Moessner makes immediate impact with Vulcans
College Notebook
Ryan Moessner was one of the best soccer players in the WPIAL during his days at Bentworth High School, using his goal-scoring prowess to lead the Bearcats to three consecutive district championships and the school’s first PIAA title last fall.
Moessner has taken those goal-scoring skills this fall to Penn West California and he has made an immediate impact with the Vulcans.
After scoring a pair of game-winning goals, Moessner was selected as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Athlete of the Week for Sept. 20-26.
A freshman, Moessner scored three goals, including two game-winning goals, as the Vulcans posted a 2-0 mark during the week to open league play. He broke a scoreless game tie in the 64th minute to help Cal earn a 2-0 win at Pitt-Johnstown. Then Moessner recorded his first career multi-goal game with the Vulcans and helping Cal to a 3-1 victory against Slippery Rock. The Bentworth product scored the game’s first goal in the 17th minute before breaking a tie in the 62nd minute with the game-winning goal.
The 5-8 freshman ended the week tied for the team lead with five goals and ranked second with 12 points. He has helped Cal win back-to-back games in PSAC West play for the first time since 2021, while the program started 2-0 in league play for the first time in two decades, spanning both single-conference and split-division formats.
It was the first weekly league honor for Moessner.
Golf
Former WPIAL champion Rocco Salvitti is off to a strong start in his senior season at Notre Dame.
The Canonsburg native and Central Catholic graduate, tied for fourth place in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational held at Muskoka Lakes, Ontario. He helped Notre Dame to a second-place finish in the team scoring.
Salvitti shot 3-under 210 for the three rounds, He finished with 70 in the opening round, then led a Notre Dame charge in the second round by shooting 4-under 67. After playing the front nine in 1-under, Salvitti added three birdies on the back side. In the final round, he shot 71.
Salvitti’s steady play this season has helped the Fighting Irish to a second-place finish in the Folds of Honor College in Grand Haven, Mich., and a third-place showing in the Windon Memorial in Lake Forest, Ill.
Tennis
Penn State Altoona junior Sienna Fell, a Canonsburg native and Canon-McMillan graduate, was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Week for Sept. 20-26.
Fell had a dominant performance at No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles positions to help the Lions go 2-0 during the week. The junior won both of her singles matches and both of her doubles matches.
In her team’s victory over AMCC opponent Mount Aloysius on Sept. 20, Fell won 6-0, 6-2 in singles while being part of a 6-4 win in doubles. Against the Lions’ second AMCC foe of the week, Carlow, Fell blanked her opponent 6-0, 6-0, while being a part of a 6-1 triumph in doubles.
Fell’s record for the season improved to 10-1 in singles and 10-0 in doubles.
Soccer
Westminster freshman Amelia Brose was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 14-20.
A Chartiers-Houston graduate, Brose finished Westminster’s 2-0-0 week with seven points on three goals and an assist. She scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute of a 1-0 victory over Thiel before totaling two goals and an assist three days later in a 7-1 win at Bethany.
This is the first PAC weekly award of Brose’s career.
Football
Landon Lutz, a quarterback at Wheeling, has passed for 909 yards and six touchdowns in the Cardinals’ first four games.
A redshirt senior from McDonald and a South Fayette graduate, Lutz has passed for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in each game as he has directed the Cardinals’ offense to a 2-2 record. Lutz passed for a season-high 252 yards against Walsh and tossed a pair of touchdown passes against both Thomas More and Fairmont State. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns, covering two and seven yards, in the Cardinals’ 28-24 win over Fairmont State.
• St. Francis senior linebacker Kent McMahon set a career-high with 10 tackles in the Red Wolves’ season-opening game Sept. 26 against Grove City.
A Canon-McMillan graduate, McMahon led St. Francis in tackles in the game, which was the school’s first since joining NCAA Division III.