PANTHERS’ Haperman heads USC BOYS past NORTH ALLEGHENY
Garrett Blake strikes the ball for Upper St. Clair's first goal during a 2-1 victory against North Allegheny.
Garrett Blake celebrates after scoring Upper St. Clair's first goal during a 2-1 victory against North Allegheny.
The premise of soccer is simple. The execution, on the other hand, can be quite difficult. Just ask Mike Blatz, the interim coach of the Upper St. Clair Panthers, who nearly saw their two-year reign as state champions ended by North Allegheny in a WPIAL Class AAA boys’ quarterfinal playoff game at Baldwin Stadium.
“Statistically, a team can dominate a game, but that doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “To win, you have to get the ball into a net that is eight feet wide and eight feet high.”
After bombarding the Tigers’ cage, only to be consistently repelled by Luke Nolan, USC finally struck paydirt for the game-winning goal with 7:29 to play. Doug Haperman took a cross from Stefano Paolina, and deposited into the net, lifting the Panthers to victory, 2-1, against NA.
“You have to respect their resolve and their goaltender played well,” Blatz said of the Tigers. “They were brave in front of the net and they made it difficult for us.”
The Tigers attacked first, scoring quickly on a goal by Steve Benning, putting the Panthers in an unfamiliar, come-from-behind position. Garrett Blake, however, racked up the equalizer, knotting the contest by halftime, 1-1.
Because of USC’s experience, three straight trips to the district finals and the back-to-back state crowns, Blatz explained his players did not panic even though the Tigers ‘made it tough and interesting’ for the Panthers. “They are very resilient,” Blatz said. “They’ve been in similar situations. They believed they could win the game.”
With the win, USC improved to 18-0-1 overall and qualified for the PIAA tournament. The Panthers, who were the Section 5 champions, faced Butler in the Oct. 27 semifinal.
PT advances
Peters Township (16-2) advanced to a semifinal showdown with Central Catholic (19-1) with a victory against Bethel Park, 4-0.
Josh Deyarmin recorded his 15th shutout of the season. He made three saves in the game played at Elizabeth-Forward’s Warrior Stadium. Ryan Ponchione pumped in two goals while Nicco and Mario Mastrangelo each tallied a goal. Sean Harrison, Wes Ward, Jake Valley and Kelson Marissa recorded the assists.
Big Macs fall
In a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff at Baldwin, Central Catholic (19-1) blanked Canon-McMillan, 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Jarrod McDowell and Michael DeSabato registered the goals for the Vikings. The Big Macs ended the season at 13-6-1 overall.