South Fayette celebrates success in soccer, too
After the sting from an overtime loss to Lancaster Mennonite, 2-1, eased a bit, South Fayette looked back positively on a season that resulted in the school’s first semifinal soccer appearance in PIAA Class AA history.
In fact, the team’s nine seniors could hold their heads high. The seniors include: Matt Grebinoski, Nick McKee, Tom Iagnemma, Alec Denison, Andrew Pine, George Slater, Brian Coyne, Ben Meindl and Jake Thomas.
After a 3-14 freshman year, the group compiled a 50-14-6 record that featured appearances in three WPIAL District 7 semifinals, one WPIAL final and two PIAA showings, including this year’s semifinal at Mansion Park in Altoona.
“This group has worked its way out of the ashes,” said SF head coach Rob Eldridge. “We’ve quietly built a solid program and gained a ton of respect from the soccer community.”
While the Lions may not possess the talent of Peters Township and Upper St. Clair, which have dominated the PIAA, capturing six state titles since 2003, they have positioned themselves for success, says Eldridge. “We’ve effectively put ourselves in position to compete in big games and for championships.”
The Lions adjusted to adversity this fall when they found out Coyne would be lost for the season because of an injury. The senior had been the team’s leading scorer.
“Our (coaching) staff worked tirelessly to reach where we are,” Eldridge said of his assistants Brian Zura, Mark Kuglar, Nolan Levine and Matt Rouleau.
Offensively, McKee labored with Jordan Smith, Iagnemma and Zach Lutz to pick up the pace. McKee fired in 13 goals. He set up the Lions’ lone score against the Blazers. Smith led with 14 tallies while Iagnemma provided 10 goals. Lutz finished with nine scores.
Jeremy Zura registered the goal against Lancaster Mennonite for the Lions. Ten minutes into the second half, he netted the equalizer, erasing the 1-0 advantage Erik Peachey provided the Blazers in the 15th minute of regulation. David Alejos assisted.
Seventy-six seconds into the second overtime, Sebastian Acosta scored, giving Lancaster Mennonite the 2-1 victory over the Lions and a berth in the Class AA boys’ state final.
“I thought we were the better team in the second half and throughout the overtime, but we were unlucky,” SF coach Rob Eldridge said. “We just couldn’t cash in on a few of our chances.”
After finishing third in the district, the Lions capitalized on their opportunity to compete in the PIAA tournament. They won two straight games before succumbing in Altoona.
South Fayette finished 19-4-1 overall. Several players earned post-season accolades. In addition to all-district and all-section laurels, McKee gained all-state recognition, making him the first player from South Fayette selected since Mike Blatz was named in the 1980s.
Jake Thomas and Mitch Ford gained all-section and all-WPIAL honors. While Smith is a senior, Ford is one of the underclassmen Eldridge will rely upon to continue South Fayette’s rise in soccer. He is a junior as are Smith and Lutz while Zura is a sophomore.
Other veterans who will return to the varsity roster are: Cory Supan, Tim Locher, Priamo Persichetti, Nick Aul, Christian Dedi, Matt Cillo, Jordan Smith, Zack Ali, Jared Renz, Anthony Palmieri, Jake Olszewski and Ruthvik Panda.
Other semifinals
While South Fayette faltered in its bid to reach the state finals, Peters Township and Canon-McMillan succeeded. The Indians blanked Lower Dauphin, 3-0, while the Lady Macs dispatched Central Bucks East, 2-1.
For the Indians, Mario Mastrangelo tallied all three goals. Rylen Faloni and Jake Valley were credited with assists.
Canon-Mac jumped off to a 2-0 lead and held on for the victory. Midway through the first half, Sabrina Bryan, scored the initial tally, off an assist from Aideen O’Donoghue. With 23 minutes remaining in the match, O’Donoghue scored off a corner kick.
Kyra Murphy stopped four shots but the Lady Macs surrendered a goal late in the contest. Emma Loving scored for CBE, which finished 19-4-2 overall.