Leopards roar into semifinals

By JOSE NEGRON

jnegron@yourmvi.com

There weren’t many shots or scoring opportunities. But in a battle between a pair of formidable defenses, it was Belle Vernon Area capitalizing on a lone offensive chance to capture a spot in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals. 

The No. 5 Leopards held Oakland Catholic’s leading goal scorer Hannah Henn and the rest of its offense at bay while using a first-half goal by Autumn Forte to claim a 1-0 win in a WPIAL quarterfinal matchup at Canon-McMillan’s Big Mac Stadium Thursday. 

BVA (16-3) advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2012 and second time in program history. 

“I did some research on their team and knew (Hannah Henn) was their goal scorer,” BVA head coach Tracy Lovett said of the junior, who scored nearly 40 of the Eagles’ 66 goals this season. 

“I knew she was a force and I also knew there were a couple of players who fed her the ball. We talked about man-marking her and I put Marissa Grubbs, my backbone and go-to girl, on her. Katie Hrycko and Grubbs are a very big reason for this win; they held Henn off.” 

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