College notebook: Mastrangelo no Flash in the pan for St. Francis
Mario Mastrangelo
Sabrina Bryan
Jeffrey Gamza
Aideen O’Donoghue
Dalton Holt
Senior Mario Mastrangelo has been an impact soccer player ever since he stepped onto the campus at St. Francis University in Loretto as a freshman three years ago.
A Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, Mastrangelo has been one of the top players for the Red Flashes and in the Northeast Conference. The senior forward was named the NEC Men’s Soccer Player of the Week for the second consecutive week Oct. 2.
Mastrangelo scored two goals in St. Francis’ 4-2 conference-opening win over Sacred Heart Sept. 28, helping the Red Flash to a 1-0-1 conference record over the weekend.
The senior opened the scoring in the 26th minute, then added a goal in the 55th minute to give the Red Flash the lead for good. Mastrangelo also had an assist in the 77th minute.
During the previous week, Mastrangelo tallied one goal and two assists over two games, helping St. Francis to a 1-0-1 record.
The senior forward had two assists in the second half of SFU’s 3-1 road win over St. Bonaventure Sept. 19. Four days later, the Red Flash drew with Cal State Fullerton. Trailing 2-1 in the final minutes of the match, Mastrangelo collected his own rebound and beat the goalkeeper to tie the score.
Mastrangelo, who was all-section three times and all-WPIAL twice while at Peters Township, is currently second in the NEC in both goals (6) and assists (6) and first in points (18). He has 35 career goals and nine assists for St. Francis.
Mastrangelo is one of two family members on the St. Francis team. His brother, Nicco Mastrangelo, is a senior defenseman who has played in 61 career games for the Red Flash and scored three goals.
In football
Larry Krutko, one of the best two-way football players to come out of Greene County and helped Cumberland Township (now Carmichaels) High School to the 1952 WPIAL Class A championship, was recently inducted into the West Virginia University Sports hall of Fame.
Krutko rushed for 1,407 yards in three season at WVU and also played linebacker on defense. He was the 20th pick in the 1958 NFL draft. He played three seasons in the NFL.
Krutko was inducted prior to the WVU-Kansas State football game Sept. 22. He was one of 11 inductees this year.
Isaiah Robinson of Washington is the fourth-leading receiver at West Liberty.
Robinson has played in four games for the Hilltoppers and caught 15 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. The Washington graduate’s best game was Sept. 29 against Notre Dame (Ohio) when he caught eight passes for 121 yards and touchdowns of 19 and 17 yards in a 55-21 Hilltoppers loss.
Dalton Holt, a sophomore defensive back, had his first career interception Saturday for Slippery Rock in a 59-28 victory over Edinboro.
A Ringgold graduate, Holt made three tackles, including a half-tackle for loss, and returned the interception 32 yards. Holt had a season-high eight tackles Oct. 6 against IUP and seven against Mercyhurst.
In soccer
Hofstra sophomore midfielder Sabrina Bryan was named Monday the Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Soccer Player of the Week following a prolific scoring outburst in the Pride’s two games.
Bryan, a native of Cecil and a Canon-McMillan graduate, scored four goals and added an assist during a 2-0 week for Hofstra. She had her first career two-goal game last Thursday night at Drexel including the game-winner in overtime that gave Hofstra a 3-2 victory. Bryan topped that performance by scoring two goals and adding an assist for a career-best five points Sunday in a 4-3 win at Elon. She scored her first goal 50 seconds into the game and then added a second goal that tied the score at three in the second half. She also assisted on Hofstra’s second goal.
Bryan leads Hofstra in scoring with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. She is tied for the team lead in goals.
Aideen O’Donoghue of Canonsburg is in her second season as a starter for Pitt.
A Canon-McMillan graduate, O’Donoghue started every game her freshman year as an outside defender. She was in the top-5 of minutes played on the team in 2017 as she helped anchor the back line for the Panthers.
This year, O’Donoghue has started 13 of Pitt’s 14 games and either at outside defender or forward. She scored her first collegiate goal against the Jacksonville in a 2-1 Pitt victory and added her second goal Oct. 4 against Miami (Fla.).
After breaking the program shutout record, Duquesne goalkeeper Kyra Murphy was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4.
Murphy, a Canon-McMillan graduate, broke a 20-year-old program record with her 22nd career shutout with 1-0 clean sheet over Binghamton. Murphy turned away four Bearcats shots in the win.
For the season, Murphy has a 5-7-2 record, five shutouts, a 1.23 goal-against average and .766 save percentage.
Winthrop’s Allie Thomas, a junior forward from Canonsburg and a Canon-McMillan graduate, was named the Big South women’s soccer Co-Attacking Player of the Week. Thomas scored both of Winthrop’s goals in a 2-0 victory Sept. 14 at Presbyterian.
Thomas leads the Eagles in both goals (5) and points (20). Thomas led Winthrop and was third in the Big South Conference with seven goals last year, when she was named first team all-conference.
Thomas was a four-year letterwinner at Canon-McMillan and left as the all-time assists leader among Pennsylvania large schools.
In golf
Lauren Waller, a senior from Canonsburg, shot consecutive rounds of 1-over par 73 to help Penn State’s women’s team win the team title at the Princeton Invitational Sept. 29-30. It was Waller’s second consecutive top-10 finish as she also helped the Penn State to the team championship in the Nittnay Lion Invitational.
Penn State had to come from behind to win its own tournament and Waller helped turn the tide in the final round as she birdied four of her final six holes to shoot a personal-best 5-under 67 that included a 4-under 32 on the back nine. She finished in fifth place in the individual standings with a three-round total of 1-under 215. Waller is one of only four players in Penn State history to shoot 67 or better in a round.
Penn State has two Wallers on the team. Taylor Waller is Lauren’s younger sister and a freshman with the Nittany Lions.
Westminster freshman Michael Bell of Canonsburg was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week for Sept. 10-16. A Canon-McMillan graduate, Bell placed 30th at the Carnegie Mellon Shootout, posting a two-day total of 147. He shot 75 in the opening round and two-over 72 in the final round at The Links at Spring Church in Apollo.