November 13, 2019 3:46 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Kaapo Kakko scored his second goal of the game 2:36 into overtime to give the New York Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Adam Fox had a goal in regulation and set up Kakko’s winner as New York recovered after blowing a two-goal lead and improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games. Alexandar Georgiev, getting the start after Henrik Lundqvist played the previous three games, finished with 30 saves. In the extra period, Fox brought the puck up the left side, skated toward the middle and sent a pass to the left doorstep, where the Finnish rookie redirected the puck past Penguins goalie Matt Murray for his sixth of the season. Justin Schultz and Jared McCann scored for the short-handed Penguins, who earned at least a point for the sixth time in seven games (4-1-2). Murray, making his seventh straight start and 15th in 18 games this season, stopped 24 shots. The Penguins were without star center Sidney Crosby due to a lower body injury. The two-time MVP did not travel with the team to New York after leaving in the third period of a 3-2 shootout win over Chicago on Saturday. Pittsburgh was also missing defenseman Kris Letang for the third straight game with a lower body injury and forward Patric Hornqvist (injured reserve) for the fourth in a row. With the score tied 2-all, both teams had chances in the third, with Georgiev and Murray making great stops on both ends. The Rangers went on their second power play with 4:10 left after Brian Dumoulin was whistled for tripping Greg McKegg, but managed just one shot on goal as Pittsburgh killed off its 16th straight penalty and 22nd in the last 23. In the closing seconds, Dumoulin had a shot blocked by Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba and his follow was stopped by Georgiev to send the game to overtime. The Penguins got off to another slow start, trailing 2-0 while getting outshot 11-8 in the first period. It marked the 12th time in 17 games Pittsburgh gave up the first goal of the game. And once again, the Penguins got going in the second. Schultz got Pittsburgh on the scoreboard at 1:13 on the team’s second shot of the period as he got a pass from Evgeni Malkin, skated through the left circle and fired it past Georgiev for is second. The Penguins tied it with 7:27 left in the second as Dominik Simon mishit the puck on a shot off his own skate and then passed to McCann, who fired it past Georgiev for his sixth. It ended Pittsburgh’s 11-game drought without a power-play goal, and snapped an 0-for-28 skid with the man advantage.
November 13, 2019 3:42 am
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) – Trey McGowens scored 25 points, Terrell Brown added 10 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five blocks as Pittsburgh spoiled the unveiling of Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center in a 71-57 win. Three days after getting upset at home by Nicholls State, the Panthers (2-1) responded by snapping a 24-game road losing streak that stretched back nearly three years. Pitt broke it open with a 22-10 surge to open the second half to improve to 31-0 all-time against the Colonials.
November 13, 2019 2:56 am
Wash High held Freedom to 61 yards and four first downs as the Little Prexies rolled to a 28-0 win over the Bulldogs, earning a trip to the semifinals for the third time in four years. Peters Township jumped in front of Moon Area and cruised to a 33-7 win over the Tigers, avenging their only regular season loss. West Greene’s season came to an end, losing 24-7 to Sto-Rox. Thomas Jefferson topped Blackhawk, 49-0, to earn a trip back to Heinz Field and a meeting with Belle Vernon, a 41-30 winner over defending WPIAL champion South Fayette. Belle Vernon last played for a WPIAL title in 1999–at Three Rivers Stadium.
CLICK HERE for WPIAL Football Brackets
Friday, Nov. 15–WPIAL Semifinals
6:30 pm 2A #1 Washington vs. #5 Brentwood at Chartiers Valley (WJPA-AM)
7:00 pm 2A #2 Avonworth vs. #14 Riverside at West Allegheny
6:30 pm 5A #5 Peters Township vs. #1 Penn-Trafford at West Mifflin (WJPA-FM)
7:00 pm 5A #2 Gateway vs. #6 McKeesport at Greensburg Salem
Saturday, Nov. 16–WPIAL Championships
11:00 am 1A #1 Clairton vs. #3 Sto-Rox
2:00 pm 3A #1 Central Valley vs. #2 Aliquippa
4:45 pm 4A #1 Thomas Jefferson vs. #3 Belle Vernon (WJPA-FM)
8:00 pm 6A #1 Central Catholic vs. #2 Pine-Richland
November 13, 2019 2:43 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Washington & Jefferson College men’s soccer team will travel to John Carroll University for the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship on Saturday, Nov. 16. Match time is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Don Shula Stadium at Wasmer Field. W&J captured its first conference title in 12 years when they beat Geneva College by a 4-2 score in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game Saturday night at Alexandre Stadium. The Presidents compiled a 12-7-2 overall record, which included a 9-0-1 record against conference competition. The Presidents have won six in a row and nine of their past 10 games overall. This marks the third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (2005, 2007, 2019). After Saturday night’s victory, the Presidents have four PAC titles, all coming since the 2003 season (2003, 2004, 2007, 2019). John Carroll earned an automatic berth into the Division III Championship after capturing the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament title Saturday evening with a 1-0 victory over Otterbein University. The Blue Streaks, who are ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Association Poll, hold a 17-2-2 overall record. JCU enters Saturday’s match on a nine-game winning streak. Centre College (16-3-1) and Kalamazoo College (11-4-2) will square off in the other first round game Saturday in University Heights, Ohio. That first round match is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. The winners will play a second-round match at John Carroll Sunday, 3 pm, for a spot in the Sweet 16 next weekend.
November 12, 2019 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Penguins star Sidney Crosby will not play against the Rangers because of an undisclosed injury. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan says Crosby will not travel with the club to New York. The Penguins finish the two-game road trip in New Jersey, but Sullivan did not explicitly say Crosby will sit out both games. The two-time MVP has five goals and 12 assists in 17 games.
November 12, 2019 3:43 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) – Jason Myers kicked a 42-yard field goal after Chase McLaughlin missed a kick earlier in overtime, and the Seattle Seahawks handed the San Francisco 49ers their first loss of the season with a 27-24 victory on Monday night. Myers gave Seattle (8-2) its second straight overtime win after Russell Wilson got the Seahawks into positon with an 18-yard scramble on third-and-3. After being iced by a timeout, Myers delivered one week after missing two field goals and an extra point, putting Seattle right in the thick of the NFC West race with San Francisco (8-1). The Seahawks blew a chance to win the game on the opening possession of overtime when Wilson was intercepted at the 4 by Dre Greenlaw. It was Wilson’s second interception of the season.
November 12, 2019 3:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s arrival has galvanized the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. The Steelers are 5-2 since acquiring Fitzpatrick from Miami in mid-September, including a 17-12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams that pushed their winning streak to four games. Fitzpatrick has four interceptions and a fumble recovery since making his debut in Week 3 against San Francisco. Fitzpatrick’s heady play is one of the reasons the Steelers have already created 26 turnovers, 11 more than they had in 2018.
November 11, 2019 3:53 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Steelers defense spoiled Aaron Donald’s homecoming and derailed the Los Angeles Rams’ momentum in the process. The Steelers forced four turnovers – including a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick – in an ugly 17-12 victory on Sunday that pushed their winning streak to four games and dealt the Rams’ chances of chasing down Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West a serious blow. Donald, a Pittsburgh native, sacked the Steelers’ Mason Rudolph for a safety in his first appearance in his hometown since the Rams took him in the first round of the 2014 draft. Linebacker Dante Fowler scored Los Angeles’ lone touchdown on a 26-yard fumble return on the second snap of the game. But the Rams’ offense did little against a Steelers defense that has become the team’s identity after losing Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending right elbow injury in Week 2. Jared Goff completed 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards, none of them to leading receiver Cooper Kupp. The Rams (5-4) converted just 1 of 14 third downs and came up empty on a pair of last-gasp drives in the final two minutes. Goff’s fourth-down heave to the end zone intended for Josh Reynolds fell incomplete with 1:25 to go. Los Angeles got the ball back with 59 seconds to play but Goff’s pass to Robert Woods was tipped. Fitzpatrick ran underneath it for the game-sealing interception and seventh takeaway since the Steelers acquired him from Miami in September for a 2020 first-round pick. At the moment, it looks like draft capital well spent. Rudolph completed 22 of 38 passes for 242 yards with a touchdown, stats that would have been considerably better if not for a handful of drops that prevented the Steelers (5-4) from gaining any sort of traction for long stretches. Rudolph became the ninth quarterback since the 1970 merger to throw a touchdown in each of his first seven games when he found James Washington for a 3-yard score in the first quarter, but the Steelers once again relied on their defense to move over .500 for the first time this season. The Steelers managed just 15 turnovers in 2018. They have produced 26 through nine games in 2019, helping them stay afloat following a 1-4 start while Rudolph and the offense searches for solid footing.
November 11, 2019 3:50 am
UNDATED (AP) – A trip to Cincinnati could have been a trap game for the Baltimore Ravens after they dominated the defending-champion New England Patriots last Sunday. Instead, the Ravens picked up their fifth straight win and improved to 7-2 by manhandling the winless Bengals. Lamar Jackson threw for three touchdowns and added a sensational 47-yard scoring run to lead Baltimore’s 49-13 romp at Cincinnati. Jackson set a club completion percentage record by hitting on 15 of his 17 throws for 223 yards and a perfect passer rating of 158.3, his second of the season.
Ryan Finley finished 16 of 30 for 167 yards in his first NFL start as the 0-9 Bengals absorbed their 11th consecutive loss since last season. Finley also threw an interception that Marcus Peters turned into an 89-yard scoring play.
November 11, 2019 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – LSU is an overwhelming No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll after receiving 57 first-place votes following Saturday’s 46-41 win over Alabama. Second-ranked Ohio State picked up five first-place votes and No. 3 Ohio State came away with three. Alabama fell two spots to fourth. Georgia is fifth, followed by Oregon, Minnesota, Utah, Penn State and Oklahoma. The Golden Gophers beat the Nittany Lions on Saturday to climb into the top 10 for the first time since 1962.
