It was a thrilling matchup that had a little bit of everything. There were bursts of technical wizardry as both Allderdice and North Allegheny wowed the crowd with nutmegs, flik-flaks, 50 yard trapped balls, spin moves, and Cruyff turns. There was back-and-forth goalscoring and impressive defensive feats. There was fabulous goalkeeping and bursts of speed. There were clever tactical fouls. And to put a cherry on top of this veritable soccer sundae of delights, there were some last minute heroics and a golden goal win in the last remaining minutes of the match.
Elliott Voight-Cherna threads a sea of defenders in white. Credit: Mark Asher Goodman
But in playoff soccer, there can only be one winner, and on this night at George K. Cupples Stadium on Pittsburgh’s South Side, that winner was North Allegheny by a score of 2-1 in 2OT.
The first half was a tense affair with few legitimate shots on goal, as both teams contested almost everything in the middle third of the pitch. Allderdice’s midfield maestro Luca Fuerte and defensive mid Tahir Phillips were constantly jammed up by North Allegheny’s talented counterparts Aniketh Ghosh, Kevin Bandes, and Emmanuel Yu. Both teams shuffled to the sidelines still deadlocked at 0-0. It was evident, however, that Allegheny had an advantage in height and pace that they could use on long counterattacks or on set pieces to gain advantage over the Dice Dragons, who were a bit neater on the ball and capable of longer strings of possession.
It wouldn’t take long in the second half for NA to nudge out to a lead. In the 44th minute, North Allegheny’s big, physical center forward Francis Randiga broke into the box and pounded the ball into the back of the net to give the Tigers the lead. For the rest of the half, they would sit a bit deeper as Allderdice drove forward, searching for an equalizer. Dice’s forward core of Julian Dixon-Webster at Left Wing, Elliott Voight-Cherna at Striker, and Jonah Libertus on the Right Wing continually put on furious dribbling displays to try and penetrate the box and shake their defenders. North Allegheny’s talented squad of mids and defenders, including Owen Lopresti, Emmanuel Yu, and Matt Choe, simply would not bend to the unrelenting pressure, and their big, capable goalkeeper Jaxon Cowger was flawless in goal to keep the Dragons off the board.
A scrum with N. Allegheny’s Francis Randiga (#9) and Allderdice’s Jonah Libertus (#7) and Tahir Phillips (#6)
But in the 80th and final minute of regulation, with just 41 seconds left on the clock, Allderdice off a throw-in restart centered the ball in the 18 yard box for d-mid Tahir Phillips. Phillips pivoted, spun, and buried the ball low and to the right to equalize 1-1 at the death. This sent the game into overtime to the delight of assembled parents and students from Squirrel Hill and to the frustration of the faithful from Wexford, Ingomar, Bradford Woods, and all other points out McKnight Road.
Overtime was mostly a story of trying to overcome tired legs and leg cramping, as the game speed slowed markedly. Allderdice had the best look in the 90th minute as #10 Luca Fuerte sent in a fantastic diagonal to the box that resulted in a mad scramble by Dice attackers Voight-Cherna, Julian Dixon-Webster, and Michael Bishop, to no avail. The first OT ended with a sense that both teams would be too tired to produce a winner, and the likely conclusion would be a PK shootout.
But in the 104th minute, North Allegheny scored the golden goal. Winger Kevin Bandes found the back of net in spectacular fashion to win the game. The visiting WPIAL 4a runners-up and their fans howled and rejoiced, while the Allderdice fans, students, and parents applauded lovingly for a Dice team that had put up a good season once again.
District 7’s North Allegheny will be back in action Saturday against District 1’s WC Henderson, who defeated Central Daufin 4-0 this evening in Harrisburg.
Allderdice midfielder Luca Fuerte (27′) taking on North Allegheny’s Matt Choe at Cupples Stadium. Credit: Mark Asher Goodman
See PSN’s interview with North Allegheny HC Manuel Montero:
See PSN’s interview with Allderdice HC David Thyberg:
See PSN’s interview with Kevin Bandes, who scored NA’s match winner in 2OT:
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