordyce with 10 digs, 20 service points and three aces. Taylor Christopher had 17 kills and three blocks. Emma Hyatt (5 kills, 3 blocks) and Emma Holaren (18 digs, 3 aces) also contributed to the victory.
California 3, Mapletown 1 — The California girls dropped the first set, but rebounded to win the next three for a Section 2-A victory at Mapletown.
The Lady Trojans lost the first set, 27-25, then won the next three, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17.
Marlee Renner (7 aces, 6 kills), Ca’Mari Walden (6 kills, 6 blocks, 6 digs, 3 aces), Gianna Grillo (14 assists, 4 digs), Mylaina Pendo (3 blocks), Tayla Pascoe (20 digs, 2 aces), and Ashley Gush (3 aces, 4 digs) had noteworthy performances for California.
Macee Cree had 20 assists and 14 digs for the Lady Maples (1-10). Ella Menear finished with 16 digs, 6 kills and four aces. Krista Wilson (5 aces) and Sadie McCann (8 kills) also posted significant stats for Mapletown.
Connellsville 3, Penn Hills 1 — The Lady Falcons kept their hopes to capture a share of the Section 3-AAAA title alive with a victory over visiting Penn Hills.
The Lady Falcons secured the victory by the scores, 25-12, 25-13, 15-25, 25-10.
Connellsville improves to 7-3 in the section and 9-4 overall with section matches against Hempfield and Norwin remaining.
Lauren Bubarth led the way for the Lady Falcons with 23 digs and 11 kills. Maggie Means had a solid match with 20 digs and five kills. Alexis Geary finished with 21 assists, while Christina Stouffer had five kills.
Thomas Jefferson 3, Ringgold 0 — The Thomas Jefferson volleyball team was too much for visiting Ringgold for a Section 3-AAA victory.
The Lady Jaguars won by the scores, 25-7, 25-9, 25-10.
Zoey Mundorff finished with four assists and Dani Bagnell had two kills for the Lady Rams (0-11, 1-13).
Hockey
Trinity 4, Connellsville 0 — Connellsville’s first game was suspended because of fog and the home opener was cancelled because of poor ice conditions, so the hockey game at Trinity turned out to be the Falcons’ PIHL Varsity B South Division opener.
Connellsville fired 31 shots on Trinity’s Jon Chopp, but the goalie turned all 31 aside in the Hillers’ victory.
Trinity (1-1-0) led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after two periods.
Alex Mitchell made 16 saves for the Falcons (0-1-0).