Oct 28, 2021 3 min read

PT, SF advance

Peters Township and South Fayette each advanced in the WPIAL girls soccer playoffs Thursday night, and each did so by defeating a higher-seeded team on its home field.

Sixth-seeded Peters Township converted off corner kicks in each half and knocked off third-seeded Latrobe 2-0 in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

In Class 3A, sixth-seeded South Fayette outscored third-seeded Franklin Regional 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout and advanced with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals.

The win sends Peters Township (11-3-3) into the semifinals Monday night against second-seeded and section rival Moon. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded North Allegheny was upset by No. 9 Fox Chapel.

The loss ends the season for Latrobe (13-2-1), the Section 3 champion. Latrobe’s was undefeated until losing its regular-season finale.

PT scored in the 54th minute when Camryn Klein put in a header off a corner kick by Brook Opferman.

On a windy night, the score remained 1-0 until the Indians had another corner kick late in the second half, this time Opferman setting up a goal by CeCe Scott.

PSAC preseason polls

California University was chosen fourth in the PSAC West men’s basketball preseason poll released by the league office Thursday.

Cal was 19-11 overall and 14-8 in conference action in 2019-20. The 2020-21 season was cnaceled because of the pandemic.

IUP is the preseason favorite in the West with seven first-place votes after winning back-to-back PSAC championships, becoming the first school to repeat since 2010 and 2011. Mercyhurst is slotted second followed by Pitt-Johnstown. Gannon was picked fifth followed Slippery Clarion, Edinboro and Seton Hill.

In the PSAC East, Shippensburg was chosen the men’s preseason.

The California women were picked to finish third in the West. Gannon is the preseason favorite in the division and received four first-place votes. IUP was tabbed second in the poll with four first-place votes. Mercyhurst received the remaining first-place vote to rank fourth. Seton Hill and Edinboro were positioned fifth and sixth, respectively, while Pitt-Johnstown, Slippery Rock and Clarion round out the West.

In the PSAC East, Shippensburg is the preseason favorite.

WVU-Akron game to

benefit cancer research

The West Virginia University men’s basketball team will host a charity exhibition game against Akron tonight.

The game at the WVU Coliseum benefits the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund, according to a news release from the school.

The teams will play a regulation 40-minute game. Individual tickets are priced at $10 and $15, depending on the seat.

In accordance with WVU policy, those who are not vaccinated will be expected to wear a mask while inside the coliseum unless they are eating or drinking.

This will be the fourth time that WVU has played in a charity exhibition basketball game. WVU played Albany in 2017, Penn State in 2018 and Duquesne in 2019.

Source: Padres to hire Melvin as manager

The San Diego Padres have hired Bob Melvin from the Oakland Athletics as their new manager, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the hiring hadn’t been officially announced. The 60-year-old Melvin will receive a three-year deal, the person said.

Melvin replaces Jayce Tingler, who was fired Oct. 6 after a second-half collapse dropped the Padres from a solid grip on the NL’s second wild card spot to finishing with a losing record for the 10th time in 11 seasons.