Sep 30, 2020 4 min read

Boys soccer

Andrew Massucci scored two goals and Peters Township remained unbeaten in Class 4A Section 2 by doubling up host Baldwin 4-2 Tuesday night.

Austin Marmol and Blake Gablehart each had one goal for the Indians, who improved to 5-0-1 in the section and 6-0-1 overall.

Massucci, Alex Fielding, Dominic Sambucco and Luke Holmes had assists.

n Eben McIntyre keeps on scoring goals and Charleroi keeps on winning.

McIntyre scored three goals, Denver Radomile added one, and Charleroi defeated McGuffey 4-1 in a Class 2A Section 3 match Wednesday night.

The win improves Charleroi’s record to 7-0 in the section and 9-0 overall. McGuffey slips to 2-5, 2-6.

n Daniel Sassak scored three goals to power undefeated Belle Vernon to a 5-0 victory over visiting Albert Gallatin in Class 3A Section 3.

Sassak scored both first-half goals for the Leopards (7-0, 8-0). Nick Nagy and Tyler Kovatch had second-half scores.

n Section 4-A leader Seton-La Salle scored two first-half goals and defeated visiting Chartiers-Houston 3-0.

Anthony Newman, James Farnan and T.J. Cherry each had a goal for the Rebels, who are 5-0 in section and 5-1 overall. Chartiers-Houston is 4-3, 4-3.

Girls soccer

Isabella Laurita assisted on two goals and goalkeeper Grace Henderson made 13 saves as Belle Vernon edged Hempfield 2-1 in a nonsection match.

Jillian Butchki scored in the first half and Farrah Reader had a second-half tally as the Leopards improved to 7-1 overall.

Commissioners decline CFP expansion

The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff have decided to stick with a four-team format during this pandemic-altered season after the Pac-12 made a request to consider expansion.

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said Wednesday that Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott asked the rest of management committee to consider having eight teams play for the national championship this season. ESPN first reported Scott broaching the subject.

The request was made because of disruptions to the season caused by the pandemic. Conferences are not playing the same number of games, are starting play at different times and there are no interconference matchups between Power Five leagues.

Hancock said the committee, with 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, had a “civil and thoughtful discussion.”

NFLPA wants all fields to be grass

The NFL Players Association is asking that the 32 league teams change all field surfaces to natural grass because of injury concerns.

Union president JC Tretter said in a statement on Wednesday that artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than grass. He cited the NFL’s injury data from 2012-18 that the contact injury rate for lower extremities was higher during practices and games held on turf.

He also said that cold-weather teams such as the Packers, Steelers and Browns have natural grass fields. And indoor stadiums in Arizona and Las Vegas have figured out how to have a natural grass playing surface.

Earlier this season, the San Francisco 49ers complained about the surface at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey after losing several key players, including Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas, to injuries in a Week 2 win over the Jets.

Williams pulls out of French Open

Saying she is “struggling to walk,” Serena Williams ended her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title and withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match Wednesday because of an injured Achilles heel.

Williams hurt herself during her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open three weeks ago, which she called “bad timing” and “bad luck,” and went to lengths to make clear she didn’t think this was any sort of sign that she can’t continue to pursue trophies in the future.

More simply, Williams said, she hasn’t had “enough time to properly heal” and needs “four to six weeks of sitting, doing nothing.”