Pine-Richland Claims First WPIAL 3-A Field Hockey Title

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 2, 2017 | 4:29 AM

Pine-Richland was making its third appearance in four years in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game and on Wednesday night and the Rams were able to finally attain what had been an elusive WPIAL title with a 4-0 win over the North Allegheny Tigers.

In a battle of Section 1-AAA rivals, Pine-Richland dictated the pace in the first half against North Allegheny. That consistent pressure resulted in a goal by senior Marina Miller with 16:57 to go in the half for a 1-0 lead. The lead could have been even larger for the Rams if not for the strong goaltending of NA senior Emma Jorgensen and defensive play of junior Trystan Laughrey. With nine minutes left in the half, Jorgensen made back-to-back saves to deny PR’s Vivian Cavanaugh and Laughrey followed with another save to thwart Cavanaugh to keep the score at 1-0, Rams.

In the second half however, Cavanaugh scored a pair of goals and sophomore Alexa Sharon added another to lift Pine-Richland to a 4-0 victory. It was the 11^th shutout of the season for sophomore goalie Abby Baratka who was never tested. North Allegheny did not have a shot on net.

Pine-Richland improves to 16-2 on the season with the win, while North Allegheny slips to 12-7 overall. Both teams qualify for the PIAA playoffs next week.