Penn-Trafford ties North Allegheny in WPIAL field hockey title game rematch
Penn-Trafford High eagerly anticipated last Thursday's WPIAL Class AAA championship game rematch against North Allegheny.
But after 60 minutes of regulation play and 15 minutes of overtime, the two teams remained where they had been before this game began: evenly matched after a 2-2 tie and sharing the lead at the top of Section 1.
"I think they are evenly matched," said Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt, whose team is 4-1-1 heading into Monday's home game against non-section rival Woodland Hills.
The Warriors now have a section record of 1-0-1. North Allegheny is 2-0-1 in the section and 3-0-1 overall. Both teams trail section leader Pine-Richland which is 2-0 in the section and 3-0 overall.
"I was really thrilled with the play on both sides. (North Allegheny) is a really well-skilled team, and it's nice to play a well-skilled team. I'm really happy with the 2-2 tie. It would have been nice to have a win, but it's not a loss."
Penn-Trafford's Isabel Siergiej snapped a scoreless tie by picking up a loose ball in front of the North Allegheny net and driving it past North Allegheny goalie Isley "Chip" Smith to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead with 11:51 left in the first half. Just more than a minute later, North Allegheny tied the game when Bridget Zehr got a nice feed from Nicole Burns.
It stayed that way until the 4:55 mark when the Warriors took advantage of the seventh penalty corner of first half, and Amanda Steffey fired a shot past the Tigers' Smith with assists coming from Siergiej and Sydney Pribanic.
But the Tigers squared the game for a final time as Emily Humiston made a brilliant spin move in front of the Warriors' goal and drove a shot past goalie Harry Miller for an unassisted goal that tied the game at 2-2 with 27:57 in the second half.
Penn-Trafford had dominated the play in the first half, and North Allegheny had the upper hand not only in the second half but also in overtime.
Several times, Miller came out of his net to make some brilliant saves, most notably on on a breakaway attempt by the Tigers' Megan Grzyb about halfway through the extra period.
"He is a good goalie," said Dutt, who explained that Miller has more freedom with which to work during overtime when both teams lose four players. "In a regular game when you have (a lot of players) in the circle, he can't come out and do that. When there is seven-on-seven in overtime, it gives him more freedom to do that. He's also a guy playing a girls' sport, so he doesn't want to appear too aggressive. He's a really good goalie, and when he has room, not many shots get by him."
The game was the third in three games for the Rams, who ended the stretch with a 2-0-1 record.
"I think (North Allegheny) had a little more strength because they (were able to use more substitutes)," Dutt said. "They were bringing people in and out, and that shows you how deep their bench is. That's a testament to how well they train their players."
North Allegheny and Penn-Trafford meet again at 4 p.m. on Oct. 4. The Warriors still have to play Pine-Richland. They will meet the Rams in a home match next Thursday, and travel to Northern Allegheny County for a game with the Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.
But after 60 minutes of regulation play and 15 minutes of overtime, the two teams remained where they had been before this game began: evenly matched after a 2-2 tie and sharing the lead at the top of Section 1.
"I think they are evenly matched," said Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt, whose team is 4-1-1 heading into Monday's home game against non-section rival Woodland Hills.
The Warriors now have a section record of 1-0-1. North Allegheny is 2-0-1 in the section and 3-0-1 overall. Both teams trail section leader Pine-Richland which is 2-0 in the section and 3-0 overall.
"I was really thrilled with the play on both sides. (North Allegheny) is a really well-skilled team, and it's nice to play a well-skilled team. I'm really happy with the 2-2 tie. It would have been nice to have a win, but it's not a loss."
Penn-Trafford's Isabel Siergiej snapped a scoreless tie by picking up a loose ball in front of the North Allegheny net and driving it past North Allegheny goalie Isley "Chip" Smith to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead with 11:51 left in the first half. Just more than a minute later, North Allegheny tied the game when Bridget Zehr got a nice feed from Nicole Burns.
It stayed that way until the 4:55 mark when the Warriors took advantage of the seventh penalty corner of first half, and Amanda Steffey fired a shot past the Tigers' Smith with assists coming from Siergiej and Sydney Pribanic.
But the Tigers squared the game for a final time as Emily Humiston made a brilliant spin move in front of the Warriors' goal and drove a shot past goalie Harry Miller for an unassisted goal that tied the game at 2-2 with 27:57 in the second half.
Penn-Trafford had dominated the play in the first half, and North Allegheny had the upper hand not only in the second half but also in overtime.
Several times, Miller came out of his net to make some brilliant saves, most notably on on a breakaway attempt by the Tigers' Megan Grzyb about halfway through the extra period.
"He is a good goalie," said Dutt, who explained that Miller has more freedom with which to work during overtime when both teams lose four players. "In a regular game when you have (a lot of players) in the circle, he can't come out and do that. When there is seven-on-seven in overtime, it gives him more freedom to do that. He's also a guy playing a girls' sport, so he doesn't want to appear too aggressive. He's a really good goalie, and when he has room, not many shots get by him."
The game was the third in three games for the Rams, who ended the stretch with a 2-0-1 record.
"I think (North Allegheny) had a little more strength because they (were able to use more substitutes)," Dutt said. "They were bringing people in and out, and that shows you how deep their bench is. That's a testament to how well they train their players."
North Allegheny and Penn-Trafford meet again at 4 p.m. on Oct. 4. The Warriors still have to play Pine-Richland. They will meet the Rams in a home match next Thursday, and travel to Northern Allegheny County for a game with the Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.
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