Leopards shut out Ringgold in ‘Moe’s Game’

Ava Scalise had a pair of goals to help push Belle Vernon past the Rams in Section 1-2A play.

In the latest installment of the rivalry between the Belle Vernon and Ringgold girls soccer teams, it was the Leopards that traveled to Joe Montana Stadium Monday night and returned home with a 3-0 section win.

Belle Vernon (7-7, 6-3) moved into second place in Section 1-2A as Ava Scalise scored two goals and Kelsey Roskovich added the third and final goal of the match. Payton Walsh assisted Scalise’s second goal with a great cross into the box.

“We always expect a pretty good battle against them, and it was,” BVA coach Tracy Lovett said. “ I felt like we had most of the play in their end in the first half, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net. I thought we started to settle down and connect passes and we started to really work the ball up from the back up, and I think that’s when we took control. I thought that their keeper (Alayna Macioce) made some really great saves on us, too.”

For the Rams (3-8-1, 2-6-1), coach Ed Rosensteel wasn’t satisfied with the effort that he received from some members of the squad.

“Our team needs to step up and figure out what their standard and the effort level is,” he said. “We’ve talked about this all year. I always tell the girls, ‘I’ll never blame them for a loss, but I can’t blame them for their effort,’ and that’s on them. It doesn’t sound good when it’s gonna be read in the paper, but they know it, and I’m disappointed with it.

“There’s some girls that go out there and I know they give it everything they got, but some of this has gotta get better.”

Once again, the fixture served as a night to honor the memory of Kaitlyn “Moe” Rosensteel, the former Ringgold soccer player that loved to play against Belle Vernon. Coach Rosensteel, Moe’s father, was extremely thankful for the boosters putting the night together, which includes a raffle ticket fundraiser and a balloon release from both teams.

“She hated, but loved to play (Belle Vernon),” Ed said. “That’s what rivalries are, and that’s the beautiful thing about rivalries. If you lose, it drives you nuts until the next time you play them. And if you win, you feel like you’re on top of the world.”

Lovett shared his sentiments around playing in the yearly match.

“We have a lot of respect for Ringgold, and Ed does a great job with the program, so it’s always nice to come here and play them,” she said. “We’re very honored that he always picks us to play on Moe’s night. That’s something that we take a lot of pride in that he does for us.”

Ringgold had the first chance of the match when it drew a free kick just on the outside of the Belle Vernon 18-yard box as Miranda Santina curled a free kick just wide of Salay in goal.

Macioce was called on next for the Rams as she came up with a save after a Belle Vernon counter from a corner kick.

BVA cleared the ball to Scalise, who dribbled from the halfway line all the way into Ringgold’s box and had a shot that Macioce deflected away.

With 21:32 left in the first half, Scalise opened the scoring as she found space and lifted a strike into the side netting that made it 1-0.

The Leopards continued to attack and generated a few more chances at halftime, but Macioce stood strong in goal and ensured that the score remained 1-0.

As the second half started, it was once again Belle Vernon that pushed ahead and quickly doubled its lead with another goal.

Walsh went on a strong run down the right side and put a cross in that both Scalise and Abby Russell looked to get on the end of, but it was Scalise that managed to fire it into the back of the net to give the Leopards a two-goal advantage.

With 24 minutes left, Belle Vernon could’ve had another goal as a great cross was just cleared by the Rams, but only as far as Roskovich. She had a strike from about 20 yards out, but it was saved well by Macioce.

Scalise put a free kick on goal with 11 minutes left that was saved by Macioce, but the Leopards were able to bag another goal with 9:31 remaining through Roskovich.

A corner kick was served into the box and pinged around as both sides tried to gain control of the ball. After about 10 seconds, the ball was cleared to Roskovich, and she had a shot that found its way into the left side of the net.

The Rams kept pushing, but they just couldn’t manage to grab a goal as the Leopards finished with a clean sheet.

With just over six minutes left, Santina served a perfect ball in on a corner kick that flashed across goal, but no one was able to get a touch and guide it home. Then, another corner led to a chance from Emily Bucchianeri, but it was saved as the match ended shortly after at 3-0.

Moving forward, the Leopards will look to grab another win against Mc-Guffey Wednesday while the Rams will hope to rebound at Steel Valley the same night.